Willow is DEAD lame :(

[ImaLittleBoston]

First of all, No comments on our farrier. I love him dearly (as a friend) and he's only young. He just wanted to try something new.

So, our shoer and mom decided to try to take willow's feet down a size, which they've been preping for for a while. anyways, we got her from a shoe size 2 to a 1. and shes LAME. mom came home today, and pulled the front shoes, the ones shes lame on. and we put a horse boot thing on the ones shes lame on, and leg bandages.. We thought this stuff on the edge of her hoof was somehow rust. NOPE! its blood. So, we think the shoe came too close to 'white line'. so, she's probably not ride-able for a month.

Grampy went to put her in the turnout this morning, and she was way to sore to even walk out of her stall. poor baby. were gonna buy another Easyboot for her other front soon. So, mom has no horse, leaving her with wilson, and me with whoever isnt being riddin that day.

He clipped her feet differently, a way they do the show horses, because he goes around and studies reputable farriers around NS. and because we respect him, we allow him to try new things.

xx.KH
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m311/harnisk1/DSCF0039-2.jpg

[julia gulia]

why did you want to bring her down a size??:confused: If she's a size two....she's a size two:o

[ImaLittleBoston]

Oh. because her feet we thought could handle a downsize, her feet didnt look like they needed a 2. according to our last and new farrier.

[julia gulia]

hmmmmm seems like they were wrong huh? Good that your mum took them off. How is Willow now?

[ImaLittleBoston]

Munchinggg happiliy in her stall, she got treats, and a nice little epsom salt bath on her feet. but shes still lame, I took her out around the ring, bareback in the halter, and asked her to walk a few steps after we took the shoes off. and she was limpering.

[KarinUS]

Wow. Reading something like this it's tough not to comment on/question the farrier. Please remember that no matter how nice of a guy he is, your first responsibility is to your horse... and that's all I will say about this.
I am guessing he wants her to look more like a QH to fit in with QH show circuit. I think for a draft/QH cross substantial feet are really an asset - a good thing, not a bad thing.
Poor little Willow. She looks sad in the picture. Hope she heals fine and doesn't get an infection.

[ImaLittleBoston]

Thats her before the shoeing :p He was just trying a new tecnique that another farrier showed him, and he has offered us refund. but we dont want money back from him.. because of reasons.. He's a very young farrier, Never a problem with him. He wouldnt have tried if we wouldnt have approoved. so its not really his fault.

[Scarlett 001]

Poor Willow. The lesson here is if her feet are doing well, have a good form to them and she moves fine, then don't try out new things for the sake of it in future. If her feet had underrun heels or there was a major issue like that, then maybe gradual changes are needed. Don't just blame yourself approving though - farriers are the professionals and to some extent we do put our trust in them.

As Karin said, be on the lookout for infection - white line or otherwise. It's possible you may also want a vet to come out and look at her too, to check how serious this issue is. That's what I'd probably do.

[KarinUS]

ImaLittleBoston, blood is a serious thing though. The white line wouldn't bleed. He must have underestimated her hoof size enough to go through live sole. I can tell you really, really like him and maybe it will be great to keep him as a friend. But please don't let him use your horses as guinea pigs.

[ImaLittleBoston]

well.. Still, it is our fault. He said something like he wasnt sure how close he was and if mom still wanted to try, and she said yes. and it didnt hurt her when he put the nails in, shouldnt it have?

[ImaLittleBoston]

Oh. Im not a foot expert.. so.. I'm really interested in why it didnt hurt her. :o .. But i think it was more of taking her foot down a size, than the knew technique, because the new part involved the outer side of the hoof. and rasping off a bit to made it look blacker I beleive.( NOT alot, like, hardly even noticable. less than taken off near bottom)

[Scarlett 001]

well.. Still, it is our fault.

But he should never have suggested doing this in the first place. :( Please don't blame yourselves only. Whether or not you gave the go-ahead, a farrier should not have put you in the position of suggesting something to you that was putting your horse's health in jeopardy. You cannot have this or something else like this happen again to your darling horses.

