[Phantom Legacy]

I have these two pictures of Smoke's left hind hoof here. I just noticed the other day when I went to work with him. (He's boarded) It's usually difficult to mess with his back feet, but we've been sorting it out. Anyway, I noticed this peculiar curve, and the rest of his hoof was not clearing out and coming clean. I didn't mess with it any further for fear of hurting him. I've been annoyed with the current farrier because I've been asking for his feet to be trimmed for weeks now, and never has it taken this long.
I know his back feet sorta grow funny, but the other one isn't like this. Is there something wrong or am I just being paranoid?

 

[Ponies4Paige]

ok i would get a vet or farrier to come and have a look at him......have you been riding him often/hard recently? do you shod him? has he had feet problems before?.....take these questions into consideration but it could just be something that will grow out....my horse chester's frog will break off when its mucky outside or he has to be in the stall(we just finished the stall all it has is concrete and a 1" mat)

my advise is call a vet or farrier.....if his trimming/shoeing coming up soon? if so i would ask the farrier then

 

[KristinJ]

Hard to tell. A good trim is in order (like you mentioned), it may just be some flaking frog area that can be cleaned up with the hoof knife. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Try to get your farrier to come or perhaps look around for a new one?

 

[Phantom Legacy]

He was supposed to be trimmed last month, that is what has me so frustrated. I'm going back over to the barn today or tomorrow, so I'll be able to see if his hooves were trimmed and hopefully ask someone there. He's only shod on his front end, and no he's never been lame. We don't ride very hard, and because of weather conditions I'm only able to see him once a week at this time. He is a stallion so he's stalled right now until spring when the pasture is divided up for him.

EDIT:

I'd like to get a new one, but right now it's hard to find another one in my area. This one lives right on the property of the boarding facility, which is why I'm finding it so irritating that he's yet to trim his feet. Boarders take priority in my opinion. I'll make a big fuss if they're not trimmed when I go back.

 

[Alwaysbehind]

He was supposed to be trimmed last month, that is what has me so frustrated. I'm going back over to the barn today or tomorrow, so I'll be able to see if his hooves were trimmed and hopefully ask someone there.

Do you not pay for your farrier work? How would you not know if he was done or not?

 

[Phantom Legacy]

I pay ahead of time since I cannot always be there. When I see his feet need trimmed I will pay him, get a receipt, and then he'll do them within the next week. He's only home Monday - Wednesday.

 

[garysheets]

Where are you located in Pennsylvania?

 

[smrobs]

I would really start looking for another farrier. It is poor business practice to neglect your good paying customers. :?

As for the hoof, has it always grown like that or has this just developed since the lack of farrier?

 

[loosie]

Of course without seeing it first hand, it's hard to say for sure, but just looks like overgrown, unshed frog to me. If you were to clean/scrape out his feet before taking the pics it would help too. He just looks way overdue for a trim but also has long & underslung heels. I doubt they would have become like that by only 10-12 weeks from the last *good* trim. **If it's what it appears to me*, I would just pare that flap - and any other loose bits - off the frog with a knife or nips.

While I'm not condoning the farrier's lack of apparent responsibility, remember it is christmas & he may not be working ATM. I would not like to judge him based just upon this information, but I would be looking to educate yourself, so you can better judge whether he's doing an adequate job or not. hoofrehab.com is a great place to start.