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| I have a good shoer and am kicking around the thought of upgrading to a great, well known shoer in our area. I need thoughts on how big of a difference can a good versus great shoer make?
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| no hoof.. no horse. makes all the difference in the world. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
 
Location: Arkansas | I bet your gonna get tons for answers on this!!! I wouldn't trade my farrier for a less qualified one for anything. |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
| They can "make ya, or break ya". |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4641
Location: Texas | Like everyone else has stated, no hoof no horse. |
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| Thanks for the answers! I want to hear your experiences on this. Has anyone gone from a good shoer to a great one and wished they'd kept the old shoer or all of the sudden their horse started working better with the new shoer? |
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 Saint Stacey
| An awesome farrier caused me a lot of problems by having my daughters mare off just 1/8th of an inch. It happened when my GREAT farrier ended up in the hospital and was out for 6 months. My GREAT one fixed her in two shoeings. I still use my awesome one for everything else. The GREAT one does Vegas every 6 weeks. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| Feet and teeth are the two most critical factors there are in maintenance. My trainer hauls mine 4 hours to get mine shod. Well worth it |
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 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I went through 24 shoers in less than a year . Went from OK to I'll do it myself thankyou. Since I know nothing about shoeing , I can trim and slip a boot on, and my horses, thank me. My current shoer takes all the heel off so I am back where I started and all the work I did getting my foundered horse straightened . I back to the begining cause the sob made her flat footed again/long toe. I am beyond PO'ed. So if this is a Great farrier by all means GO FOR IT. Balance is KEY. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Literally every soundness issue I deal with my mare can easily be pointed to from bad to okay shoeing when she was younger.
My great shoer has coaxed her back into reasonable soundness.
Spend the time and money on the great shoer! |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| Night and Day. |
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 Dog Resuce Agent
Posts: 3459
Location: southeast Texas | Before I would totally ditch the current farrier, I'd make an appointment with your great shoer for an evaluation of your current farriers work. |
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | roxieannie - 2017-04-14 6:44 AM Before I would totally ditch the current farrier, I'd make an appointment with your great shoer for an evaluation of your current farriers work.
this...and maybe the great one won't take you. Most of the time those guys are swamped. |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| cow pie - 2017-04-13 10:56 PM
I went through 24 shoers in less than a year . Went from OK to I'll do it myself thankyou. Since I know nothing about shoeing , I can trim and slip a boot on, and my horses, thank me. My current shoer takes all the heel off so I am back where I started and all the work I did getting my foundered horse straightened . I back to the begining cause the sob made her flat footed again/long toe. I am beyond PO'ed. So if this is a Great farrier by all means GO FOR IT. Balance is KEY.
You have to take heel off to pull the toe back. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | Been a student of and shoeing horses for 30 years. Most what makes a good shoer, IMO, is mostly their opinion and the spin they tell you. I know I will get flamed for this, but that is my opinion.
A great shoer, is one that fixes a problem and is not need on most horses. Most are vets or teachers and really understand the complex structure and what/how to fix what needs fixed. They tell you when they are not needed when they are not or there isn't a problem or a solution.
Of course a horrible shoer can cripple a horse. By leaving to much hang out, wrong size shoes, poor nail placement, angles, etc, all has a bearing-but that is mostly caused by the shoer. Also, IMO, a horrible shoer is one that tells you your 15 year old horse has a problem and he is going to fix it. I don't mess with a mature horse that is sound and working fine. Just take what mother nature gives you and don't mess it up unless there is a documented problem via xray, vet review, etc. Then they refer you to someone that specializes in these cases.
Most experienced shoers can take 90% of the horses out there and be fine IF they don't try to reinvent the hoof. There is a reason some are pigeon toed, high on one side, wears down the toes, overreaches, etc. Most of it is structural problems and can not be fixed via a shoe. Just crippled.
But opinions of shoers are like most anything. Everyone likes something different and has an opinion. The most vocal ones, to me, are the ones to stay away from.
Good luck...
Just what I have seen in 30+ years. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
Location: Roping pen | As far as the long toe issue. Most shoers are careful to not remove to much sole in the toe area at one time. That causes sore feet. IF the toe is long, it will take at least 3 sets to get it back to where it needs to be to match shoulder/pastern angles. IF you do it in one, that horse probably will be sore for at least 2 weeks IMO due to much sole removed--but that depends on the horse. You can also do it by taking off hoof wall, but that is just cosmetic and could lead to other issues. Some horses just grow more toe, some more heel. BUT again, take what mother nature gives you and don't screw it up.
