-So, I have been replacing a few folks out here left and right lately, and I thought it might be wise to pony up the whys and how of what makes me unique in my feild ( you know, what makes you so special), and not just a boob with a rasp.  Hopefully this experience will serve you in checking up on your farrier in the future should you need too.   For those who want to know, I am a specialist in complex shoeing systems.  Thats a mouthful.

1. I was educated not only by a fantastic therapudic expert, but also an acomplished gaited show horse farrier.  I learned tons (and paid more then well for it) from the facility I was trained in and graduated in good standing in my class.
2. I have spent years shoeing complicated horses for a veriety of needs.  I have worked tons of custom shoes, many on my husbands crooked arabian show horses, and let me tell you, in half arabians, some are more paint lines, some saddlebred, some so much arabian blood you can’t see anything else. But that is a wide veriety of hooves to be looking at, and a very diverse set of needs and preformances.  You never know what you are going to get in that mix.
3. My knowlage of anatomy ( of the lower limb, nothing else!) is really great, so I can talk on medical terms with the vet.  Not all veterinarians appreciate this in your farriers, and in many cases I have better shoeing plans for various issues, again they can’t know everything, and all I do is the lower limb.  That makes it easier to keep up with.
4. What I don’t do.  Ha, this is my favorite part.  Ask a farrier what they don’t do work wise, and the answer may surprise you.  Usually, Mules!  Personally, I don’t typically service race horses.  It take a real dedication to be the best in that game, and I don’t have time for both, which wouldn’t be fair to my racing owners.  I could get one running if the need arose, but I have no doubt there are better farriers then I in that department.  I shoe them when they break something and won’t run anymore.  Also, where I am extremely accompished in the half draft showing department, I would not be comfertable doing full draft teams.  I can do lame ones, but shoeing teams is it’s own kind of specialty, and I don’t think its my cup of tea.  I think I am far too lazy for that.
5. What makes me great at what I do is I have many horses worth of experience in every system imaginable.  Many farriers are proefficient in 1 or 2, I have between 18 and 22 systems running at any given time.  And as of today, only one is currently not doing as well as I would like.  She has also only been shod for 2 days though, so time should win that one out, and we will dial her in where she needs to be.  If the one she is in isn’t right, she will get one that is.

The bottom  line is, if you need something complicated, know where your farriers limitations are and ask yourself if your horse is getting the edge he needs to compete with the best.  It’s not fair to ask a farrier to be an expert in the entire world of horseshoeing.  There are far too many technoligies and products out there to keep up with.

1.-Please don’t feed your horse while it is being serviced, it is very dangerous and the only time I have been hospitalized was over someone feeding a kid’s 4-h pet while I trimmed it.  Seems like such a small thing, but it really is a bad idea and my service (along with many others) does not allow it.

2.-Along those lines, if you know I am going to be there to shoe your horse at noon, please don’t wait till 11:45 to feed your animals.  I am usually pretty understanding of most circumstances but try to be as courteous as you can to you farrier, it is no fun getting your head danced on by a horse demanding it’s feed immediately.

3.-If your horse is prone to kicking, biting, or whatever potential hazard it may present (maybe it just has bad gas?) please let your horseshoer know.  I for one am not going to drop a polite client because they showed me such a kindness. And you never know, maybe I can help you absolve the bad habit.  Except if it’s gas, your on your own.

4.-No Shows are the number one way to lose a quality farrier, mostly because we are so busy we take it as personal abuse!  Now, I always understand if a bus full of nuns bursts into flames on the freeway blocking traffic for hours, it has happened to me before…  but try to call and let us know what is going on if you can.  Come to think of it I know a few farriers who could stand that advice as well.

5.-Dogs, Kids, balloons, explosions, and various chaos…not safe for them or me or the horse while I am working.  Nails, knives, nippers, all items dangerous enough on their own, and pretty soon I am done.  you might be surprised how much this happens, but try to understand that not only is it not safe for the kids to play with my things, but also I can’t give your horse my best while all that chaos ensues.

