My guy still has issues finishing his turn on first barrel only. Spent 6 hours at equine hospital yesterday. Full work up, blocks, flexions, radiographs. Radiographs are pretty perfect, no issues in front feet whatsoever on x rays such as navicular changes or ringbone. Has pretty significant neck pain. Vet thinks it's due to semi improper shoeing on front feet. Medial and lateral are off. Too small of a shoe on. The farrier there, put new front shoes on. Based on what we saw on the x-rays. Will be a gradual change over the course of multiple shoeing's. Very off-balance on the front, that thinks that is the main reason why his neck is so sore. I couldn't get a hold of my current farrier when I was at the vets, so I'm hoping he doesn't take offense to a different type of new shoes. I feel like I should have waited Until my next farrier appointment to make a change, but the vets and on staff farrier were pretty Surprised at how off-balance he is on his front feet. I wasn't trying to step on my current farriers toes. I'm hoping he doesn't let me go as a client. I wasn't trying to be rude. After we made a shoeing change and put on new shoes, we took more radiographs and it looked a hair more balanced. Making a gradual change instead of a significant change. I'm just stressed now because I feel like my current farrier is going to be mad at me, and I wasn't trying to make a bad decision or step on his toes, I was just under a lot of stress yesterday trying to figure out this issue. And trying to make the best decision for my horse. The current farrier that I have, is considered in my area and surrounding area the best of the best. I do like him, and I don't have a lot of choices in my area at all. Two summers ago, my horse was losing a shoe a week. Always on a different foot. My farrier was getting irritated it seemed, so he put a hunter type shoe on him. Which I guess is considered a very small shoe. But they are less likely to pull a shoe. The vet yesterday didn't think just putting on a smaller shoe was a great idea. In the long run.

That is also thinking maybe a minor soft tissue inflammation in right hind. Going to do an ultrasound on Tuesday if she can get here with all the snow we are going to get this upcoming week. She doesn't think it is a tear whatsoever. Just some inflammation. She's thinking she wants to do a round of muscle relaxers for his neck to get the inflammation down. Was slightly off on the right hind fetlock. When we blocked it. I mean very minor. 90% of people probably wouldn't see it. So hopefully the ultrasound will show us some thing on Tuesday. She did a few neck x-rays, but that didn't really show anything. But when she palpated certain spots on his neck he was extremely reactive.

I didn't sleep at all last night, because I feel like my farrier is going to be very mad at me. I tried to make a good decision yesterday with the on-site farrier, But I feel like I stepped on my current for your toes when that's not what I was trying to do. We wanted to make a slight change yesterday and then do an x-ray to see what it showed after. 
The vet wants me to do a Bute trial today. 2 g of Bute two hours before I ride. And see If I notice a difference. I told her once in a blue moon I have tried to run him on 1 g of bute, and I don't feel a difference when it comes to improving his right barrel turn.

The vet said that she hopes we don't have to chase a problem. Because I'm not bringing in a horse that is lame. Just finishing his turn, right hand only is not very good. And now I feel like we might be chasing some thing that we might never figure out. And I guess I was just hoping for like stifle injections or something. I'm very happy that his radiographs are clean though. 
Has anyone tried the equi sport horse massager? It's around $250. Even though we are making some shoeing changes to help his balance, and hopefully to relieve some of his neck pain. Was wondering if that would be beneficial for me to buy.

Since the Vet and On Staff diagnosed your horse with a history of bad shoeings...................Why would you be worried about antnogizing (sp) your farrier? Your current farrier is the source of your horse's problems!

I know, I agree. But I feel maybe I should have waited until my next appointment to make a change without talking to him about it. I'm sure he will drop me as a client. My trainer, and who owns the barn I board at only uses him, because she feels and a lot of other people feel that he is the best of the best. He travels all over the world to shoeing competitions. I don't want to burn my bridge with anyone. And I'm sure he's going to be upset that his shoes were taken off and someone else's were put on. When the equine hospital emails me the radiographs, I will forward them onto him and just explain what we did. And ask him what his opinion is and if he is still comfortable shoeing my horse or not. Is that how you would go about it? I'm not looking to make him feel bad, but I am going to forward the vets recommendations to him. 