Leaving heel is a misnomer that that will get them stood up. The heel grows forward. If you leave heel, you actually compound the low angle IMO. BUT some horses are flat footed and it will be difficult to get them stood up without wedges. AGAIN they lived with this problem for their entire life so, maybe we don't need to change it??????? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1079
Location: MN | My two life motto's are, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" & "No hoof, No horse".
I supposedly had an great farrier who was on the said 'National Farrier Team', charged an arm and a leg, took the heel, left the toe. After I told him my horse has a naturally steep angle, he continued to leave toe. Therefore, my horse started hitting himself so hard that he would rip the bulbs right off of his feet!!! Several times. He lost shoes ALL THE TIME. Eventually breaking his splint bone and I am convinced that happened because he left so much toe. I was so fed up and frustrated. After a year off recovering from his broken splint bone, I researched some "good" farriers in my area. Found one that I abosolutely LOVE, he listens, and explains WHY. If I have questions or concerns, he addresses them confidently and gives me options. My horses feet look awesome, less shoes lost, and my horse is happy.
My point is, I went from 'great' to a 'good' and my horse did a complete 180. Because if he'd of done a 360, we'd be back to where we started ;)
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| There are two wonderful things about my farrier that make him great. He comes when I call him and he does what I ask him to do. He just shoes the horses at my house. The horses at my trainer's go to another farrier. I did go with my trainer once to watch. I learned a lot. You gotta take the heel off, the toe comes off from the outside, the shoe needs to be showing all the way around. That is the way that my farrier does the ones at home. When I talked to that farrier I told him what I was looking for. I wanted to keep my horse sound and I wanted to knock a couple of tenths of a second off. He seems to have accomplished both. The farrier that I use at home is not perfect but I don't have a problem with him. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I used a very reputable farrier in the area a few times and he had so many sets to do in a day that he rushed through my boy. My horse was always left frazzled and was never still for him. Always pacing. I paid twice as much for him than I did with my old guy.
I switched back to my old faithful guy and he made me promise not to share his name with any of my "barrel racing friends". He said he only shoes old school ropers and barrel racers are too picky. LOL. He was in his 70s when I found him and started using him.
I cried when that guy retired. He was great with my horses. I haven't found anyone to replace him yet. He was very patient. Took his time and did lots of corrections that made my horses feel/look/ run better. He always asked me about ground before he put shoes on. If I was going to be outside and it was dry he would shoe accordingly. If I was going to be inside and in deep sand he would shoe accordingly. He was smart. Knew his angles and knew what needed to be done. He also whistled and sang and hummed while he worked so that made it even more enjoyable.  |
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| Thank y'all so much! After all of your replies, I called the new shoer. He is booked but is going to give me an evaluation to let me know what he thinks. |
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Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | BigMomma - 2017-04-14 10:43 AM Thank y'all so much! After all of your replies, I called the new shoer. He is booked but is going to give me an evaluation to let me know what he thinks.
Never hurts to look at all your options. |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | Huge difference. I used a mediocre farrier most of my life because I didn't know any better. Was forced to get a new one when he retired. My horses weren't lame but they all had flat feet. New Horseshoer was able to get some improvement, I liked him a lot and used him for 4 years but he stopped returning my calls last summer (not just me, apparently that was his way of getting out of the business). I didn't know any other good farriers, but my friends stepmom does corrective barefoot trimming, specializing in horses that have foundered. My horses feet are AMAZING. I am not on the barefoot bandwagon, it's not that, it's the fact that she actually knows how to trim and what's really wrong with their feet. The navicular gelding is sound for the first time in 7 years, my horse that used to bruise and abscess every time he lost a shoe has built up enough depth that he can trot across gravel, and my mare I took on a trail ride last week and she never took a lame step. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 507
Location: Lost in the corn of Iowa. | IRunOnFaith - 2017-04-14 10:33 AM I used a very reputable farrier in the area a few times and he had so many sets to do in a day that he rushed through my boy. My horse was always left frazzled and was never still for him. Always pacing. I paid twice as much for him than I did with my old guy.
