my current horses have been being trimed by their current farrier for 6 months. We are on a 7 week trim cycle(suggested by farrier) but over this time we have seen their feet get worse. My gelding had pretty bad feet when i got him but got him trimed by a farrier who did a good job but was just flakey with scheduling so we switched to a new farrier. overall his feet were okay after the first trim just needed to be improved upon. Small things like balancing and taking off extra length. We loved the first trim that our new farrier gave us so we kept rescheduling. Farrier is said to be a newer farrier so didnt have many clients and we loved their work....however over the course of about the last 2 trims it seems as though our farrier has stopped caring as much about balancing or helping us out with info ect. We love our farriers and treat them very well to hope they come back. Horses stand still, feet picked out before farrier arrives, clean prepped and flat work area, offered hot drinks in winter and cold drinks in summer, offer breaks, offer snacks, and tip 30-40%. The main thing we are concerned about is when asked about thrush our farrier mentioned they do not have any thrush and we should stop our thrush treatment/prevention. We trust our professionals so we agreed. We asked if there was anything they suggest we do to make our horses feet better, hoof oil, hoof conditioner, swap feed, hoof supplements, ect. Farrier said no they dont think anything needs changed. We have our horses on very good quality 2nd cut 50% alfalfa 50% timothy grass hay, buckeye grow n win grain( 2lb per day) along with ulcer supplement, joint supplement and as of lately farriers formula hoof supplement. Stalls are cleaned daily and they dont really get dirty. Horse's hooves are picked out daily if not multiple times per day. We have even checked the mineral levels in the water to see if the horses werent getting the right ammount of minerals because of added iron in the water and nope the water is fine. The problem is that over the course of the past 2 trims we've noticed the horses getting mild thrush around the frog and both horses getting what looks like white line. Asked farrier about it multiple times during both past trims and every time they said dont worry about it. The farrier never uses the hoof knife on the frog and the frog is starting to grow over the collateral groove of the hoof making it hard to pick out the feet. The bar of the hoof was left with sharp corners on both sides that should have been taken off with the hoof knife but they werent so its just a huge deal with the sharp corner inviting rocks into it and making their feet sore. My gelding is also showing alot of distortion on his hinds from the farrier not taking off enough length and only using the rasp. With his front feet it genuinely looks like he has white line but when i ask they say he doesnt. This problem created a lip in between the hoof wall and the white line where it sinks down and got bad enough that his hoof wall chipped off on the toe almost like where a clip for a shoe would go. This is very unlike him...his feet never chip or crack and his back feet have also started to get bad distortion, bending and chipping of the hoof wall. i suspect this is from length not being taken off as much as it should. The farrier says they want to take length off gradually to not make his feet sore but his feet are consistently worse with every trim and are growing faster than they are getting trimmed. I have tried to ask so much about improving their feet or even helping the farrier out by getting x-rays or changing our schedule to be more often. Farrier has rejected all of these suggestions. The problem is that this farrier is a great person and my horses both love them but i do not think this farrier is what im looking for. My horses both need to have balanced barefoot trims.. one is still growing and is under the age of 2 and the other is being started under saddle but training has been halted to not make his feet sore. Farrier does not measure or mark the hooves in any way which is a bit weird to me since usually a good barefoot trim should be marked at least a little bit especially from a newer farrier. Im really trying to be a good client and owner and do everything i can but how do you guys deal with a farrier that doesnt want anything to change. I hate to be that person but paying their price for 2 horses trims+ 30-40% tip makes me a bit unhappy if they are going to start slacking on trims. It really has made me feel as though they are just trying to get in and get out while getting paid. I do not care about the price of the trim or anything like that i just want my horses to have healthy feet on a regular schedule. I genuinely feel like ive done all i can except for changing farriers...how would you tell your farrier that you need to change farriers? I feel as though when i voice my concern about an issue with their feet the farrier puts it off as being nothing but my horses were trimmed 2 weeks ago by them and my horses feet should not be cracking apart and looking like they werent trimmed. all of these issues with the white line/hoof wall crack, frog becoming overgrown and bars with sharp corners is all happening right now even though they were done 2 weeks ago.... any advice at all?

I have gaited mares. They see the farrier as often as I can afford, sometimes not for 3 months. They're on full pasture with daily feeding grain free food. Mine do have some bacteria, which is not thrush, but I use betadine sprayed between the white line and hoof wall. It works, but it is a daily treatment. My one mare took almost 6 months to clear up. My other mare still has the issue in her fronts due to 6 years of abuse from her former owner.

I highly suggest changing farriers. It doesn't matter how 'new' they are. If they stop caring, you need to find a new one. He doesn't seem to care about balancing or even trimming the frogs down. My girls go barefoot all the time and wouldn't have any issues at all if the rain would lessen some.

Also, do not tip a new farrier you find until you see how they do. If they get lazy as well, find a new one. It took me years to find the guy I use now

You need to find a new farrier, it sounds like they arent finishing the trim/rounding the hoof off correctly. I would search for a new farrier and let your farrier know you would like to explore other options since your horses feet are not improving.

In all the years of Zippy's life, he was barefoot up till 2 years ago and has only ever been lame once. We moved barns a lot when he was younger but never really had issues with the farriers.

you cannot keep seeing this farrier. 7 weeks is a completely reasonable time frame for getting trims and there's no reason these YOUNG, probably not atrocious footed horses should be having these issues

i will also be taking a photo of my horses feet tonight to show you guys its hard to explain but they shouldnt look they way they do the cracks on my geldings feet dont look "normal"

New farrier. No foot no horse- you have a duty to your horse and their welfare before the feelings of some farrier.

It sounds like you have tried to work with your current farrier, but they have disregarded your concerns. This means you have every right to discontinue doing buisness with them.

If you are unsure of what to tell them I would say something along the lines of... "Due to my current situation I no longer need to schedule appointments for my horses feet to be trimmed. Thank you for the work you have done." If doing that in person makes you uncomfortable send it as a text.

as promised here are the photos of my geldings feet. Keep in mind he has been being seen every 7 weeks and his last trim was exactly 2 weeks ago.

Front left( one with a bad chip)

front right:

rear right:

rear right outside view

rear left

tell me what yall think

you really do need a new farrier. their feet should not look that if they're getting trimmed every seven weeks. i have never had any of my horses feet look like that or any other horses at my barn. it's time to change your farrier.

I can't tell anything really for balancing from these photos if you could get some where you're holding the hock and letting the hoof hang and then take one straight down from above that would help with judging the level, however there's to much heel and a lot of toe for a 2 week old trim, I would be looking for a new farrier. I also never shy my clients away from conditioning hooves unless it's an insanely wet year. I would be worried about white line especially in the rear left where you can see that little black dot in between the white line and sole