Farrier, Horse owner, Veterinarian protocol (1)

Every once in awhile throughout the years I have received phone calls from horse owners or even veterinarians who feel a horse has become lame, and maybe even a little laminitic (or course they say founder, which I will probably “blog” about at a later date) because of a shoer trimming the hooves too short. “Yes”, I say, “ I can probably help the horse, but have you called the shoer who did the work?” …. I always figured it was only right to do this. I would like to emphasize this protocol to horse owners and vets, because Now it has happened in reverse!

Here’s the long and short of it…. I have been a practicing farrier for over 30 years. Due to family situation I’ve been moved to a new state (Nevada) so in my latter years of running a shoeing business I am having to re-build clientele and am the “new guy (gal) on the block”.

Having done some shoeing and trim work for some new clients who seemed pleased with my work I returned after a couple months to pull shoes on the shod horse and re-trim the others. When the horses were due again I called to see if they wanted me to schedule them and I was told that one horse had become a little sore the day after I was there and they had called the vet when the horse seemed to get worse and the vet thought it needed some special shoeing and they called in another shoer. And I was told, it cost them plenty!! You see, I am very passionate about my occupation so I was very distraught and apologized just in case it WAS something I had done, and then very sincerely mentioned how I wish they would’ve called me, because I would have been made it a priority to make things right and feel I could’ve applied shoeing or trimming techniques to have made the horse sound. I even feel the vet should have checked into the abilities/schooling of the shoer who did the initial work. Why? Because:

1. The people probably could’ve saved money.

2. the veterinary would have met another shoer who could shoe according to prescription or even introduced the vet to a different concept.

3. and the shoer (me, in this case) could have added this to my learning experience.

4. and just maybe I would have had a better grasp if I really did do something wrong.

Like I’ve indicated, I love shoeing, and horses, and (most of) my customers. I not only have the years of experience. But have attended clinics/seminars to continue my skill and knowledge. This incident really hit home and I will continue to ask, “ Did you call the shoer who did the initial work?”

Horses may react different for shoer--theory

When I ask a client about a new young colt, I will hear “Oh, I can pick up their feet”, however, when I start trimming it wants to pull away and get excited. My theory is that when the customer works with the colt they may stand next to the colt and pick the foot up with one hand and can gradually hold the foot for longer periods of time, but when I put the front foot between my legs the horse feels more trapped and needs to escape. Horses are flight animals and until they learn to trust us they like having the freedom to use their feet to run away. If they haven’t learned to trust us then they can feel uneasy when their foot is captured between the legs of the shoer. I think that is why I often find young horses are more tolerant to having their hind hooves worked on compared to the font. Because resting it on the shoer’s legs holds the hind leg it is not under the same restraint as when holding the front leg. I want to encourage people to make sure when working with their young horses to put the horse through all the positions a horseshoer works when trimming and shoeing. Not only will this help the farrier, but I am convinced, when a horse is confident with restraints to his feet and legs he will show more trust throughout his training. Please see my article, From the Ground Up, in the March/April 2008 Eclectic Horseman magazine.

first entry on a rainy day

There is more work to the horseshoeing profession than just shoeing horses. Yet, at times I wish shoeing was all I had to do in this line of work. Today, I had no horses to get under and I was glad it was rainy as I needed to work on finishing up my records of income and expenditures for 2008 income tax purposes. And then, to explore the world at my fingertips, I finally set up this blog. Like most horseshoers I have my opinions, advise, and way of doing things and probably will express these through this blog as the days and years go by.