I still think a vet should be called in to assess the state of her feet and what you should do for healing. Please consider this. Her hoof issue sounds rather serious and you have to get the mending done correctly, or this could have consequences. I'd want a second professional opinion on the mending process for her feet etc.

[ImaLittleBoston]

Lol. Im not being full of myself when I say this..
My mom has experience with the same thing on a friends horse, were they tried getting the shoe size 1 size smaller, resulting in a bruised and bleeding foot. And mom has done alot of reserch on it in the past and recently. and after her foot bath and shoe pulling she seems better, We pulled the shoes, soaked each foot in epsom salts for 20mins each, put Iodine in them, then bandaged, and put a easy-boot on the worst foot. and shes now on rest for the month.. Its not as bad as it sounds.. But im not a foot person..so I may have some things backwards. I rely on mom jackie and charlene for that information

[ImaLittleBoston]

I think im going to do so "clerica" work for a moment.. if its offensive or anything.. just ignore it.

1. My mom works at a vet clinic, shes not the vet, but she learns alot of this stuff.
2. She had a farrier course WAY back when..
3. The vet will probably recommend soaking it and stable rest.. Like they did with Gonzo.
4. She's gotten better since the shoes came off.
5. I LOVE YOU. (Major suck up, because I always manage to say or word this in an offensive way unnintentionally.)

[KarinUS]

I thought you might find this discussion on a farrier board in regards to this subject interesting:
http://www.horseshoes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2501
We love you, too. ;)

[Bay Mare]

well.. Still, it is our fault. He said something like he wasnt sure how close he was and if mom still wanted to try, and she said yes. and it didnt hurt her when he put the nails in, shouldnt it have?

Sorry, but it's completely his fault, he's the professional. You can't let personal feelings get in the way of this.

I still don't understand why you would want to take her feet down a size :confused: and why he would comply. I also don't understand why you'd rasp the foot to make it look blacker.

There shouldn't be blood at all. You can remain friends with him but I'd seriously consider continuing to use him as your farrier.

[HorseyBabe2]

Well I wont give much comment on your farrier, except to say that you said he's young, so I guess he's still learning. Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is whether or not he has learnt from this and wont be doing this sort of thing again..............
From reading your posts I can't help feeling a lot of the blame might lie elsewhere really.

But I too want to ask (anyone - not just ImalittleBoston); why would anyone want to take a horses foot down a size? What is the point? Is this just an image thing? Do people think it looks prettier (like the old chinese foot binding??).

I'm a size 7 - it'd sure hurt if someone tried to make me a size 6...........

[teabiscuit]

it hurts because the farrier nailed into live tissue. the hoof bit is dead, like your finger nail. but under your fingernail, its really sensitive and very live to pain.

have you ever got a splinter of wood or a thorn or a bit of hay or straw jammed down your nail?

it's very painful, and it's just the same for your horse, in fact i bet the pain will be worse for a horse because the hoof is a solid structure and any swelling from the injury has no where to go but in, and put pressure on the internal, live structure of the foot.

hopw willow is feeling better-let us know :)

[Crystal Fire]

One question, maybe your mum could tell you the answer if you don't know. Why try to make a horse's hoof a size smaller than it is?
To understand that might give some insight into why it was felt necessary to do such a radical re-shape of her hoof.
I'm a bit dumbstruck at the thought of a farrier asking the client if he's close to living tissue. Is he qualified or still an apprentice? Or maybe things work differently in the US...

[KarinUS]

I'm a bit dumbstruck at the thought of a farrier asking the client if he's close to living tissue. Is he qualified or still an apprentice? Or maybe things work differently in the US...

The OP is in Canada, not the US, but just as a side note: farriers in the US can be members of a farriers organization - if they choose to. But there's no law that prevents anybody from offering farrier services. If I wanted to, I could place an ad in the paper and start nailing on shoes.
My husband and I have spend more money on hoof care seminars and coaching than most farriers have and we are just owners. Incedently we have taken over our horses hoofcare for the past year ourselves and the feet have never been better...

