Argh hooves

So I bought Cirrus from a Mexican family down the street, and they obviously hadn't trimmed his feet in a LONG time (we're betting 6 months - 1 year, but just guessing). The farrier came out, trimmed him back (before I bought him, wanted to make sure he moved well when he had some breakover), and I vetted him and took him home. We decided to put shoes on his front feet to help them wear evenly, etc, and the farrier came out today. He did a hoof test, which came back negative, but said that every time he nailed into the hoof, he had to take a break because it hurt Cirrus (I wasn't there, I had a test, but my friend just called me). The farrier gave him bute this morning after, told us to give him bute tonight and then again in the morning because there was swelling in his hooves.

Has anyone tried to bring a horse back from too-long feet (I'm talking really long, the farrier trimmed off over half an inch on them, the only trimming he'd had before that was from natural breakage)? The outside of his hooves are wavy (which might be why it hurt to nail the shoes in), but how long does it take for a horse to come back from long feet? Is there anything else I should be doing to aid his recovery?

Personally I wouldn't have put shoes on him. When I bought Vida she hadn't been trimmed all winter. The farrier trimmed her back and she was fine. She has never had shoes on though and never will.

I would have waited to shoe him if he didn't have a trim for so long.
I would put him on a 4 week or so trimming schedule to gradually bring his feet back and to make them normal again.
After that, if your vet/farrier feels that he needs shoes, then shoe, if not, leave him barefoot.

I agree with trimming him every 4 weeks and keeping him barefoot. Be patient...depending on the shape they are in, it could take 6-12 months before they look like what you want.

Hmmm...ok. The thing is that my farrier (who I actually trust more than my vet at this point) thought he needed shoes so his feet can grow evenly (they wear more on the outside than on the inside). I didn't really want to put shoes on, but he (and my barn owner) are far more versed with this type of thing than I. Oh well, we'll see what happens. Might have to take them off and start over in a few weeks. Argh again.

If it hurts him to have shoes nailed on, you might think of investing in some hoof boots, they will provide protection and let the hoof grow without inflicting more trauma from the nails and pounding them in. Lots of people use them when they are transitioning their horses from shoes to "natural" shoeing (barefoot)

Don't get me wrong a good farrier is worth his/her weight in gold...but sometimes farriers go straight for the shoes to solve problems. Its kind of like asking a surgeon to use herbal medicines Id keep the horse barefoot. By the way 1/2 inch isn't that much...I had a friend rescue a horse that had the "elf feet"...the farrier clipped off basically a whole other hoof! That horse has been kept barefoot and recovered and is doing dressage.

Hooves don't grow evenly due to shoes, they simply do not wear off. I wouldn't want a horse shod who was in pain from the nailing. But I don't shoe anymore either. I would remove the shoes and make sure the hooves are trimmed more often to help restore the hoof health. It will take some time but they didn't get that way in month. Your horse will be healthier barefoot if at all possible.

Swelling in the feet? Where? Hooves don't swell, hence the extreme pain with laminitis. With having growth rings, the horse may have some founder issues, so be sure to not overfeed grain or legume hay. Exercise is good. But nailing shoes on and it hurting, with the growth rings, makes me think he's in a bout of laminitis and no wonder it hurt. Imagine if you had smashed your fingertip with a hammer, and in the midst of this throbbing, someone is trying to pound nails through the tips. OUCH! Poor guy.

A hoof that's been neglected doesn't accurately reflect the way his hooves would normally grow, so lopsidedness is no reason to shoe. If he has some toeing in/out in a mature horse can't be fixed if it's in his leg conformation, so shoeing him "straight" could do more harm than good, potentially.

At least you are pro-actively seeking help for him, so I can't fault you for that, nor can I fault you for trusting your farrier,like you should usually, nor him, for wanting to shoe-it's what he has been taught to do, even with laminitis. Just know you have other options, that I hope you will try! I see so many good results with barefoot trimming, that I can't remember now why I thought shoes were so great, and even with EXTREME founder, a lot can be done with a trim and some boots! Pat on the back for you for getting his feet taken care of, regardless. Anything is better than neglect!