6.-Word to the wise, if you want your vet to shoe your horse, call your vet.  I can’t tell you how infuriating it is to show up and have to get to 30 year old diatribe on how things “where done back in the day!”  Information so old and outdated it should be painted on a cave wall, or some twit wanting “the newest, latest thing” they saw done on their Hawaiian vets retreat, regardless of how it applies to your horse.  I don’t treat colic, cancer, or anything else above the carpal/tarsal joint, lameness is what I do and I guarantee you will get a better result if you let me do my job, and not the vet.

7.-I show up with at least most of my clothes on and a rasp in hand and ready to work, please have your horse ready for me to service when I get there and not be in your bathrobe still cooking breakfast.  Unless of course it’s french toast and I can have some…

8.-Please remember to pay your farrier, I will only make payment arrangements before we service not after, so if you need it pushed off a week please tell me up front.  Otherwise I get in trouble with the bean counter that owns my soul.

9.-Don’t go six months between services and expect not to pay at least some extra, If I have to trim your horse twice in the same service, you have gone too long between trips.  Blame your shoer and insist on an on schedule appointment.

10.-Don’t expect you farrier to train your horse to stand for service, I can work with a lot of horses, even nervous and shy ones, but if 15 minutes of my best tricks aren’t enough, don’t expect me to work that horse for hours and not get paid or the privilege.  By the same way, a farrier who deals with that situation by beating the horse repeatedly or tying it up and knocking it over, probably not a great experience for your horse to associate his trim with.

So, why should these generous people enter the feed lot with a discriminating eye?  The answer simply is for the same reason they go at all:  To help as many horses as they can.   Too many times I go out to service animals which are either too broken physically to have a productive happy life. or are so damaged mentally that they are not safe for anyone to handle.  I hope these simple guidelines will help anyone thinking of rescuing a horse decide which one is right for them.

1. “Life After Rescue” – Saving horses cost a lot of money; many times their feet are a disaster taking a lot of time to fix.  If someone is going to invest that much into an animal it should be one that is going to enjoy its new life, not one limited to only ever being in pain loafing its life away.  What will the horse do after it has been saved?
2. If the horse you are looking at is particularly mean spirited, I say watch out!  Most rescue horses have some trust issues but there is a big difference between horses that are fussy and nervous about having its hooves handled and one which explodes violently like a bomb when triggered.  Many problems can be overcome, but don’t risk your (or my) skin on a horse that is just plain rotten.  There are too many nice horses that need homes.  Is the horse a nice person inside?
3. The other reason I would look at a given horse is because it is special in some way.  Either breeding, show ability, or is it just a spectacular child’s pet?  I don’t care what kind of value it has, it just has to be something.  Maybe it is something as simple as it’s just extremely pretty.  But it has to be something, or it will have a hard time getting a forever home.  Does the horse have ANY sort of value?

I hope these suggestions are helpful, the world is full of so many horses needing help.  They are the equine world’s 3rd class citizens, the ones swept under the rug.  Hopefully as a team we can save some of the ones worth saving.

Anyone needing help with rehabilitative shoeing in a neglected horse, or a farrier worth his or her salt in your area, feel free to call or email and I will try to help in any way I can.   I have many resources for rescues to take advantage of.

This is Bird’s story.  She was brought into rescue with this condition and ultimately adopted out.  She fell and broke her leg two weeks after this picture was taken.  Unfortunately, she never should have been in rescue.  The adoptive family was told with enough farrier care she would be able to ride and live a normal life.  This would have never been possible.  Horses like this are really good examples of our limitations in life.  We want to save them because they are good people inside.  However, they unfortunately don’t have a future and I doubt seriously the people who adopted Bird will ever go through this experience again.  The bottom line is if you’re not sure please ask.  This isn’t meant to discourage those who wish to rescue horses, but we aren’t all experts in all areas.  What we can do is assist each other with our areas of expertise and help everyone save the horses that can be helped.

