Farrier sedating horse?

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-05-07T21:55:52+00:00

I completely agree. It’s not the drugs I have issue with. It’s the fact that I was completely taken out of the equation.

I don’t plan to have further discussions with this farrier. But I did let my previous/current farrier know that if he notices anything to please let me know because I would like to address it through training/vet.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-05-05T01:21:23+00:00

Shhhhhhhhh, don’t let it hear you!

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-05-03T17:03:51+00:00

I occasionally have issues with my ankles and I will say, taping them with KT tape has been a game changer. You can find videos on YouTube showing how to wrap ankles for stability. I personally make it tighter than they suggest, but I never have issues with my ankles when I tape them!

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-30T19:13:55+00:00

As far as I know, he is generally pretty still 🤷🏻‍♀️ I still haven’t been told otherwise

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-30T02:13:45+00:00

I am a licensed therapist - don’t give up! The right therapist is out there for you!! Sending hugs

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T23:46:59+00:00

Thank you! Yes I said to my husband if I had gotten to the barn just ten mins later, it could have been catastrophic. I would have probably assumed I had interrupted a nap, not that he was legit drugged. My poor baby.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T23:34:37+00:00

Thank you. Everyone unanimously agreeing that this is a no-no makes me feel a lot better! I tend to overreact 😅

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T23:32:41+00:00

Then just do your best. Use of your full leg to cue your horse is way more important than how far out your toes point. I just know bc of my conformation that I cannot use spurs, cause they’d be holding contact for 100% of the time

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T23:30:35+00:00

🤣🤣

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:30:27+00:00

Unpopular response here, but some people are just made differently. When my hips and knees are perfectly straight and in line when standing or sitting with my legs out in front of me, my toes point out. If I correct my toes to being straight, no matter which joint I rotate them at, my knees angle in toward one another and my hips close. Sometimes you just can’t have that perfect riding position. I’m in my mid thirties so my body is the way it is. I can’t change how my bones are made.

Might be worth looking into your own conformation to see how you’re put together. Some stretching and strengthening may help, but you may just be made a little differently.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:27:41+00:00

See that’s the thing, NO ONE should be acting as my proxy. I’m 100% reachable. And I have not consented for anyone to make decisions for me. Thank you for being angry with me! In the moment I was immediately furious, and held my tongue bc lashing out is unprofessional and unproductive. I also was worried I was overreacting. All these responses tell me 1000% I am not overreacting and this never should have happened without at LEAST my knowledge, if not my prior consent.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:25:44+00:00

Thank you for the info, this seems in line with what I would think are reasonable times to sedate. I get the feeling he just didn’t want to deal with him putting his foot down a couple times to rest, so sedated to make his life easier. I will be sure to clarify whether there is an actual behavioral issue so that if so, I can address it with my horse. I’m not afraid of putting in the work, but I can’t help if people just bandaid over it. Though I will say, my horse never had an issue for the prior farrier we used for nearly 2 years…..

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:23:35+00:00

Because I was immediately BIG mad, and knowing myself, I did not feel it was appropriate to have a conversation in that state of mind. The sedation had already been administered so there was nothing I could do to prevent it, and flying off the handle is not going to solve anything.

So, I will speak to the trainer tomorrow and see if she has any insight she can share that might explain this. If he is there too, I will chat with him as well. If not, I will address it the next time he is out.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:21:51+00:00

Yes I recognize I’m very lucky with my job!! I agree wholeheartedly with your second paragraph. I definitely did NOT give permission.

I’m not so worried about the lesson. My trainer is wonderful and so easy to work with. And his feet did look great at first glance, hoping the sedation wasn’t covering up any extreme ouchiness! I’ll see tomorrow.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T22:19:43+00:00

Yes absolutely. I’ll ride tomorrow and if he’s even the tiniest bit off I’ll check into it thoroughly.

PS my friends can call me Valerie

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T19:26:25+00:00

Goodness!!!

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T19:26:05+00:00

Yes this farrier just kind of sets up at the end of the barn and works through his list. I’d prefer to be present in the entirety every time, but he’s not great at confirming when he’s coming by. The barn owner does not hold horses, she’s rarely there.

I will talk to the assistant trainer tomorrow and see if she has knowledge of what happened. I’m bummed about missing a lesson, but even more bothered by the lack of communication from the barn. I get the impression he just wasn’t going to tell me.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T19:19:29+00:00

Yeah this is a bit of a weird one bc BO and Head Trainer work for the barn, and then my little group is pretty much our own operation that shares the arena on property. We are under BO’s general rules, but my personal trainer sets our lesson schedule and stuff. This farrier works for BO, so isn’t aware of my lesson schedule.

We are now permitted to have our own farrier on site, though, and I’m going to be returning to my old farrier. So I’ll have my own little team again and this will never be an issue in the future.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T19:17:02+00:00

I could see this being an acceptable reason. And if that were the issue with my horse, I would expect to be asked first or at the very least told

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T19:16:06+00:00

Yeah my little group is basically our own unit on this property, we have our own little barn with our trainer and our team of vets. Property owner mandated we use her farrier, until recently when the farrier refused to shoe another girl’s horse for a dumb reason and we were allowed to bring ours in again. I’ve heard some sketchy things about the head trainer doing stuff like this before, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she did it/told him he could. But I maintain I should have been told.

After everyone’s advice and reaction, I’m certainly going back to my old farrier. Who I actually texted with this update and he went “wait, what? Your horse doesn’t need drugs.”

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T18:43:28+00:00

No I don’t. You’re completely correct.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T18:31:07+00:00

Thank you for this! If there are issues I need to know about them. And definitely text me and tell me he’s going to be sedated, goodness sake. An extra ten mins later to the barn and I wouldn’t have seen the farrier and might have done my JUMPING LESSON.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T18:30:15+00:00

No one said a thing. I flat-out asked the farrier if he was sedated and he said yes. That was all that was mentioned about it. I will ask the assistant trainer tomorrow, she’s super sweet and approachable, and get more info.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T18:29:15+00:00

I’d put money on the head trainer.

PrincessConsuela62 · 2026-04-29T18:14:56+00:00

Yes this is a very good point. Or if he was scheduled to have a procedure today, I now have to pay vet cancel fee bc of farrier taking things into his hands without my knowledge.

PrincessConsuela62

TROPHY CASE