|
|
Veteran
Posts: 148
 
Location: Central Texas | Why do farriers want to leave all the toe and cut the heel down. Just can't seem to find any farrier in the Temple TX area that will shoe the way my horses need their feet done. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I need the toe cut back and the foot stood up! I currently have to pay a shoer to drive to my place on top of shoeing as I can't find someone local! Thanks for any suggestions! | |
| | |
 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | That is because OFC is gone.... They taught people that the heels were OFF LIMITS!!! | |
| | |
 Veteran
Posts: 222
Location: Texas | Sending u a pm | |
| | |
  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
 
Location: Riding Crackhead. | HorseCrazy - 2014-03-20 6:01 AM Why do farriers want to leave all the toe and cut the heel down. Just can't seem to find any farrier in the Temple TX area that will shoe the way my horses need their feet done. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I need the toe cut back and the foot stood up! I currently have to pay a shoer to drive to my place on top of shoeing as I can't find someone local! Thanks for any suggestions!
I have a 15 yr old broodmare standing in the pasture that was a rodeo winner 1D/2D horse. A freak that had gone to every farrier school he possibly could messed her up so bad she's crippled. She had no heel, long toes and her heels were so contracted I couldn't fit 2 fingers between her heel. He's an idiot and still in business and still crippling horses. My current farrier and my most favorite one that is now retired all came from the school of common sense, horsemanship and the school of hard knocks. I'll take one of those guys any day. | |
| | |
Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | To answer your 2nd question, it is because they don't want to risk making the horse sore. If you leave a little toe, they will not get sore on the sole. More risk in upset client if you take all the sole to get a perfectly flat sole/hoof. Also, if they leave a little, they can come back sooner.....as will need reset quicker. Make sure you tell them that if they are sore for a few days after, you will not come back on them...
Your first question has several answers-(or my top 10 as to why I don't shoe anymore).
1. It is hard work. Most of the newer generation doesn't want to work that hard.
2. To many unbroke horses anymore. Used to be, when I started shoeing, most where rode and not fed. Now they are fed and not rode which leads to behavior problems.
3. We have bred the feet out of horses. They are harder to keep sound then ever.
4. Not convenient for the shoer. Since I no longer shoe our own unless I have to, we go out of our way to make it easy for the shoer--go to their place, their time, cash, ride the crap out of the problem horses before we go, let them drug them if they are a PITA, etc.
5. It is still very good money, but a hard way to make a living. No retirement, no health care, etc. Mostly, no worker's comp WHEN they get hurt.
6. Un-needless shoeing-in my experience, the majority of the horses out there would be better off bare foot. A lot of shoers, shoe horses that just stand in their pen or on pasture. Shoeing to me, is only needed to TRY correct mother nature, if you have or are going to rocky areas, or they are on cement/ice.
7. They get tired of unrealistic expectations.
8. Get tired of being used as a trainer.
9. Get tired of being stood up.
AND #10...they get old!!!
I would love to shoe full time. But not at 50, with this body and it's issues....Flame away!!!
Good luck! | |
| | |
Veteran
Posts: 154
Location: Tennessee | So sorry you are having this issue! This is why I am so thankful that my father-in-law is an amazing farrier. Don't know what I will do when he retires, because there are NOT very many good ones left around here either. Wish you were closer I would send him your way.... | |
| | |
 Elite Veteran
Posts: 639
Location: God's country...aka TEXAS | The problem is anyone can call themselves a "farrier." There are so many in this state (TX) that are idiots and have no clue what they are doing, INCLUDING ones that work for "top" vets. My husband is a farrier in central/south TX and all he does is fix barrel horses that have been screwed up by other farriers. It is a running joke between us that every new client he gets has the same issues and ends up giving the same speech to all of them. Most common problems are contracted/under run heels, unbalanced and bad thrush. Everyone is amazed at how much better their horse feels after he does their feet. It's not rocket science..... he calls it "correct" shoeing, not corrective :) | |
| | |
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| The problem is farriers are not regulated.
In my area a person can take a weekend course call themselves a farrier and charge 40 for a trim, and 120 for shoes.
I hear what spin doctor is saying, but the new farriers don't do any of what you said, they don't work on bad horses, they don't train, etc.
I have had farriers work with my vet on correcting contracted heels, and as soon as the vet is gone they revert back to their old ways putting on too small of a shoe, unbalanced, etc.
