12/03/2020
Is your horse tricky for the farrier?
After many chats with a good farrier friend of mine and some interesting cases recently I thought we would share some insights.
While watching one of ours be shod the other day, I noticed that the positions these horses legs need to be put in aren’t dis-similar to a stretching or assessment routine we do during a Physio session- difference being during Physio these come after a period of being trotted up, palpated and then soft tissue/massage work, basically when the horses joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments are warm and supple-not straight from a stable or field where the horse may have been stood cold while waiting for the farrier to turn up. Now this is by no means a criticism to farriers- warming up a horse and worrying about this is not in their job description- they don’t always have the time for this- this is an owners responsibility.
If your horse has known or even unknown issues within it’s body somewhere- being asked into these positions while cold is going to feel uncomfortable- hence standing still and being well behaved may be very difficult. Task for you guys- get out of bed in the morning, put your leg up high on something and stand there, while someone comes along and tap’s you- how easy do you find it? Some people will find that easy- some won’t even be able to get their leg up to rest it on something. But do it again after moving about for a while, or after a few stretches- it should get easier.
So a horse being stiff and sore in the body could be a contributing factor to not standing well for the farrier- another could be a lack of balance.
We had a client the other day- nothing too serious through it’s musculoskeltal system to palpate but as soon as I picked up any of its legs there was an obvious lack of balance and proprioception. It struggled to even stand on 3 legs, let alone be stretched! On which the owner stated- that the mare was awful for the farrier, they couldn’t even shoe it behind. So, we treated the horse and left the owner a rehab and strengthening program- consisting of core stability, balance and proprioception exercises. We return 3 weeks later- owner reported improvements and for us-it was like seeing a different horse, it looked much stronger and it felt it too. Picked up its legs and it was stable, we were able to move the limb around and even managed to stretch it in all different directions and the horse was happy and relaxed- very different to 3 weeks previous. Last week got an amazing text- farrier had been and said horse had stood like a rock! Owner and farrier couldn’t believe it!
So many times, a horse gets blamed for being a pain in the **** for the farrier, we are guilty of passing that blame- and don’t get us wrong some horses just are- either through past bad experiences or just through the character they are. However, we have now found there are lots of little things we can try that might make a difference.
1. Make sure your horse has been checked by a Physio to make sure there isn’t something going on- however small- that may make standing on 3 legs or having legs in certain positions uncomfortable
2. If you can exercise your horse before the farrier comes, let the blood get pumping round the body and let muscles and joints get moving
3. If you think your horse has some balance issues, again contact your local Physio and have the conversation with them about balancing exercises (these can all be done in the stable or field-they are very easy but so effective)
4. If your horse has been checked over and there are no known issues, introduce some leg stretches just before the farrier turns up. (Horse must be warm before you stretch to prevent injury)
Remember- horses aren’t naturally difficult animals- if something is mis-behaving or not being co-operative there is normally an underlying cause.
Our farriers have a tough job to do, have you ever looked to see the lack of space between where is safe to put a nail and where is not! E.g. Sound horse Vs Lame horse!
Surely, not having a moving target is going to make their jobs much easier!
Lewis Parr Farriery
