farrier recomendations

hi all, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

i need to find a farrier to deal with the 2 bretons, they have not got good feet, better than they once were but still not good, the biggest problem is finding some farrier who will not upset them, i spent ages getting gerry to be done by our old farrier at 1st gerry needed sedation and hanging onto for grim death.....

ditto for ANYthing else to do with gerry out of normal daily routine! just as gerry got ok with that farrier he quit to go in the army (the farrier not gerry!) & we had to start over with a new guy.

chance is more on the cool dude side, but even he needed work to get over his original shakes. however to be honest chance has not had a lot done with him for about a year & he was a bit too silly with the farrier last time up at lyns even though the guy was great.

so i really need to find the right farrier, someone technically good & paitient, they may not even get to do gerry for the 1st visit & they may not get all of gerry's feet done each visit, he sort of reaches his limit of nerves & thats that.

but they need work & soon, both have badly broken up feet, i think a feed suppliment may be needed, our old vet did say crappy feet can happen after a liver problem like they had as 18mth -2y olds & as we all know the dry/wet/dry weather is no friend to feet.

i live just north of St Hilaire du harcouet 50600

i am told you can't post on a forum numbers & names of vets, farriers etc so you will have to PM me the details
thanks bye [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Good Luck with that salee, I talk from experience when I say "it's a nightmare" these big horses are too big for their feet so if they have bad horn it's very difficult to find a farrier who will take them on, especially if they mess about, I wouldn't like to be underneath them when they decide that they've had enough, and just to cheer you up, if you do find someone....... it costs!! and it needs to be done regularly or you're wasting your time Farriers Formula is in my humble opinion the best suppliment by far and can completely change the hoof, for the better, there are cheaper options, but I speak as I find. You can buy it cheaper on line, but it does cost, you have to give these big horses larger amounts, and they need to be on it for at least nine months.
So no cheap, quick fix here I'm afraid But like they say "No foot, No horse"
pen

some things are worth paying for the best off, some you can get by on a budget copy, the trick is knowing which is which!

their feet when i 1st got them were the usual neglected 'aladdins slippers' with heels almost on the floor and splits in the sides & toe,

i would guess gerry had NEVER had his feet handled since birth, his were almost crippling him - thats why we had to take the drastic action to heavilly sedate him for a farrier to get a quick chop job done, there was no way even swaying with sedative anyone would have put gerry's foot inbetween their legs to use a rasp!

even after almost 3 years the farrier still couldn't rasp gerry, they just cut the hoof back and relied on the gritty stoney ground & concrete floor to wear the edges off.

what really knackered their feet was they had been fed a beef cow quick weight gain feed to max their bulk for the meat trip, this is over rich & contains way too much trace minerals & metals such as copper & zinc, great for a beef cow......toxic to a horse,

as a result they got inflamed livers, their massive over weight dropped to well below normal in a matter of weeks, then we had a juggling act to not strain their digestive system but still give more calories than normal as they were inefficiently digesting their food. if it had been summer than 24/7 grass would have been the answer, but try & find grazing for 2 young entire big boys in winter 'cos i couldn't.

eventually after well over a year, their system balanced out but it has left its mark on foot growth & a tendancy to a pot bellied look.

but i think once we get the feet back in shape again after a good 6 months of almost no attention & hopefully them in some sort of work the hoof should respond by putting out better horn...well thats the hope anyway [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] bye, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi salee, I guess you must have had a farrier visit by now. How did they get on?

pen[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

no not yet, they are overdue but their feet have improved since they came home, maybe the wetter ground here helped, the rough bits have come off naturally and they have grown out the cracks, frankly they look fine, i would expect their frogs could do with a tidy-up but in general

the pair of them regularly tank about the fields & go walkies at night on the yard which is stoney so i think nature has done a pretty good job.

just as well as gerry is still acting the pratt.

watching them run about i am itching to ride it's taking all my will power to resist, i am so looking forward to when chance goes off for training.

bye [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]