[JOJOBA]

I just want to pop a reply on this to keep an eye on it because I too am confused as to why you would want to take her feet down a size? :confused:. If her feet are a certain size, then that's their size.... surely? Why try and make them smaller?
I agree that someone should come and take a look at the feet to check no serious damage has been done - feet shouldnt bleed like that. The old saying is true 'no foot, no horse', Id get someone to check they are healing correctly.

xxx

[Crystal Fire]

Yes, I've been thinking about this some more. If her feet bled, then they have been opened to potential infection. You may need to think about protecting her from poo and wee in her feet while she is stabled.
I've got another question. What happens next? Are you going to let her feet go back to their original size? Or try to keep them at the smaller size?
I'm not going to have a go at you, you're a nice kid doing what you think is best for your horse. But this makes me cringe in the same way the Strasser thread does on the NH forum.

[horse babe]

well for 1 maybe changing your farrier all the time is'nt always a good idea and it is'nt your fault he souldnt have done it if he wasnt certain:o if i was you no matter how much of a friend he is dont use him again!:o

[Nik-n-Kia]

Hi

I'm very sorry that your horse has a sore foot and no offence but I think that you are all to blame!!

I had a farrier that I trusted to to my horses feet and he mucked it up completely. I the course of a year he managed to take a normall horses foot and turn it into noheel/all toe foot and Kia was lame for twleve weeks, in constant pain, wouldn't eat and lost a third of his body weight due to infection in his legs through split bruised heels.

My farrier was a friend but he wasn't young and had no excuse. He told me that this was how a cobs feet were suposed to be!!!! Low on the heel and Long at the front!!

Needless to say i fired him and got myself someone who could do his job!!!

Horses feet are not something to be messed with just for cosmetics and you should be ashamed!!! I'm not a nasty person but horses suffering pain for no reason shouldn't be allowed.

Hope I haven't offended anyone too much!!!!

Nikki xxxxx :o

[Scarlett 001]

I still wish that you would consider getting a vet to take a peek - better safe than sorry. The vet not only could advise on short-term treatment, but could offer advice about her future hoof management, and work with a farrier on the best hoofcare for your horses in the future. It sounds as if your farrier may need some guidance from a vet if you still use him despite this. So all-round having a vet out offers more pluses than minuses. Damage has surely been done to the hoof, and I think a professional (i.e., a vet) needs to determine if there is any really serious damage etc. (more than you realize) that a non-vet might not recognize.

[ImaLittleBoston]

Okay, so, willow's feet were a little flared out, and our farrier is ..apprenticing? reputable farriers, and is good at what he does, Thats the first mistake he has made with judgement and horses feet since we've known him.

--called the vet, they said to do the exact same thing were already doing, clean it, soak in epsom salts, bandage, poultice, and put easy boots on her.

[SpyGirl]

I agree with other posters that you should reconsider your choice in farrier. You say it was his first mistake..but a pretty big mistake in my opinion. You never did say why you wanted to take the horse's foot down a size other than she "didn't need to be a 2", which doesn't really make sense to me, but that's just me I suppose. I hope everything goes well in her recovery and I hope everyone involved has learned from this..if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
And just a PS- one farrier course way back when is a little insufficient IMO. Not to say your mother doesn't know what she's talking about, but techniques have changed a lot in the past decade at least.
I hope Willow is happier now.

[Crystal Fire]

Please can you explain why her foot was being reduced to a smaller size? Pretty please? To me that's a bigger question than why he made her foot bleed so badly. Did any of the other hooves bleed btw?

[Stencilbum]

The OP is in Canada, not the US, but just as a side note: farriers in the US can be members of a farriers organization - if they choose to. But there's no law that prevents anybody from offering farrier services. If I wanted to, I could place an ad in the paper and start nailing on shoes.
My husband and I have spend more money on hoof care seminars and coaching than most farriers have and we are just owners. Incedently we have taken over our horses hoofcare for the past year ourselves and the feet have never been better...


I guess the saying in the US is the same as here 'No Hoof - No Horse'

A farriery apprentice has to train in the UK for 5 years under an authorised training farrier, must have a minimum of 5 A grade exams at ordinary level to get started and the course will cost them nearly $20,000 USD.

