The reign of a new farrier has begun

So the new farrier came out promptly at 9am, and it was a good start to arrive on time. We all know how that can go. Anyways, he was very polite, but got right down to business with the horses. He had an apprentice with him named Nick, who seemed very knowledgeable as well. I liked them right off the bat. They also made it quite clear that they are both long-time horse people, and you may be surprised how many farriers really have no genuine horse knowledge.

Anyways, they started out on Bella, and I told them her recent shoeing record. We'd had the same farrier for 6 years before I 'let him go', to put it nicely. His work was slipping, he was starting to get unbearably cocky (because I got him a gig shoeing my trainer's Olympic horse in Florida, along with the rest of our barn), and then he had the audacity to put Bella in glue-ons while she was in Florida, without my consent, and charge me $600. When I refused to pay, he started saying some nasty things about me, so I fired him. I didn't go into that much detail with the new guys, Mike and Nick, but I informed them that she had been in glue-ons, I hated them, and that I'd had a lot of trouble procuring a farrier these last 9 weeks. When they started to work on her, I was instantly impressed. They kept chatting about Bella's conformation: they loved her shoulder, she had a great frame for muscle. When they went to pull her back shoes, Nick and Mike both noted that she was stiff in her hocks. I had noticed this while riding her three days ago, and I was deeply thrilled to have found someone so astute in their work. I'm not happy she's still stiff, but I'm glad I have someone who knows their stuff working on my horse. Mike said, since she's only 8, that it's probably just because her hind end was really out of balance.

Now, I've had problems with this before. When she came out of glue-ons the first time, two summers ago, her back feet were so badly balanced that it actually knocked her hips out of alignment to the point where she couldn't track up under saddle anymore. I had to have a chiropractor come out and work on her several times, and have a discussion with the farrier. It's been a weight on my shoulders ever since, so needless to say, this stiffness has me a little concerned. I told them I was just playing it by ear, hoping that getting a good trim and put back in balance makes the difference. If not, I might be giving Stephanie, my chiro/massage therapist, another call. That's another $80 out of my pocket! But hey, for the love of my horse...

So here are some pictures of the work. I'm no expert, and Mike said it would take 2 or 3 shoeings before her feet were evenly balanced again, but his goals are to add heel up front, balance her hind end, and fixed the sheared heels in back so that her front feet can be shaped the same again.

Her 'worst' front foot, the one counter-balancing her sheared left hind heel. Definitely broken up and dry:(

Her right hind. They're very upright, which I'm not sure if it's part of the transition or not...

He spent considerable time shaping the shoes so that they provided a lot of heel support, without interfering with her sole or stride. I liked that he really took that into consideration, because it's something I see a lot of, the shoe hitting the frog/sole.

Anyways, I've decided to give him at least the 2 to 3 shoeings he mentioned, before I make a decision. We'll see how Bella goes. Hopefully she's comfortable, because I really like both of them. They were professional and timely, which goes a long way in my book these days.

On an entertaining note, Patrick threw a pitchfork at me today. Literally. He picked it up with his teeth while I was putting Bailey in her stall, and chucked it straight at me. I even have a red mark on my arm. Ridiculous.

Also, I gave Bailey an apple today, and she knew she wanted to eat it...she just couldn't figure out how for the life of her. Poor dear. It turned into a mushy pulp in my hand before she got it all down.

And lastly, Scooter's bleached spot is growing. It's progressing down his hind leg now. I wasn't aware horses changed colors as they age, but Scooter had made it a point to stand out from the crowd!