My current farrier charges me for mileage about 50 cents/mile and I pay round trip. There are things that I have had to bite my lip, as there are not many farriers to choose from.
Also I have learned more from a semi retired farrier to do corrective trimming, I just make adjustments after the farrier is gone. | |
| | |
 Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
Location: Displaced Iowegian | Spin Doctor - 2014-03-20 9:16 AM To answer your 2nd question, it is because they don't want to risk making the horse sore. If you leave a little toe, they will not get sore on the sole. More risk in upset client if you take all the sole to get a perfectly flat sole/hoof. Also, if they leave a little, they can come back sooner.....as will need reset quicker. Make sure you tell them that if they are sore for a few days after, you will not come back on them... Your first question has several answers-(or my top 10 as to why I don't shoe anymore). 1. It is hard work. Most of the newer generation doesn't want to work that hard. 2. To many unbroke horses anymore. Used to be, when I started shoeing, most where rode and not fed. Now they are fed and not rode which leads to behavior problems. 3. We have bred the feet out of horses. They are harder to keep sound then ever. 4. Not convenient for the shoer. Since I no longer shoe our own unless I have to, we go out of our way to make it easy for the shoer--go to their place, their time, cash, ride the crap out of the problem horses before we go, let them drug them if they are a PITA, etc. 5. It is still very good money, but a hard way to make a living. No retirement, no health care, etc. Mostly, no worker's comp WHEN they get hurt. 6. Un-needless shoeing-in my experience, the majority of the horses out there would be better off bare foot. A lot of shoers, shoe horses that just stand in their pen or on pasture. Shoeing to me, is only needed to TRY correct mother nature, if you have or are going to rocky areas, or they are on cement/ice. 7. They get tired of unrealistic expectations. 8. Get tired of being used as a trainer. 9. Get tired of being stood up. AND #10...they get old!!! I would love to shoe full time. But not at 50, with this body and it's issues....Flame away!!! Good luck!
You forgot one.......they get tired of "expert" owners who "think" they know how to shoe a horse........ | |
| | |
Impressive!!
Posts: 1954
Location: Idaho | It is so hard! We have gone threw so many farriers since moving up here.
Little story about our current farrier and has been thus far the best farrier I have ever had. period.
Our last farrier was a jerk, I couldn't question him, I didn;t like how he handled my horses, I wanted different shoes, but he didn't want to change, blah blah, he quit us right when I was about to fire his ass.
I get ahold of this other farrier in Montana. Heard he had not really done performance horses, but he is always educating himself and going to the vet taught seminars about farrier work, lamness and the updated stuff. I was willing to give this guy a try, because I really had no choice unless I started hauling my horses 2-3 hours away for farriers.
Give him a call and he comes out to trim the broodmares (figured if he is going to lame anyone, lets do the broomdares, lol) and as he pulls up in his old beater toyota, he steps out and here is this burly guy with a beard in a braid and bald. My friend looked at me and said "oh boy, what did you just do" and I was like well, let just see. After a few hours of letting him mess with the mares and chat with him, I was really pleased how he handled them, their feet looked good and my one mare who hates farriers, actually just stood there with no issues. I was like holy cow. So we scheduled him back for shoes and the rest is history!