It is illegal in the UK to shoe or work on a horses hoof and will get hit with heavy fines if caught (apart from emergency repair to take off a shoe or similar).

It costs on average $100 USD for a trim and an all round re-shoe in the UK, but I think that is not a bad thing if the job is done by professionals - which farriers are classed as over here .

To reshape a horses hoof this far purely for cosmetic purposes would have the ILPH or RSPCA banging on the door over here.

I hope the lesson is learnt and more importantly that there will be no lasting damage to the horse.

[Pink's lady]

THIS (http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96628&highlight=farrier)might explain what they were trying to do to her poor feet. :mad: Read the forum link posted. Either that or the farrier is unbeleivably incompetant - that's one hell of a 'mistake' to make:mad:

[emlybob]

I think this whole thing is wrong. Sorry but your farrier shouln't have even tried to make her feet smaller, no wonder she is sore. Unfortunately farriers sometimes test new methods out on their clients horses and sometimes it goes horribly wrong, as it has done in this case. I don't understand why you are sticknig up for him, he is completley to blame. He shouldn't have done this end of story. Your now stuck with a lame horse, that did'nt need to be lame. And there is no way you can have her shod again till her feet grow back to their proper size. I wouldn't let him touch my horse ever again. I won't let apprentices near my boys. I know they have to start somewhere, but they are not experimenting with my horses feet. We have enough problems with lameness in horses without intentionally causing more uneccesary suffering. It sounds cruel to me. And not sure if your brave or stupid having him back. Sorry but this is ridiculous

[ImaLittleBoston]

Her feet went down a size, because everytime she got fitted to a size two, her feet were still a little flared out, and if he took more off, he needed a smaller shoe, But I think hammering it left to much heel or something?

Willlow, loving her foot bath--
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m311/harnisk1/DSCF0122.jpg
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m311/harnisk1/DSCF0123.jpg

[Bay Mare]

Her feet went down a size, because everytime she got fitted to a size two, her feet were still a little flared out, and if he took more off, he needed a smaller shoe, But I think hammering it left to much heel or something?



My final word on this .... that's not how you address flare!

Seriously, hun, you may be friends with him but you have to have a good think about what we've all said and think of your horse's welfare above your friendship with him.


Good luck.

[Stencilbum]

I know many farriers buy their shoes in, but all in the UK will make up a new one from scratch and hot shoe if the horse has an odd size hoof or remedial farriery is needed.

Do they not do this stateside ?

[Crystal Fire]

Thanks for that link Pink's Lady... that is very sad. I think you should read it ImaLittleBoston. I'm afraid the more you say about what your farrier is doing, the worse the picture being painted. He doesn't even know how to address flare, the thought is terrifying. No horse should be left in a state where it has to soak 2 feet in bowls of borax as a result of a farrier visit. If it happened to mine I'd sue. And no farrier with integrity would injure a horse on the say-so of the owner. I'm going to leave this thread now, I can't argue this with you, because you are young and you aren't in control of what happens to your horse, and to be honest you don't understand what we are trying to explain for the good of your horse.
Read that link though, it will explain exactly what is going on, and why it is cruel and wrong.

[Bundle]

Oh. My. God.

I was once told to cut my horses feet down till she bled in order to make sure she fit into a showing class heightwise. The stupid cow didn't have the chance to say much else!

A horses foot is the size they are, cutting them down to size is disgustingly cruel. As said, if you were in the UK, you'd have had her taken off you buy now and you'd be waiting on a court hearing.

Also, your friend the farrier is an APPRENTICE - he should be doing absolutely NOTHING without someone watching over him! Would you let an apprentice mechanic service your car, having watched the ferrari racing team do it once? I certainly would not! Howver good ferrari may be!

How can you and your mother proclaim to even like horses when you torture them by letting some cowboy with a rasp cut her feet till they bleed, I don't know. I do hope she gets better because she does not deserve this un-necessary suffering!

And I hope someone in the US and Canada starts shooting people who think trimming down feet for showing like that is acceptable. I can't believe you people banned horse slaughter and advocate horse torture. You sickos!

