When we bought him last spring - he was shod. We were boarding him while getting our pasture ready. He threw a shoe and the place we had him called their farrier to re-shoe him. He instantly hated the farrier - he was very abusive to my horse which now I would not tolerate - but I was *so* inexperienced I just went with what they said. He was so frighened of this man he would begin to poop the minute he started working on him and went constantly until he had diarrhea - He then developed an abcess - that farrier took off the shoe - cut open the abcess - we soaked it for 10 days or so - then he was put another shoe on - after cutting a huge gouge out of the hoof. THe next visit - he cut even more - until it was almost to the coronary band ... Then it cracked - by now we had him at home - I found a barefoot style farrier who said he was trimming him all wrong. (BTW he stands perfectly for this new farrier and doesn't poop at all!!) - so he has been working on him and the difference is amazing - he couldn't even stand on that foot at first to have the other shoe pulled off. He said he had cut it at an angle so that everytime he put weight on it - it split open even further.
I love this farrier - he is even teaching my dd how to trim her own horse -
