Other Horse with Laminitis: Shoeing opinions

I hope you didn't think I was directing that at you. I just thought the question about cost was absurd. Cost affects everything that everyone does.
why would I spend more money for something that is not providing what I need.

I would never up to spend more if I can get something for the same quality at a lesser price.

No I understand! And I agree. Just frustrated.

I understand your frustration..............it's like going to a doctor.......you have to keep interviewing until you find a farrier who you feel comfortable helping your horse.......He is foundered.....you need to find a farrier who can help your horse with this founder.
I think a third opinion is needed and another's vet opinion at looking at the x-rays.

I only see one set of pictures where the horse is wearing shoes. You haven't posted any evidence of what the last shoeing looked like on the day it was done. If you are referring to how the feet look before they were trimmed, it appears that there was plenty of foot to work with and that the foot had been let go too long since the last shoeing.

You said the previous farrier was doing the horse at 4 weeks, but the feet in the pictures are at 6 weeks. So you exceeded the previous farrier's recommended interval. Then you say the current farrier wants to go 8 weeks. But in your "before" pictures it looks like there is about 1/2" of wall sticking out past the sole. IMO, you should have had a farrier working on it sooner before it spread out from being too long. So I concur with the previous farrier's 4 week recommendation based on how much foot is sticking out at 6 weeks.

It also appears that the horse was hot fit in the previous job - foot surface shows seared horn. The current job is obviously done cold. Cold shoeing in and of itself is not a bad thing, but I do wonder why anyone would not want to cozy up to the forge and work hot shoes in January.

Bottom line, you are not comparing apples to apples and you've put a value on what your horse is worth to you.

My question is why hasn't there been any kind of support for the frog and address alot of issues that are standing out that everyone has mentioned? You do need a good set of xrays so your Farrier or any Farrier can see what he/she is dealing with..also do you have any idea WHY it has laminitis issues? Was it feed induced or mechanical ? If you want your horse to get better you do need to get someone on board to help you..Good Luck!

I agree he should have been done sooner then the 6 weeks he was at but that was when the current farrier was able to make it. I don't believe the current one hot shoes. Previous one always did. I don't disagree with every 4 weeks if that is what he needs but current farrier thought it was "absurd" to have him done every four weeks. His thoughts not mine. I dont even usually let the unshod horses go for as long as he is suggesting. We have no idea what caused the laminitis. I was thinking of having him tested for IR. my problem is he had had no feed changes, it was fall so no new grass and he was practically in a dry lot anyway, wasn't being worked.. He'd been shod since early spring because of foot soreness all the way around. He is fed alfalfa or alfalfa/grass mix and stable smart pellet which is low starch. That is also what he had been on for 8 months or so before laminitis. We had xrays taken in the fall.

The finished job is better than what he started with.

Pretty is the culmination of many parts of the job coming together.

Assuming he doesn't have another laminitic attack the foot will probably grow down and your horse will be fine.

That said, the job is a disgrace to the Farrier community. Horse owners who hire people who do this type of work are encouraging more people to do this type of work. Unlike George, I didn't spend so much time learning the trade so I could stand by and have someone make a mockery of the trade.

Would that same board investigate neglegent horse owners, bounced checks, bad horses, training issues, natural horsemanship, etc........

As you stated earlier a lot goes into how a shoeing job ends up. I bet you would find that 1% of horse owners would file 99% of the complaints. What is happening on the east cost were you and Linda live? Perhaps its time for you guys to start putting on some big clinics and inviting every farrier you come across to jump in the truck with you.


On another note how is this helping the OP?

Was this horse better barefoot then with this most recent set of shoes? Or are the shoes helping the horse?

So is the OP going to acknowledge this recommendation?

We are talking about taking him to Cornell. That was taken into consideration. It is about an hour and a half to travel to get there from our barn probably more with the trailer. He is more sound then when he was barefoot. I don't know if he is any better from one set of shoes to the next. We haven't been able to get him out of the barn to watch him. Does anyone know the procedure for going there?

It starts with a phone call............ I think this one will work: (607) 253-3127

I did on November 17th of this year. I put over 6 months advancement into it; had flyers made up and Crownstone Feed put it in their website.; invited every know shoer I could get ph numbers for; advertised in the AFA newsletter; had Chris Bunting fly over from England and stay for 2 weeks; and cooked a huge Turkey dinner and it was all FREE!! at my expense.......
AND only 5 guys showed up!!!!

Awesome, Awesome! Keep it going. Excellence creates more excellence!

The article on laminitis here: http://www.forgemagazine.co.uk/site/index-1newsarchivefeb11.html

may be of interest to you. especially the section on shoeing the chronic laminitic at the end.
Hope this helps.

Thank you!!

Gary mentioned frog support earlier. This horse has many of the same problems as yours, this is a reset from this morning. Only this horse is in his thirties. But is a chronically foundered horse.I am by no means a lameness guru but this works well for this horse

looks good. What are you using under the pad and do you apply any sort of topical to the dorsal wall(ie: Durasole or the like) to harden the exposed unpigmented stratum medium and lamina?

I just used a hall style of packing in the comasure. the frog is in contact with the pad. and that dorsal hoof wall was like a rock.

I love those pads, that work for alot of differant situations.