[ImaLittleBoston]

Other farriers suggested we try taking her feet down a size smaller.. The werent bleeding when the shoe went on, she wasnt sore for a few days after, so how were we to know? He's been shoeing for 4 year, he still goes around with reputable farriers. Has'nt anybody heard of an appreticeship? you work and follow around somebody, then you do some of that line of work, not straightaway.

Everybody makes mistakes, I dont think I've gotten a commment with that in it yet, excuse me if I'm wrong. Doctors make mistakes, yet, the clients still come a'runnin. The vet said its not serious, we should just leave the flare and keep her feet a size bigger.
Our farrier is far better than any we have had, and like all, he's just putting his love of horses to good work. He doesnt do it for the money, he does it for the horses. and this is why i said say NOTHING about the farrier, because its not right to say things this nasty about him behind his back. I started this thread just to say, willow is lame. Not to say "My farrier sucks a$$, lets all take a peice at him". I think most people would understand by now, after the number of things how rude it is to be saying things about people behind them. He chose this line of work, because he's good at it. I could hate him, and wish him.. you know what.. but I still think he's an amazing shoer, and that he has a good career ahead of him. He just needs to go back to his old technique. Its hard to find a good, affordable, personable farrier down were I live.

...opps..yeah.. I'm just gonna.. shut up now.. because... I tend to start things that I just dont want to finish... and uh..yeah.. I love you?

--edit--- oh yeah, and he doesnt supply the shoe, unless its sliding plates, we buy them at a local farmers shop/
Whats borax? her feet are in epsom salts..

[Lot1983]

Bundle, I understand you are upset, but that is quite harsh.

I basically think ImaLittleBoston is trying to show us how a mistake was made and that they are doing their best to rectify it.

This farrier obviously needs more training, but if you do not communicate to him the horrendous error he has made, how is he going to learn, I doubt he tried to hurt the horse deliberatly and he tried to do something he had seen someone else do even though it was wrong.

ImaLittleBoston, I'm glad that you are there to look after Willow (her bandages look christmassy!!!) please don't let people's comments get to you, a mistake was made and you are obviously looking after her now!

xxx

[HorseyBabe2]

Everybody makes mistakes, I dont think I've gotten a commment with that in it yet, excuse me if I'm wrong.

Well I wont give much comment on your farrier, except to say that you said he's young, so I guess he's still learning. Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is whether or not he has learnt from this and wont be doing this sort of thing again..............
From reading your posts I can't help feeling a lot of the blame might lie elsewhere really.

But I too want to ask (anyone - not just ImalittleBoston); why would anyone want to take a horses foot down a size? What is the point? Is this just an image thing? Do people think it looks prettier (like the old chinese foot binding??).

I'm a size 7 - it'd sure hurt if someone tried to make me a size 6...........

Still don't understand at all why people are suggesting you take his foot down a size though? Do you understand why? I just can't reconcile it :(

[Lot1983]

HorseyBabe 2, in QH's it is seen as more desirable to have smaller feet.

ImaLittleBoston has also said that it was because the farrier was trying to correct the flairs in her hooves, although it has been pointed out that this is the incorrect way to do this.

[Bundle]

Lot, I wasn't even aware that she'd worked out there was something wrong with a horses feet bleeding, tbh.

If a farrier is willing to mutilate an animal at the request of it's owners, then ihe is doing NOTHING out of love for horses, it is ALL about the money.

Iamalittleboston - do stop posting - because the more you post, the more you look like an evil witch who cares nothing about your horse.

It is one thing to let a mate practise shoeing a horse, but to let him try a new technique, without supervision, as a form of correction for the wrong thing?

Madness.

Oh, and an apprentiship is pretty much what my boyfriend is doing. He goes out, WITH THE BOSS, is supervised, BY THE BOSS, learns how to do things WITH THE BOSS. He'd never go out on his own and start cutting animals up.

It sounds like a horror movie. Why not collect some dead horses from the slaugher house for him? At least then he can't cause them any more suffering! Having said that, dead horses don't bleed, so he won't see what a butcher he is.

