Vet-Farrier Relationships

RR Pascoe AM DVSs. FRCVS. FACVSc

Oakey Veterinary Hospital, Oakey 4401, Queensland

The welfare of the horse has always been of fundamental importance in all our relationships between owner, farriers and veterinarians. Sadly due to the complexities of modern hustle and bustle, some of the correct and positive attitudes get overlooked, or even discarded, to the detriment of both our professions.

There are very few veterinarians who have the time and skill equal to that of a master farrier and it is fair to say, that very few farrier's have the depth of knowledge needed to fully understand all the present day knowledge of the horse's foot and lower leg.

Add to this the demands and requirements of the horse's owner, manager, trainer, rider etc., then, unless good open discussion is maintained, acrimony will eventually destroy much of the good rapport enjoyed by those farrier's and veterinarians who work closely together with horse owners.

The earliest basis for a good working relationship is the understanding that no one knows it all. We all have to learn by whatever means there are, but we must also be prepared to share our knowledge with others. By this means, the horse in the end, is clearly the major benefactor and I am sure that you will agree that is what it is all about.

For successful relationships to exist between farrier and veterinarian, there are a number of 'rules' which should be kept:

1. Both parties must recognise each other;s skills and also their limitations.

2. It is important to establish mutual trust.

3. Each must have confidence in the other's ability.

4. A professional relationship must exist between both parties.

5. It is important for neither to criticise the other's work in front of clients.

A careful assessment of the problem should be made by both parties before deciding on a plan of action. This is necessary in order to avoid placing one r the other in a position which is unable to be fulfilled. This is essential and may call for a careful plan of action to ensure it can be carried out and if not, to also have an alternate in case any unforseen events cause a change in plans.

It is of utmost importance not to destructively criticize the other party when they are not present. This is a serious act of unprofessional conduct and will destroy any good relationship which may be being built.

The role of each is fairly distinct -

The veterinarian offers a professional opinion on the diagnosis and treatment of lameness.

The farrier offers professional care of the feet.

Obviously, collaborative working gives the best results. While the roles appear to be distinct, they do overlap, so basically there may be no demarcation of responsibility to treatment, always bearing in mind that the welfare of the horse is of paramount importance. These are all positive attitudes and each professional can clearly learn and help the other, thus gaining in professional standing with owners and collectively increase our ability to help the horse.

On the negative aspect, it is important for the veterinarian and farrier to deal directly with each other; any indirect dealings through an owner or other third party almost always leads to recriminations.

Should a case not be going well, veterinarian and farrier must discuss this initially between themselves to ensure they have common agreement on the likely cause of the problem and what its outcome might be - in cases of serious problems it is probably best for both parties to discuss the problem next with the owner. This diminishes the chance of one party shifting the blame to the other without his knowledge; equally it is very unprofessional to criticize each other's work to a third party.

Owners often request other opinions when events are out badly and it is certainly unprofessional for either a second veterinarian or second farrier to offer treatment without consultation and/or permission to undertake continuing treatment. However this does not deny the owner's right to request a second opinion, nor does it excuse the denial of this right by either of the original veterinarian or farrier.

Where treatment is being queried by either veterinarian or farrier, this query should be made directly to the other party, not to some third party and this includes the owner.

It is of extreme importance that professionalism allows the farrier the full use his professional training, ie. the care and treatment of feet, but it also behoves the farrier not to engage in other veterinary activities which his training has not covered. Mutual support is very necessary for both professions and as examples consider all the following and ask the question - Can I help the horse on my own or is the horse best helped by a combined effort?

The following conditions are those in which a combined team effort is more likely to get the best outcome rather than singular action without consultation.

1. Laminitis

2. Navicular disease

3. Wall stripping and use of repair materials

4. Foot support - heart bar - egg bar

5. Injured flexor tendons

6. Gait correction

7. Leg deviations

8. Splints

9. Obscure lameness related to feet

10. Pedal osteitis

11. Weak walls and soles

12. Shoeing to correct conformational problems.