I switched back to my old faithful guy and he made me promise not to share his name with any of my "barrel racing friends". He said he only shoes old school ropers and barrel racers are too picky. LOL. He was in his 70s when I found him and started using him.
I cried when that guy retired. He was great with my horses. I haven't found anyone to replace him yet. He was very patient. Took his time and did lots of corrections that made my horses feel/look/ run better. He always asked me about ground before he put shoes on. If I was going to be outside and it was dry he would shoe accordingly. If I was going to be inside and in deep sand he would shoe accordingly. He was smart. Knew his angles and knew what needed to be done. He also whistled and sang and hummed while he worked so that made it even more enjoyable.
My farrier told me the other day when he was doing my two that he is planning to retire when he's 50. I quickly asked him if he was 49 1/2.  I love the work that he does. Although I'm grateful for the farriers I've had in the past because I can see the difference between "ok" work and "great" work. I think anyways. |
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 Off the Wall Wacky
Posts: 2981
Location: Louisiana | BigMomma - 2017-04-13 9:16 PM
I have a good shoer and am kicking around the thought of upgrading to a great, well known shoer in our area. I need thoughts on how big of a difference can a good versus great shoer make?
Here's my opinion.
Your farrier is extremely important.
BUT, that said.......the best known, highly touted, most expensive guy that everyone uses around my area sucks in my opinion lol.
If you and your horses are happy, and you don't have a real reason to swap, don't. |
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 Angel in a Sorrel Coat
Posts: 16030
Location: In a happy place | My story would be too long. Back in my mid twenties my sister married a farrier that was suppose to be awesome. I thought yeah....so what....big deal. I had a young horse that I had been running in a series that ran for four months. Long story short he took 2 seconds exactly off his times he had been running. And he told me he would do before he ever shod him. This is why I react the way I do to people talking about horses cripple here and there and farrier questions. I lived it and believe if you don't have a good farrier you will not do as well and possibly cripple your horse. |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| This is a good discussion... my question is how do you decide who is great vs good.
For example, I have used the same guy my whole life. My gelding has awful feet and awful confirmation in his fronts which is not fixable but it can be managed. We have had him managed for 7 years but little things have made us adjust over the years. We had an incident last fall that we don't know what caused it and if you look at past posts you can read it more thoroughly. This situation left us a bit stumped...
So I called one of the best, not only in the state supposedly and he came out. He had ideas but super crazy ideas. Things that most farriers have never even heard of and rarely do horses require this type of setup. I told him what the vet said which he kind of laughed about.
How you do you decide? My vet who is also one of the best in the state has been very complimentary to my farrier but we have situation that isn't easily fixed. He is managing him the best he can with what he has to work with which the second farrier agreed with.
Does it make the second one great because he is so creative? It is just a question I have thought about. |
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Nut Case Expert
Posts: 9305
Location: Tulsa, Ok | stayceem - 2017-04-14 1:35 PM This is a good discussion... my question is how do you decide who is great vs good. For example, I have used the same guy my whole life. My gelding has awful feet and awful confirmation in his fronts which is not fixable but it can be managed. We have had him managed for 7 years but little things have made us adjust over the years. We had an incident last fall that we don't know what caused it and if you look at past posts you can read it more thoroughly. This situation left us a bit stumped... So I called one of the best, not only in the state supposedly and he came out. He had ideas but super crazy ideas. Things that most farriers have never even heard of and rarely do horses require this type of setup. I told him what the vet said which he kind of laughed about. How you do you decide? My vet who is also one of the best in the state has been very complimentary to my farrier but we have situation that isn't easily fixed. He is managing him the best he can with what he has to work with which the second farrier agreed with. Does it make the second one great because he is so creative? It is just a question I have thought about.
I think this is a "great" question. I often times see people and especially barrel racers jumping on the latest fad in farriers and shoes and many ending up very disappointed in the results. Just give me a dependable and conscientious shoer who is well enough educated and willing to listen and take the time to accomodate each individual horse and set of feet.
Oh and spare me the giant egos. I had a really great farrier once but someone had neglected to tell him his talent was not as big as his ego. |
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Dog Resuce Agent
Posts: 3459
Location: southeast Texas | I ?? My farrier. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | A great farrier will not make a bad horse into a good horse. Just as a great rifer will not win the Ky Derby on a mule.