Basically you can break the barefoot issue into three basic questions:

1. What kind of environment does my horse live in? 
   • Does the environment provide the animal an adequate load sharing device?  Without a proper compaction of dirt and preferably a heel first landing no horse, shod or otherwise, can move soundly or live comfortably for terribly .  I can not stress enough the importance of this factor.  It is critical to the soundness of all horses.
2. What is your horse’s breeding and genetic make-up?
   • Some horses are not comfortable without shoes.  You may provide them everything nature requires for horses and they still will not be sound.  Some horses which look physically normal just will not be sound without shoeing and other horses which look physically deformed do fantastically.   You can give horses the chance to be barefoot, but it just doesn’t work in all cases.  This is mainly due to the fact that most horses have been bred for our purposes, either sport or recreation, for so many generations that some characteristics are no longer natural.  Since some psychological and physical characteristics have changed staying completely natural just may not be possible. 
3. What does my horse do everyday?
   • If your horse is a 20 year old fat, lazy gelding loafing his days away in his pasture then yeah, shoeing Sparky might not be something you need to do anymore.  However, if your horse is recovering from a serious disease, has been cut short by an incompetent farrier, or you ride your horse multiple hours a day, everyday you will likely need shoes.  For you extra zelous riders, (you know who you are and we jealously hate you); if you’re riding so much the hooves wear faster than they grow then you will have to have shoes.  Though you may only need front shoes as 60% of the horse’s weight is born on the front hooves, most animals exhibit the most wear, and damage, here.  Also, many forms of competition require the unique advantages we can give them with shoes.  Competition rules depending on your sport of choice may actually dictate that you must have your horses shod to a certain standard, as well as a good farrier just being able to give you that extra edge to be at the top of your game.

 There seems to be a lot of farriers (especially skinny minny tiny ones like me) running around touting they will solve all the world’s problems using a rasp and a brilliant smile.  In the name of NBS, or  ”The Balance Trim”,  ”The Mustang Roll”, or just insert appropriate buzz term here,  they will create for your horses a hoof utopia.  Of course, all for a modest fee.  While many of the before mentioned terms are very useful tools or astonishingly powerful sciences to hoof management, in the wrong hands and minds they are little more than dangerous labels, meaningless words stripped of any of thier very real value.  Not living up to any of the actual definitions of their origin, they are being used simply to create a fad in which to make as much money as possible with as little work done.  Shoeing horses is hard dangerous work and that is a fact.  It is my opinion that many of these farriers either do not have the skill or the physical ability to get the job done effectively and it bears mentioning that I treat more victims of the “Barefoot Movement” every year than Laminitis, White Line Disease, and Navicular Syndrome combined.

The rant of the week basically consist of : Buyer Beware!

Make sure you know what your farrier is doing, particularly look out for bad feelings you get.  You should be able to ask your farrier anything even if it sounds dumb.  Some basic understanding of hoof care may save yourself from those who prey on those ignorant of such matters.  In many cases you would be better off just giving these people your money and not letting them touch your horse.

Make sure there is a method to the madness.  If your horse’s feet don’t look better to you after the service that’s a problem, if you horse was sound before service, but lame after that’s a problem, if you find yourself nervous about talking to your farrier that’s a problem. 

You should never feel uncomfortable discussing your horse’s care with your farrier.  If you feel nervous calling your farrier then he/she is not the right farrier for you.  The Why of it is not a factor.

Here’s a quick list of questions to ask your farrier:

• Where were you educated?  Do you participate in continueing education?
• How many horses do you regularly shoe?
• What is your barefoot / shoeing in sound horses ratio?
• Do you do this full time, or just moonlight on the side?
• What do you charge? (Your farrier should be somewhere in line with other farriers in the area.  If you are paying 15$ a head per trim and your friends all pay 40 ish, well…)
• Do you love / hate any breeds? (It’s a real pain having to hear about how someone really hates MInis/Mules/Arabians/Ect)
• What’s your criteria of a well prepared hoof?
• Can I call you with questions?  Emergencies?

The right answers to these questions are really up to you, anyone anywhere feel free to call me anytime if you want a straight honest answer to something specific, but most important is noticing if the farrier has an answer to these questions.  You want farriers that are working with a purpose in mind not just going through the motions, are they looking at the hoof for more that 2 minutes.  I hear stories all the time about farriers trimming horses in 5 minutes, but I have never seen a good one able too.

Other things to consider are farriers who bring their kids or are working around their day job schedule.  These farrier’s likely don’t have the experience necessary to recognize all the key issues or the time to service you in case of an emergency.

Well that’s it for my rant of the week.