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.