Also, how messed up is your system over there? Shoes come with the farrier in the UK, he spends ages meticulously measuring the shoes on the sole to ensure the shoe fits the horse perfectly. US farriers are horse murderers by another name, by the sound of it - and buying shoes in a shop? Madness!! Absolute madness!

How can you claim to be animal lovers if butchery is the norm when you shoe?

And what the flying **** is wrong with a quarter horse being desirable IN IT'S ****ING NATURAL STATE!!!

Americans are morons, you really are.

[Keket]

How can you claim to be animal lovers if butchery is the norm when you shoe?

And what the flying **** is wrong with a quarter horse being desirable IN IT'S ****ING NATURAL STATE!!!

Americans are morons, you really are.

You are completely out of line. Yes, what the farrier did to Willow was bad, but I think ImaLittleBoston has learned her lesson and you've got no right to call her an "evil little witch" and tell her to stop posting.

Yes, some people do bad things to their horses. But are you honestly saying that all Americans (ImaLittleBoston is Canadian, I might add, if you didn't know where Nova Scotia is) are guilty of cruelty to their horses, and that only Americans do bad things to their horses?

I have reported this post to the moderators and maybe next time you'll think twice before flying off the handle.

[svenja]

I think that was completely unnecessary Bundle. Although I too am horrified at the farrier- and much as I admire your loyalty, Imalittleboston, I really think you should find someone else to do your horses in future.
I was once told by my vet (in Scotland, not Russia) that I needed to sedate my cat before a flight to avoid stressing him out. He nearly died because of it. I was horribly upset and blamed myself but I honestly had no idea this was bad for him (apparently you should never, ever sedate them on a flight as their blood pressure drops.)
You can't beat yourself up about it, you didn't know any better at the time- and it looks like you're doing a great job looking after Willow and making sure he/she (?) gets better (I'd get the vet out at the same- bleeding is pretty serious.) But the farrier, inexperienced or not, SHOULD have know better as that seems to me like a pretty basic mistake to make. He could have lamed the horse for life.
Good luck with everything (gorgeous looking horse I may add.):)

[Bundle]

I'm sorry, but Lot's mother FORCED the farrier to keep going cos she wanted small feet!

And that is sickening! or are you all in denial of that?

Report me all you like, I won't even think once on it. I'll just come back until Lot realises she and her mother shouldn't be allowed around animals.

She and her mother are evil and caused poor willow unnecessary suffering by using a farrier who's not even trained, without supervision.

In this country, that is illegal. Shame lot isn't in the UK so we could charge her for it.
America and canada are cruel if butchering live horses is legal!!

[martini55]

Woah woah woah! I think we need to calm this down before it gets out of hand. Firstly, I don't think we can call I ImaLittleBoston a 'wicked witch', she is only 14 and is being told that her horse has to go down a shoe size by her farrier and mum. How would she know any better?

Unfortunately for all concerned though, it has turned out that they were wrong and now they won't make the same mistake again. I hope that you have learned from this experience. I think that you should have researched into it first- then you could have seen what could potentially go wrong- and discuss it with the actual farrier rather than the apprentice. After all he is still learning. Not to say that apprentice's aren't any good- it's my farrier's apprentice that does Martini's feet and he has started to come unsurpervised now. He does a great job.

I just don't understand the whole concept of going down a foot size though, it's seems really bizarre to me, a horse is born with a certain size hoof. What can be gained from changing that?

[Bundle]

Okay, her mother is a wicked witch, and I hope she lets her know that. Some people just shouldn't have animals. *shakes head*

[Katie_85]

Bundle, you're done. This kind of attack on other members is not tolerated.