If a vet and a vet's farrier told me that my horse's feet were messed up and not balanced, I personally would not let the farrier i had been using ever touch one of my horses again--ever-- let alone worry about that farrier being mad at me for any decisions i made on behalf of my horse's welfare.

I think for some reason my trainer is worried that I'm going to make him upset and he's not going to do anyone else's horses in her barn anymore. She said for her personal horse, she NEEDS him. I've never made a scene, not looking to make a scene, but I do want to show him the vets report when she's done with it and the radiographs. X-rays don't lie. When I first moved to the barn, we were only allowed to use this farrier. This was a little over two years ago. He has horrible communication skills. And never gets back to you. So she allowed another farrier to come in as well. I'm sure I'm going to have to trailer out if I choose a new farrier,Because she won't allow anyone else in the barn. Because she is so worried that her farrier is going to be upset.

If I were your trainer, I would be more worried that my horses are jacked up like yours. I wouldn't care if he ever came back. It's very unlikely that your horse is the only one he messed up. I am older and have learned to stand up for my horse, he can't do it himself. Your horse's welfare comes before people's feelings. I was scared to make people mad when I was younger and then I learned just because everyone says someone is the best, doesn't always make it so. 

I agree with you. It was definitely an eye-opener seeing his radiographs on his front feet. When I get the vet report back and the radiographs emailed to me I am going to forward them to him and see what he has to say. I'm definitely not saying I am going to stay with him by any means. I think I am going to try the on site farrier. But I do want my horses current farrier to know what is going on, so he can see his work. And the results..

YOU are the customer!  Remember that.  You now have a diagnosis from another professional and if he can't respect that, you can take your business elsewhere.

Where are you located at?  In my opinion, if the farrier is that good he wouldn't care if another shoer was on the place or not, he should have enough confidence in his work that people would choose him over the other person.  However it sounds like he wasn't that good (at least on your horse) anyway so no great loss if he is mad.

1- imbalance doesn't typically occur just one time so it's likely it's been an ongoing issue which needs to be addressed. And you addressed it.

2- sometimes you just need to get a set of x rays to know what's going on with the hoof capsule. Many farriers understand this and encourage x rays to be taken. Some get all offended... you don't need that kind of a farrier if that's the case. 

3- you have to advocate for your horse. Sometimes it means using a different farrier for a shoeing or two. Sometimes it means firing them. Your horse's soundness is what matters. If your farrier can't handle the fact he needs to change what he's doing, you need a new farrier. I've seen more than one horse crippled because the owner was too afraid to step on her farriers toes and they just let him keep on doing a ****ty job. 

It's hard to explain. He can  forge a nice shoe, but has been getting lazy with his work. Very cocky.I let him go once before due to significant communication issues. You can text him every single day for two weeks, and he still won't get back to you. I am the type of client, I've never once had to reschedule an appointment, I'm always early. My horse is always clean with his hooves picked out. Always pay cash. Never rude. But that doesn't matter to him. He knows that he can replace any of his clients.He has a waiting list of probably 50 people that want him as their farrier. He is really big on toe clips for front shoes. Like I said in my earlier post, two summers ago, my horse was losing literally one shoe a week. Always a different shoe. I don't think he was the happiest every time I texted him, but sometimes a week or two would go by and he still didn't have a shoe on. Because just very poor communication skills with his clients. So he put my horse in what he calls a hunter type shoe. Which is a much smaller shoe than maybe what they really need. But I guess less likely to pull shoes. I was hesitant about this, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can about shoeing. The shoes always looked very tight, with very little heel support. 
I have no problem switching farriers. I don't think my trainer wants me to, because she doesn't want anyone making our current farrier  upset in anyway. Because she said she absolutely needs him for her horse. Like, she doesn't even really seem to care about what's going on with my horse. It's just she doesn't want anyone to ruin anything with her horse. I don't know what she thinks I'm going to do, make a scene or something ??‍?? But I'm certainly not going to..And if I switch farriers, I know she won't let the person I choose come to her barn. She will make me take my horse off property.

You are a vet. And I appreciate your opinion. I'm trying to learn as much as I can with shoeing, but there's a lot to it! In your opinion, did I do anything wrong at the hospital yesterday when it comes to having their on-site farrier  Pull his front shoes and put a completely different shoe  on? I guess I'm just afraid at my next appointment with my usual farrier he's going to be very angry with me. 