But a bad farrier can ruin the greatest horse that ever lived. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| A shower makes all the difference in the world, I was blessed in my early years to meet shower who I have seen take an older proformance horse with a lot of arthritis put a set of shoes on this horse who was sore after shoeing move off sound. He knew how to shoe a horse for what he was and knew how to make one move.free. I learned a lot from him. Wish there was a farrier in my area that knew what he did
I have a good farrier now as I have taken several of my horses to.the vet for various problems and bet said my horse was shod very good
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 Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I look at it this way, I have a great farrier that is in his 70's and learned from a WWI calvery officer. He trims/shoes how the horse stands. When ever we do need shoes on a horse, which is rare, he does a wonderful job and has never made one come up sore etc with hard ranch riding. I pay $60 for a full set. I bet I can find a thousand farriers that charge over $120 for a full set that aren't half as good or knowledgeable as he is. But they went to a short farrier course that made them experts. I will always choose one based on the job they do vs credentials |
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 Balance Beam and more...
Posts: 11511
Location: 31 lengths farms | All!!! You can put the right feed in them, massage, Chiro, BOT, magnets , cold hose, vaccinate, but let's face it, what hits the ground first??? Their feet. Had a wise old cowboy tell me "if it doesn't feel right, start from the ground first" meaning their feet. |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
| I was with a good shoer, everything looked picture perfect from the outside. Took him to the vet when I noticed him starting to act sore in his hind end, after lameness exam I was sent home with advice to rest him. Threw him out to pasture for a month brought him back for light rides. First time out his cornet band started bleeding. Called shoer out who couldn't understand how or why. (Mind you this is a top referred, educated, certified shoer in our area). The next day I put him out to pasture and he took off like a bat out of h*ll. Half way across he all of sudden was 3 legged. The entire hoof split half an inch apart! (Let me know if you want pics!) The lamina, meat, everything that you shouldn't possibly see was showing. Immediately took him to vet and shoer met me there. That is where I realized I had a good shoer, not a great one. The vet recommended someone who was technically retired but would ultimately save my horses whole hoof. He was going in every 2/3 weeks to be re-shod and this was all because of an unbalanced rasp job.
My advice......go for the great shoer. If you had the option of picking a "good" horse or a "great" horse, you'll always choose the great one. Why wouldn't you do the same when it came to health and maintenance for you animal. |
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Duct Tape Bikini Girl
Posts: 2554
| My farrier is the most important decision I make for my horse's future. It is not only important to use the best you can find, but to make sure the farrier continues to do a good job. I do not understand people who spend a fortune on supplements, tack, and training, but go cheap on a farrier. Makes no sense at all. |
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BHW's Simon Cowell
Location: The Saudia Arabia of Wind Energy, Western Oklahoma | Are you having problems with your horse? If you aren't I would be careful switching. Sometimes some shoers just don't fit certain horses, no matter how "great" they are. |
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One Grateful Mom
Posts: 2702
Location: wolverton,mn | The difference between a sound performing horse or a crippled horse.
Your shoer can give a horse a trim or put shoes on depending on needs. If you move or ground conditions change,a good shoer will do the work depending on conditions.
The poor work of a shoer or lack of continuation of meeting a horses needs can be catastrophic |
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | stayceem - 2017-04-14 1:35 PM This is a good discussion... my question is how do you decide who is great vs good. For example, I have used the same guy my whole life. My gelding has awful feet and awful confirmation in his fronts which is not fixable but it can be managed. We have had him managed for 7 years but little things have made us adjust over the years. We had an incident last fall that we don't know what caused it and if you look at past posts you can read it more thoroughly. This situation left us a bit stumped... So I called one of the best, not only in the state supposedly and he came out. He had ideas but super crazy ideas. Things that most farriers have never even heard of and rarely do horses require this type of setup. I told him what the vet said which he kind of laughed about. How you do you decide? My vet who is also one of the best in the state has been very complimentary to my farrier but we have situation that isn't easily fixed. He is managing him the best he can with what he has to work with which the second farrier agreed with. Does it make the second one great because he is so creative? It is just a question I have thought about.
A good farrier keeps a horse sound. A great farrier understands the mechanics behind conformation and movement, and how that impacts the hoof and it's internal structures, which lead to keeping a horse sound. I am so thankful that I have an awesome farrier who understands this. |
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How much difference does a shoer make?