Monday 28 June 2010

Am I being provocative?!

I came across a classic quote over the weekend on a well known internet forum. Someone was asking about their horse, whose feet were apparently so crumbly that they couldn't hold a shoe. The horse's heels had also collapsed and not surprisingly the owner was at their wit's end and had turned to their farrier for help and advice.

In all honesty, under-run heels and poor hoof quality aren't the farrier's fault, but he should at least have some idea of the causes and possible ways to improve them - taking shoes off and boosting the horse's nutrition would be a good start on any basis. However, the owner said:

"My farrier is a AWFC remedial farrier and he is really not a fan of barefoot and thinks it generally damages horses"

Now is it me, or am I right in suspecting that there is a man who really needs to broaden his horizons and undertake some serious continuing professional development...?! Of course, he may have actually meant "When I take shoes off horses most of them are footy and can't do the work their owners want them to"...which is a completely different thing ;-)

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