A good farrier would not go down a size smaller to fix a horse that keeps losing shoes, they would work on why they were losing shoes period. I have know a few farriers in my day that went down a size to do a quick fix and ruined these horses, they were to lazy to figure out the problem. 

You are paying for a good job, dont let these people make you feel you are in the wrong. You are having to pay vet bills now because of a farrier that dont want to look for the reason of lost shoes, you have every right to get a second opinion.. I had this same problem a few years back and my farrier and I worked together and fixed the shoe pulling problem, we had to shorten up his back hooves a tad and square up his toe a bit sense he would pull off his front shoes by over reaching. 

How is your gelding doing?

Doing good with the slight new shoeing change. Vet canceled for tomorrow. Too much snow coming overnight. So she had to reschedule for the 26. To watch me ride him and do the ultrasound on his right hind. Bummer, but can't control the weather. Still very sore in his neck. She said she was going to prescribe a round of muscle relaxers for his neck. But I'm assuming she will do that when she comes next Friday. Going to order some runners relief and start that on his right hind.

I've had x-rays done of a horse's feet and texted them to the farrier.  I wasn't worried about him being offended; after all, nobody has x-ray vision and (most) do their best to shoe the horse according to its conformation. My farrier was happy to get the x-rays so he could work to get the horse better.  But, he's a professional and doesn't let his ego get the better of him. 

In my experience, my farrier has never been upset when the vets corrected a shoeing tactic, or suggested their on-site contracted farrier while I was there. I wouldn't worry too much about how he feels. Just be transparent with him. Any good farrier wants to improve his art. Explain what the vet and vet's farrier said and he should be understanding.

This explains a whole lot.    A farrier who's NOT worried about piffing people off is a HUGE issue.     They are more worried about money than they are about the horse most of the time in my experience!

SOMETIMES if you call them out on their crap they'll straighten up, but you have to be an eagle and zoned in on their work every single time.  Don't ever let them come over and work on your horse without someone there to call them out. 

Other times, I've had them do worse work.    Toodles, you're never coming near my horse. I'll do them myself first. 

See if you vet can recommend a new farrier.  It's better for your horse to have a good one than worry about what Guy A screwed up and may keep screwing up.  

So much about this post has me aggrivated! I don't like the sounds of your farrier, his attitude, or his theory on shoeing based on what you've explained. Also, I'm annoyed by your trainer's opinion that you need to stay quiet so she can keep her guy. What about your horse? You did the right thing. Any farrier who is offended by changes made while at a very thorough vet visit isnt worth keeping. 

I wanna echo what horsegirl said. This really aggravates me too. I obviously do not know your relationship with your trainer, but I would be very tempted to move barns as it is clear she is not concerned for the welfare of your horse. ESPECIALLY since a veterinarian is concerned and told you the farrier is the problem. I took my mare to the vet, actually on recommendation of my farrier because he noticed her feet growing a little unevenly, and he was super curious to hear what the vet had to say to see if he had any recommendations on how to change her shoeing and he just wanted to know what was going on in general. THAT is the kind of farrier I want on my team. Many, many years ago, my mare went lame and I found out it was due to my farrier. Turns out, he had poor communication as well, so it was easy to find another farrier and move on, although I did not board at the time so did not have to deal with a trainer fighting against me. I am really bothered by how your trainer is responding to the situation.

No. I don't think you did anything wrong. If you can get a head start on fixing your horse, with the guidance of your vet and a farrier who can shoe him appropriately and get x rays if needed, why not take the opportunity to get it done? 

If I had a shoer that was that far off and making them sore, I wouldnt use him again. Good shoers can tell how a horse travels and get everything almost 100% correct unless it is a hidden NPA or something crazy on xrays. If I were you, I wouldve done the more dramatic changes to the horses feet while you were at the vet, instead of just hair changes. If you do go back to your old shoer, it is easier for them to start up where the last guy left off if significant changes were made and it is better for your horse. If you have a rock in your shoe you dont cut the rock in half, you take the whole darn thing out.

Thank you, I appreciate your advice. Both vets and the on-site farrier both agreed that a more gradual change would be better for my horse. I will be going back to the equine hospital in a few months to make sure we are going in the correct way still.