MODERATOR Katie_85 (An American moron)

[Stella2]

Now that Katie has dealt with Bundle's ridiculously aggressive posts, I just want to say that I'm truly shocked and almost speechless (not a common occurance). I didn't know that in any country there was a practice of 'taking feet down a size' for the show ring or 'image'. Its amazing what cruel things we (humans) will do to horses to fit our wishes to win or look good isn't it? If the farrier is practicing in an area when this is common practice, he will find a way of justifying it to himself or have no business. It doesn't make it right, but people's behaviour is inevitably influenced by having to pay their mortgage :(

Imalittleboston said that the farrier and her mother wanted to take the horse's feet down a size. The farrier wouldn't have done it without the mother wanting it, so primarily it seems to me the mother's responsibility. I agree with the other poster who said that as Imalittleboston is only 14 years old, her mother and the farrier agreed this, she can't really be expected to know it was wrong.

Nevertheless, imo, this practice is very wrong :(

[Pink's lady]

I just don't understand the whole concept of going down a foot size though, it's seems really bizarre to me, a horse is born with a certain size hoof. What can be gained from changing that?

Do read the forum KarinUS linked in her post I linked (confusing!). It explains what they were trying to do (sorry, but I don't buy the 'removing flare' story). In the US it is desirable for QH to have as small feet as possible. And it's not genetic - people are delibertatly sqeezing their horses feet into too-small shoes for the desired effect. You don't get placed if your QH has big feet:(

It's cruel and inhumane and luckly most farriers seem to hate doing it but are under pressure from owners and co.

Hopefully the lesson is learnt and ILB and her mum don't try it again.

[martini55]

Do read the forum KarinUS linked in her post I linked (confusing!). It explains what they were trying to do (sorry, but I don't buy the 'removing flare' story). In the US it is desirable for QH to have as small feet as possible. And it's not genetic - people are delibertatly sqeezing their horses feet into too-small shoes for the desired effect. You don't get placed if your QH has big feet:(

It's cruel and inhumane and luckly most farriers seem to hate doing it but are under pressure from owners and co.

Hopefully the lesson is learnt and ILB and her mum don't try it again.

I guess I should have read the entire thread properly:o It is appalling, in my opinion, that not only would someone want to make the foot smaller for cosmetic reasons but that it is not only being accepted in shows but is desirable? And that farrier's are going ahead and doing it even though they know what damage it can do:mad: It still does not make sense to me that a small foot is desirable on a big stocky animal. Madness.

[Pink's lady]

But farriers in certain area's must be surrounded by nothing other than showing QH. If they say no, someone else will just do it, and they're out of a job. It doesn't make it right (in fact it makes me livid:mad: ) but life isn't always fair. At least those farriers on KarinUS's link are trying to do something about it.

[ImaLittleBoston]

Ooh.. great.. I did not mean to start this and get somebody banned.. we didnt do it for show appearance.. willow wont be shown again until september. (and for anybody that would have a smart reply to that, only because I dont want to show her in anything but games classes, so im waiting for queens county exhibition again) .. I sorry I started this. If somebody could lock the thread it would me much appreciated. I never should have started a thread about the farrier making a mistake, and willow being lame because of it. I dont think anybody should be saying im a 'witch' I hear it enough at school with a 'b' infront of it, but on this topic, that was completely uncalled for. But still, I would rather you send me to the wolves, instead of the farriers.
Good Day,
Kaley.

[martini55]

ImaLittleBoston I wasn't saying that you were doing what you did for showing purposes, I was commenting of the link posted by KarinUS. Just incase you thought I was directing my last post at you I wasn't.

[Stella2]

Kaley, you didn't cause trouble by posting the thread and the only person who called you a witch was someone who was clearly out to cause trouble and she caused herself to be banned. The other views that you may have found difficult to hear were just expressions of concern about your horse and the practice of making feet smaller. No-one (apart from that one trouble causer) was having a go at you :)

[JOJOBA]

get somebody banned
People get themselves banned!
I think Bundle was well out of order.

Imalittleboston, I was impressed that you kept your cool and seemed to be taking this thread as much as possible in the spirit it was intended - to look out for you and your horses best interests :). Dont be disheartened by people's replies, they are just trying to be helpful and stop something like this happening again.

xxx

[chev]

Kaley, you got nobody banned.

The person in question got themselves banned.

Closing this now; hope Willow is better soon and your mum and farrier stick to shoeing her with the right size now.

But none of this was your fault.