A New Farrier

Izzy got new shoes this week. I was beyond delighted with how good he was for his new farrier. If you'll remember, the WGF ended our working partnership last month. I was saddened to see him go, but having an out-of-town farrier did make things challenging.

My new farrier, Paul Mullins, is very local and available to tack on lost shoes or simply come by for a check with just a day's notice. I really like that aspect of having a local farrier.

When I first bought Izzy, he was barefoot all around and living in a lush, green pasture. His feet showed the effects of what soft, moist ground can do to hooves. He had large flares and his hooves were pretty splayed out. The trainer to whom I had entrusted him found that after just a few days of work, he was pretty foot sore, so she had her farrier put shoes on all around. It was only the second time Izzy had been shod.

According to her, he was so violent that the vet had to administer a tranquilizer. The farrier work was also quite shoddy (haha - pun intended), but I knew that as soon as the WGF got hold of Izzy, he would be able to take care of it. 

Farrier work with me - drug free!

WGF's work ...

I need my horses to stand quietly for the farrier, mostly because they should, and partly because I am rarely able to be there for the work. I spent weeks working with Izzy, showing him how to pick up his feet and hold them and also how to rest his foot on a stand (the mounting block was good for this). When the WGF did him the first time, Izzy was very well behaved, although a wee bit short on patience. We didn't need to use the dormosedan that the vet had prescribed as a "just in case." That's what a little time and patience can get you.   

Enter Paul Mullins and his apprentice/assistant, Walker ...

Walker at work ... (farrier butts are all the same, aren't they?)

Walker's job was to pull the old shoes and clean up Izzy's feet. Izzy stood like a veteran. I was particularly pleased because I had to pull him out of his stall just after he'd been fed. Even though he was probably a bit hungry, he was completely relaxed with Walker and even spent as much time as he could nibbling Walker's neck and hat.

Paul Mullins doing the more technical work...

I really admired Paul's professionalism. He asked a few questions about my former farrier's work, like how long Izzy had been in these shoes, but he didn't have a critical thing to say. In fact, he admired the workmanship of the custom made shoes that Izzy was wearing and felt that it was quite appropriate to re-set them (they had almost no wear).

He trimmed and shaped Izzy's feet and talked about the crack in the left hoof. He agreed with the WGF that it was superficial and would grow out with no problem. He nailed on the shoes and left the last bit of finish work for Walker to complete.

When Izzy was tucked back in his stall munching on his breakfast, Paul looked at Speedy's feet so that we could formulate a plan for the future. Speedy grows a lot of foot really fast which changed Paul's thinking about when he would be next due. We would ultimately like to get both horses on the same schedule, but it's going to take a month or two. Speedy will get his next set of shoes in three weeks and then again five weeks later. By that time, Izzy will be at 8 weeks, longer than I like, but if it looks like he can go that long, that would put both boys on the same schedule.

I really liked that Paul was open to coming out at different times for my horses. If Izzy can't go that long, Paul is happy to make separate trips until we can get them both on the same shoeing cycle. I think (hope?) this is the start of a very productive relationship. 

Welcome to Team Speedy (and Izzy), Paul and Walker!