We've had him 3 years and we are a TEAM. I ask questions, I pick his brain, I order my own shoes, we discuss everything. I don't just let him work on my horses, I am right there watching, feeling, etc... I really have become knowledgeable about how I want my horses feet to look, how they should look, etc... He is SO GOOD with my babies, which is very very important to me. It is just me working my colts and he makes it easy and helps me with my weanlings and yearlings on their first trims and even the first time picking their feet up (and usually never charges me to help me or trim weanlings). He is just a really genuine, gentle, easy going guy and I couldn't be happier. He also works very closely with a top vet facility in MT and is always educating himself further and further. I had a horse at WSU last fall going in for bone chip removal and I had her feet done maybe 2-3 weeks before and I was curious what these top vets thought about her feet and his farrier job. Both vets looked her over and both said "Wow, love the shoe choice, she is balanced, great angles, she looks really good. You have a great farrier" and it just comfirmed what I already knew :)
Keep searching, the right farrier is out there!! It took us sometime to find, but after we found him, I hope he doesn't retire anytime soon!! LOL  | |
| | |
Veteran
Posts: 223
Location: Louisiana | NJJ - 2014-03-20 10:16 AM Spin Doctor - 2014-03-20 9:16 AM To answer your 2nd question, it is because they don't want to risk making the horse sore. If you leave a little toe, they will not get sore on the sole. More risk in upset client if you take all the sole to get a perfectly flat sole/hoof. Also, if they leave a little, they can come back sooner.....as will need reset quicker. Make sure you tell them that if they are sore for a few days after, you will not come back on them... Your first question has several answers-(or my top 10 as to why I don't shoe anymore). 1. It is hard work. Most of the newer generation doesn't want to work that hard. 2. To many unbroke horses anymore. Used to be, when I started shoeing, most where rode and not fed. Now they are fed and not rode which leads to behavior problems. 3. We have bred the feet out of horses. They are harder to keep sound then ever. 4. Not convenient for the shoer. Since I no longer shoe our own unless I have to, we go out of our way to make it easy for the shoer--go to their place, their time, cash, ride the crap out of the problem horses before we go, let them drug them if they are a PITA, etc. 5. It is still very good money, but a hard way to make a living. No retirement, no health care, etc. Mostly, no worker's comp WHEN they get hurt. 6. Un-needless shoeing-in my experience, the majority of the horses out there would be better off bare foot. A lot of shoers, shoe horses that just stand in their pen or on pasture. Shoeing to me, is only needed to TRY correct mother nature, if you have or are going to rocky areas, or they are on cement/ice. 7. They get tired of unrealistic expectations. 8. Get tired of being used as a trainer. 9. Get tired of being stood up. AND #10...they get old!!! I would love to shoe full time. But not at 50, with this body and it's issues....Flame away!!! Good luck! You forgot one.......they get tired of "expert" owners who "think" they know how to shoe a horse........
As a wife of a farrier for more than 20 years - I have to totally agree with all the above with the addition of one more
chasing down customer to get paid!!!!
| |
| | |
| I Had a great farrier then he moved away so then my hubby went to OTC and was awesome at shoeing! now he has injured his back and can't do it anymore.. My farrier i use now is hit and miss on if he does a superb job or not... so this year i have talked my husband into teaching me how to shoe so i can do the labor and he can do the instruction and not hurt his back anymore... Hopefully this will go well!! | |
| | |
 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | They are out there, I have one that comes to my house about every 5 weeks. | |
| | |
 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
Location: Opelousas, LA | JLBerry - 2014-03-20 10:10 AM The problem is anyone can call themselves a "farrier." There are so many in this state (TX) that are idiots and have no clue what they are doing, INCLUDING ones that work for "top" vets. My husband is a farrier in central/south TX and all he does is fix barrel horses that have been screwed up by other farriers. It is a running joke between us that every new client he gets has the same issues and ends up giving the same speech to all of them. Most common problems are contracted/under run heels, unbalanced and bad thrush. Everyone is amazed at how much better their horse feels after he does their feet. It's not rocket science..... he calls it "correct" shoeing, not corrective :)
Yep, I had a super nice mare crippled by a farrier that worked at one of the top vet hospitals in Texas while one of the top lameness vets stood over him watching......and it wasn't cheap to cripple my horse.
Find a farrier that shoes working cowboys horses. You know, the kind of horses that get saddled at 5AM and used all day, every day. I know of one and he probably still charges under $100 for a full set of shoes but I bet he is not taking any more clients because he is too busy. | |
| | |
 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | My farrier is set on an 8 week schedule. Thankfully he now lives about 3 driveways down from me and he knows if he doesn't show for some reason he will come home to 3 extra horses tied to his fence, LOL!!!
I can also give the OP the name of a farrier out here that will cut all the toe off, leave the heel and pare everything out of the sole, guaranteed to have your horse in a size smaller shoe in 8 months.  | |
| | |
 Expert
Posts: 1284
Location: Oklahoma | I had the same problem. So I learned and have been trimming my own horses. Neither of mine need shoes at this point, so I have them on a 4-5 week schedule. If you keep up with it, you never have to touch a pair of nippers. Hoof knife and a rasp is all I use to trim mine.
How did I do it? Diet, and proper trimming. Getting rif of flare, trimming the heels, leaving hoof wall, putting a nice roll on the toe. You HAVE to trim the heels to get them to come back where they're supposed to be.
