Hi all, Im posting here as Im looking for some advice. I keep my horse with a friend... he was last trimmed in May 2012, and then they had turned him out with a couple of other horses on some land they have as I was not going to be around for a couple of months. I returned at the end of July, and began bugging them to bring him back to the farm for me, so that I could get my hands on him again. He finally cam home a few days ago, and I went out to visit him and was horrified at the shape his feet were in. There is a crack running up one of his hoofs all the way to the coronary band. We live in a rural area, where it is not easy to get a farrier out, I have already called the regular farrier and he says he cant get out for another 3 weeks when he was regularily scheduled to be out at the farm anyways. Im currently trying to find anyone who I can bring out to trim him and look at him, I have even put in a call to a girl advertising as a barefoot trimmer. Im feeling pretty desperate, I would do just about anything to get someone to look at it and tell me what needs to be done, or what I can do in the meantime until the farrier can make it out. Can anyone give me any information, advice or suggestions for things I can do for the horse until I can get someone to look at it? Im feeling sick to my stomach over it.... I have never encountered this in any of my horses in over 20 years of being a horse owner.
Well thanks George. If the barefoot trimmer calls back, I will indeed pass on her services. I just dont know if it is ok to wait 3 weeks for the regular farrier to get out, or if I should be paying one an arm and a leg to travel in.
Kimberley would it be possible to haul the horse to your Farrier? I have shod horses before in Motel parking lots!
Was there a defect in the coronary band before (there is now) ? That may explain why the wall is weaker at that particular place. It looks like it may be a surface crack only, maybe caused by expansion and contraction of the wall due to moisture variation. If you look at the bottom of the hoof, does it go all the way through wall to the white line? If not, it probably isn't as bad as you think, but it is now a weakness in the wall that could worsen if ignored, and could be a bacteria trap. I agree with George, but as Steve posted, the sooner you can get it looked at the better. A picture of the bottom of the hoof would tell us more. Regards
Hauling him to a farrier is an excellent idea, unfortunately I dont have a truck and trailer anymore either. I have used all my resources and searched out three other names for farriers who may be able to get out to me sooner, just waiting to hear back from them. I will take a picture of the bottom of the hoof this evening and post it! I picked up some antiseptic wash and am going to keep it as clean as I can in the meantime. We have had a lot of sudden changes in the moisture levels out here with bone dry weather and heavy rain storms that come and go in a flash. I am in St Paul, Alberta ( Canada). Just hearing that its probably not as bad as I think has made a world of difference. Thank you so much to everyone who has responded. I really appreciate it.
Had a farrier call me back last night, and even though he is on vacation and in the middle of haying, he came out and fixed my horse up! He put five staples across the the crack, and said I can still ride my horse as long as he isnt showing any signs of being sore. Thanks all!
