Hoof Care Provider/ Farrier Services

Lame horse after farrier visit

Denys Antonenko • Nov 21, 2022

One Minute Discussions #18


Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care


LAME HORSE AFTER FARRIER VISIT


How many times has your horse got lame after a trim or shoe job? Is it a normal thing for them to be sore for a day or two?


Before blaming it on the farrier, first and foremost we have to identify the cause of lameness. Are there underlying problems that are causing inflammation, and the slightest change in the trim makes the horse lame? Perhaps over the years, from improper movement and diet, the hooves have become so pathological and atrophied that even the best trim out there is a nightmare for the horse. 


In other cases, sometimes professionals may be aggressive/take too much off in a single trim and lame the horse. Is that normal? 

There are two main opinions about this… many farriers state that they want the horse to be sound at any cost while others say that if an aggressive trim changes most of the problems in one shot, even if the horse is lame afterwards, it’s worth it and things will improve. 


The goal here is not to be against an idea or method, rather be open minded. Where is this method/idea leading your horse? Do you see any improvements? 

If you reason more on these questions, you will understand if a certain technique works for your horse or not. 


Denys A. 



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By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #66 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care LEAVE OR REMOVE THE LAMELLAR WEDGE? The lamellar wedge is the adaptation of the hoof to internal problems. And although it’s a sign of inflammation, it may still serve a purpose during rehab. It’s still responsible for “glueing together” the wall and sole, but that “glue” is not as strong as it’s supposed to be. So how do we address it in the trim. Everything depends on the horses comfort level and the condition of the lamellar wedge. It won’t be a wise decision to totally remove the lamellar wedge if it is soggy, weak and not fully keratinized. But in a lot of cases it is safe to remove most, if not all of it, if the lamellar wedge is keratinized, dry and sturdy (especially if we’re putting the horse in therapy boots). In some cases it is a good idea to trim the bottom, flared growth evenly with the well connected top growth in order to reduce leverage on the lamina as much as we can. Denys Antonenko

What causes lamina separation?

By Denys Antonenko • 21 Apr, 2023
One Minute Discussions #65 Discussing Natural Hoof & Horse Care WHAT CAUSES LAMINA SEPARATION Yesterday on my group I posted a question… what causes lamina separation? And although we’re used to hearing the most common things that separate the lamina, such as poor diet, metabolic problems, excessive toe leverage, etc, we don’t often hear about the less common things that can lead to a path of lamina failure without us noticing it. You’ve heard me say it many times before that lamina failure is not a result of just one thing. There’s always multiple factors contributing to the problem. As an example, bacterial and fungal infections weaken the foot, and that can result in lamina separation. Mental and physical stress can increase hormone levels which may result in poor hoof health. Many different problems happening elsewhere in the horses body (skin issues, allergies, dental problems) can be a factor that leads to a weak lamina. Denys Antonenko
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