Here is one result photo:
Edited by circle c 2014-03-20 12:15 PM
 (2014 comparisonsmall.JPG)
Attachments
----------------
 2014 comparisonsmall.JPG (57KB - 277 downloads)
| |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | cheryl makofka - 2014-03-20 10:16 AM The problem is farriers are not regulated. In my area a person can take a weekend course call themselves a farrier and charge 40 for a trim, and 120 for shoes. I hear what spin doctor is saying, but the new farriers don't do any of what you said, they don't work on bad horses, they don't train, etc. I have had farriers work with my vet on correcting contracted heels, and as soon as the vet is gone they revert back to their old ways putting on too small of a shoe, unbalanced, etc. My current farrier charges me for mileage about 50 cents/mile and I pay round trip. There are things that I have had to bite my lip, as there are not many farriers to choose from. Also I have learned more from a semi retired farrier to do corrective trimming, I just make adjustments after the farrier is gone.
thanks but no thanks
I will regulate them myself | |
| | |
A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | cheryl makofka - 2014-03-20 10:16 AM The problem is farriers are not regulated. In my area a person can take a weekend course call themselves a farrier and charge 40 for a trim, and 120 for shoes. I hear what spin doctor is saying, but the new farriers don't do any of what you said, they don't work on bad horses, they don't train, etc. I have had farriers work with my vet on correcting contracted heels, and as soon as the vet is gone they revert back to their old ways putting on too small of a shoe, unbalanced, etc. My current farrier charges me for mileage about 50 cents/mile and I pay round trip. There are things that I have had to bite my lip, as there are not many farriers to choose from. Also I have learned more from a semi retired farrier to do corrective trimming, I just make adjustments after the farrier is gone.
I think that you need to be looking for a farrier still, If I had to make adjustments on my horses feet after I had payed good money to get them done then I sure would be looking for another farrier.  | |
| | |
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Southtxponygirl - 2014-03-20 3:44 PM
cheryl makofka - 2014-03-20 10:16 AM The problem is farriers are not regulated. In my area a person can take a weekend course call themselves a farrier and charge 40 for a trim, and 120 for shoes. I hear what spin doctor is saying, but the new farriers don't do any of what you said, they don't work on bad horses, they don't train, etc. I have had farriers work with my vet on correcting contracted heels, and as soon as the vet is gone they revert back to their old ways putting on too small of a shoe, unbalanced, etc. My current farrier charges me for mileage about 50 cents/mile and I pay round trip. There are things that I have had to bite my lip, as there are not many farriers to choose from. Also I have learned more from a semi retired farrier to do corrective trimming, I just make adjustments after the farrier is gone.
I think that you need to be looking for a farrier still, If I had to make adjustments on my horses feet after I had payed good money to get them done then I sure would be looking for another farrier.
It's like the one saying which do you choose the devil you know or the devil you don't. I have been through the headaches of farriers, and would rather not go through that again.
The things I do, I'm guessing not many other farriers do either. I notch each hoof wall crack so they don't spread. I pare away the sole around the frog 1/2". I also get rid of all the ridges on the hoof wall, and rasp the wall on the toe from the cornet band all the way down.
What I do some farriers don't think need to be done. The reading I have done and the rationale I have been given by retired farriers and vets, I will continue to do this, and will continue to use the farrier I do, as it is less of a headache then trying a different farrier | |
| | |
 I"m Jealous!
Posts: 1737
Location: Benton City, WA | Well, I'm not really any help, except to say that I feel your pain. My shoer comes from about 3 hours away to shoe my horses. I have some horses that need corrective work, and I'm not comfortable using anyone else. Its certainly not cheap | |
| | |
Elite Veteran
Posts: 915
Location: SE KS | Southtxponygirl - 2014-03-20 11:05 AM
They are out there, I have one that comes to my house about every 5 weeks.
Me Too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 1432
| lhighquality - 2014-03-20 3:41 PM
Southtxponygirl - 2014-03-20 11:05 AM
They are out there, I have one that comes to my house about every 5 weeks.
Me Too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mine does too...He'd better, since he's married to me. Lol he learned from one of the best farriers in WY and is excellent. | |
| | |
A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | 3TurnsonSpud - 2014-03-20 6:39 PM lhighquality - 2014-03-20 3:41 PM Southtxponygirl - 2014-03-20 11:05 AM They are out there, I have one that comes to my house about every 5 weeks. Me Too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mine does too...He'd better, since he's married to me. Lol he learned from one of the best farriers in WY and is excellent.
 | |
| |
|