The Breakup

With Katai's trimmer

It wasn’t something that I’ve wanted to do but when all the evidence started pointing in the same direction it was time to make a change.

I want to start off by saying that I have nothing against my trimmer. I know that she has had only the best interests of me and my pony in mind and is seriously the sweetest and most amazing person. However, it’s time to try something else with her feet.

 

When I first started working with the trimmer she was doing great things for Katai’s feet. Katai went from having some pretty severe hoof issues to starting to develop much more normal feet. However, for some reason around the time we moved to our current barn her feet started to have some issues. 

First she was sore after every trim. Normally for a few days but sometimes up to five or six. Her upright front right hoof also started to be more and more upright and even her front left hoof started to become more upright.

Then after her sore back feet and month off, which I’m still convinced wasn’t solely on my trimmer, people started to grumble. I heard from one of my trimmer’s other clients at the barn that she was thinking of changing farriers because she was starting to be concerned about her horse’s feet. I found out that many of my trimmer’s other clients’ horses had been sore after every trim so it wasn’t just Katai.

I was getting close to trying to find a different trimmer but wanted to give my trimmer one more chance. I’d been asking questions and sharing some feedback but I’m no expert so when I asked if my pony should still be sore after every trim she said that sometimes that happens or made an excuse based on the wet or hard ground and suggested that I give Katai bute. After buying the boots I was all set to give her another trim to see what happened but then, as I mentioned previously, Susanne said something when I rode with her.

 

Actually the very first thing Susanne did was call me over to look at Katai’s hooves. She commented that all four of her feet, but especially the fronts, were too upright and poorly trimmed she suggested that I speak with my trimmer, and also that I shoe her but that’s not a change I’m ready to make at this point. After my ride my BM came over and mentioned that she’d heard that Susanne had said something. I asked if she had any suggestions and she said to find a new trimmer and that was the last push I needed.

Yesterday I “broke up with” my trimmer. I’m going to use a different farrier at the barn who L’s other students also use. I’m sad but it really needed to be done. She was understandably upset and asked why I hadn’t given her any feedback. That upset me a little because I had been texting her after almost every trim letting her know that Katai was sore and either asking for her advice or if she had any ideas for how to make it better. I’m not a trimmer or a farrier, I can’t tell what’s going on, I can’t tell her to change an angle or make Katai’s heels shorter or longer, or anything. That’s why I have a trimmer. Without being able to tell her to trim “different” there wasn’t anything I could do so that’s why it’s time for a change.

Katai is sound and her feet aren’t wonky enough that I can’t ride, according to L and my BM, so the plan is to have the new farrier trim her next time and take some photos of her feet so that I can see the progress.