--- susan cooper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I finally got a new farrier. Why can't I find a
> farrier that I like 100%?? Some things I like about
> the new one:
First I would like to say that my responses are for everyone, not
just directed at Susan...eveyone who has a farrier come to their
place.
It is a weird profession. We get to see how people are with their
horses, their farm or ranch, we get a little glismpe into their life
and their quirks with their horses...you would be amazed on how
different people are.
What is perfectly ok at one ranch can get you fired at another...when
we first show up at a job, we are looking at it as a first interview,
as in do we want you as a client. We have had clients where they
refuse to tie up horses....think its cute that the yearlings are
biting our rig.....that the dangerous gelding in the herd is ok, just
beat him back while you get a mare out of the pasture...we hear all
kinds of gossip and get questions about other peoples farm.....not a
good area to venture in....we have had dogs attack our truck so
agressivly that we have terrible scratches on the sides..all the
while the owner says they are friendly, its ok. And many other weird
things that intelligent people do or allow. Its a weird job.
I would like to respectfully ask if you like your husband 100%...that
you would not change one little thing about him?
>
> He showed up! (only 30 minutes late)
That is a hard one....One of the reasons Sally learned how to
shoe....we wasted days, just waiting on a Shoer who did a no show no
call....30 min late....I say thats good.
We give our clients a 1 hour range...if I know we are running later
than that I call from the road and give them a heads up.
Remember we deal with live animals, and their owners, and each stop
has a different set up, different rules, different horses with each
their different problems. If you have a nice easy set up at your
barn, that does not mean the stop before you was easy.
We have a client who we are on time for every time, and each time we
have to wait while she moves one to two trucks out of the way so we
can reach the horses, then open the gate and drive through...that
wastes up to 10 min. of our unpaid time. Sally likes her a lot and
will keep her on as a client. She used to say just carry your tools
over to the horses.....100 ' away......lets get real. Our anvil, the
shoes, just the hand tools weigh a ton.....and working off the back
of your rig saves many many steps and makes everything easier.
> He's gentle and patient with the horses/donkey
That should go a Long way
> He leaves a lot of sole
Nice...
> He lets a horse put it's foot down if it needs to
> re-balance itself
Very thoughtful of your horses needs, makes everything easier in the
long run
>
> What I don't like:
>
> He's coming off a kick injury where he was laid up for
> 3 months which makes him a little gun shy of the hind
> legs and he goes to the neck rope a little soon for my
> comfort
Lets see....he got a kick and is laid up by someone else horse for 3
month with NO PAY. And he just goes for the rope a little too soon?
He is a good man. A lot of guys would be using the back side of a
rasp over here......ever been kicked that hard by some elses horse?
Sally is not as enthusiastic about working on hard to shoe horses,
and that is why.....if she were a little 'gun shy' She would not do
the hinds and give you exercises to work on in the next 6-8 weeks,
its your job to train your horses to stand...the farrier should not
feel the need to go to the rope any way. Standing horses who do not
kick out or pull away are much much safer. You gotta realize that
most owners never ask their horses to do what a farrier has to
do....so if you say he stands while his hoofs are being cleaned out,
I am thinking, thats nice, he stands for a few seconds, not enought
time to place the shoe and set the nails, the hardest part of
nailing, because it is the most dangerous part, you gotta get 2 nails
in before you set the foot down, period, after that you can go nail
by nail if a horse really needs to, again, that takes much longer,
and the farrier is not getting paid for the extra time.
If its a trim on the hinds, then you want to be able to have the foot
up long enough to do the trim, put the foot down and mabye pick it up
again....a pulling foot torgues you back like you can not believe.
> He doesn't bevel the edges (mustang roll)
You do not even learn in school....Sally does that with some clients
on some horses......she learned it by going to clinics post
school..when she really learned about newer studies on horses
feet....
There is more than one way to trim a foot or shoe it.....ask him if
you like, he might know about it or not. The AFA does not promote
it, so a lot of farriers never do it as it is not taught in school.
The other thing is this...when a client is telling you how to do a
job, it gets exhausting. I always ask them where they learned how to
shoe/trim.
We had a client....we let her ranch go...anyway she always had a
negetive to say about the job that we did...she would praise her
other farrier (she split the horses so that she made sure she had at
least one farrier coming out to her ranch)
We could not stand the stule the other cowboy farrier used, very
commom here, very upright angles, almost 60 degrees...the other
farrier, did not show up at 6 weeks and had to be called all the
time, and the shoes would come off, but she liked the way it looked.
We showed up like clockwork, fixed 2 of her foundered horses, never
had a shoe come off, but she complained...we let her go. So be
careful if you are trying to tell a professional how to do their job.
Is your horse moving nicley? Overreaching, clipping? These are things
we want to know, so that it can be corrected.
> I will talk to him about rolling the edges next time.
> I can always take my own rasp and do it myself, but
> that's what I pay him for.
Its a barefoot fad, most farriers do not do that....you are not
paying him to do that unless you specify that you want him to do it.
Also, I can work with my
> horses hind legs more so they don't pull their foot
> away. Of course, I don't hold my horses foot as long
> as the farrier needs to, so maybe I will have to look
> at my watch and hold them longber and longer.
Now thats a great idea!
Skye
~~~~Fire Island Farms~~~~
Breeding Quality Icelandic Trail Horses
Certified Farrier Services
'Natural Balance' Shoeing and Trimming.
Founder, Navicular options for your horse.
808-640-6080
