Questions to ask potential farrier?

There are many good farrier schools in the US. Ask your farrier for his name, and where he went to school. Google his name and the school. There are some good apprentice farriers who havent been to school, but they're hit and miss and i dont like to take chances when it comes to my horses. i prefer someone with formal education, who is current on practices and treatments available.

barefoot, im tired of you throwing all farriers into a category if ignorant rednecks, who arent capable of prepping a hoof to go barefoot.

does this look like the work of a "garden variety farrier"?

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q177/anaconda12...

the works of an incompetent being? I hardly think so. so you know 6 months later this horse went back to doing hunts.

Im not saying there arent crappy farriers out there, because we all know there is. Which is probably why the horse in the picture was like this at the beginning of the pictures. But there are very well educated ones as well. That goes the same with barefoot trimmers. I dont think theyre all quacks, but there certainly are just as many crappy uneducated trimmers who dont need a certification to practice as there are farriers.

Ask his other customers how good he is. Being certified doesn't matter since I've had a really crappy farrier here before that lamed up all 3 of my horses and he went to school and everything, but I got one here now that never took classes and he's the best one we've ever had.The certified one told us to put our pony down because he was too lame to do anything with, this new guy has been doing the pony's hooves for just 5 months and the pony is already growing a new perfectly healthy hoof and getting around easier. I pay $40 each horse per trim job and have it done every other month but I wouldn't pay anything more if I were you. Make sure they scrape out some of the sole with the hoof knife everytime and make sure they measure after they're done. Unless it's a Quarter Horse, the hooves don't need to be at 90 degree angles which will cause too much stress on the muscles and lame him up again. Also make sure they file around the front of the hoof to avoid chipping, my mare has the same problem. There's not really a way to help a horse that's flat footed since that's a genetic conformation thing. If you would live around my area I'd give you the number of my farrier.

I am feeling very ignorant today. What the heck is a "pasture trim'?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving a horse barefoot, but not every horse can go barefoot 100% of the time due to genetics, environment, and use. Yes, I am a farrier, and I do shoe horses. My own horse is barefoot, and his feet look beautiful. My husband's horse is currently wearing front shoes, and his hooves look "acceptable", but he is a platter footed thoroughbred that will never have gorgeous feet- it is just not in his breeding. Of the horses in my care, more than 50% are barefoot. Some are shod year round, some are shod seasonally according to pasture conditions or where and how they are riding. Hooves are not static- they constantly change due to nutrition, environment, and exercise among other things.

When someone starts talking to me about natural, barefoot or certified trims, I usually answer whose trims? K.C. La Pierre's HTP trim? Lyle Bergeleen's (HoofTalk) natural trim? Hiltrude Strasser's trim (this is the one that will send a farrier's blood pressure over the roof, and I would avoid anyone who says use this trim style. It is also the one that diverges the most from the other trims)? Dr. Ric Redden's 4 point trim? Gene Ovnicek's Natural Balance Trim? Michael Savoldi's Universal Sole Thickness trim? I could go on, but solid trimming principles are the same, no matter what name you label it with. A lot of the "certifications" are ways for particular people to make money. Lyle Bergaleen has trade marked a lot of terms and aims his marketing directly at horse owners. K. C. La Pierre is one heck of a marketer with his "degree applied equine podiatrist" program. Is there anything wrong with these trims? No. Is there anything that makes them better? No.

There are good conscientious trimmers and farriers, and there are also bad trimmers and farriers. Good trimmers and farriers don't need to advertise. Word of mouth gets them all the business they need. If you are going to try one that is advertising, I would ask about their education, and more importantly, who they have worked with since leaving school, and how much. Someone that takes a three day, 2 week, or even 6 month course will not have the experience that someone who has been under lots of horses has. Real life is not text book. There are general solid principles that apply, but one size does not fit all.

Historically we did not shoe horses because it was expected, looked fashionable, or sounded cool when riding down the road. Horses were being used hard enough that they were becoming foot sore. The first solution was leather boots (hmm, does this start to sound familiar?). The boots were did not last long enough, so someone came up with the idea of metal plates attached with leather straps. These were inconvenient, they could be worn only so long, and they could cause rubs. Someone got the idea that the hoof wall is dead, with no blood flow or nerves, and they could attach the metal directly to the hoof wall. Was this done to every horse? No. Only those that NEEDED it.

My advice to you is ask the owners of the horse who their farrier was, and if the horse's hind hooves held up well year round bare foot. Given that they stipulated the horse must wear front shoes, it probably does not have genetically great feet. If you are boarding in a place where multiple farriers/trimmers come, ask someone else to tell you what kind of hooves your horse has. I would start with this question instead of how does this trim look because some people try so hard to sell themselves that will run down others. Then ask what would you do differently? Do no ask this question 4 weeks after a trim, but try to get it within 2 weeks of having your horse's feet done.

Please remember that humans have been trimming horses' hooves for thousands of years. No new principles have been developed in the last 25, they have just been re-packaged and marketed.

Sorry not to get caught in all the drama, but I'm confused. Gallop I'm pretty sure I saw an answer of yours not long ago saying that studies showed that ALL horses could go barefoot and NO horses need shoes EVER.

So why would you use some butcher that according to your own answer

"I was able to find a highly competent farrier who is also a certified barefoot trimmer and who is intimately familiar with the information imparted through extensive research findings. This information has changed the way she practices, and she rarely places a shoe any more."

She rarely places a shoe which means she still does. Doesn't that fly in the face of the barefoot only mantra you preach on here? Aren't you supporting one of these shoeing quacks you are complaining about?

Honestly I'm guessin you just found a good farrier and trimmer. They do exist and one of the things I like about them is that they are not blinded by the dogma of a farrier or trimmer only. If the horse needs shoes they get it and if they don't they don't. I'm not letting my hoof religion get in the way of my horses care I'm glad your farrier doesn't either.

People TD Barefoot because of her Barefoot only Mantra. That all horses everywhere can go barefoot which is something your highly competent trusted farrier that you trust with your horses doesn't agree with so why should we?

I like to go look at their shoeing jobs over their trimming jobs. To me it's much easier to mess up a shoe job than it is a trim job. You have to have a properly trimmed foot to have a properly shod foot.

I look for matching angles in all 4 feet (with the exception of club feet), nice balanced feet for that horse. Shoes that aren't too small for the foot. I look out for long toes and underslung heels if it's something you see in a lot of his clients.

I watched several horses of the course of a few months before contacting my farrier. I watched the horses who he trimmed and those he shod. He really impressed me with the way he handled one older navicular horse with crumbling feet. He went out of his way to try and make that horse sound. That job solidified me and I've been with my farrier for 3 years now.

I also ask clients whether he accepts suggestions or not. I want a farrier who will listen to what I say. If I tell him my horse has stifle issues and the vet says he needs a squared toe in the back and a different angle then I would like him to consider what I said, listen to the issues and then make the judgement for himself. I also like a farrier who will explain what he's doing and why he's doing it.

An FYI, there's no such thing as "natural trimming", it's not natural for a horse to have a farrier doing his feet. The Natural Balance crap that's going around isn't suitable for every horse. Not every horse needs a rolled toe for additional breakover. Then you start playing with things. I've seen a lot of horses get too upright from that style of trimming. Like I said before, the key to a good shoe job is a good trim. A farrier good at shoeing is going to be one that is good at trimming. My farrier isn't a "Certified Barefoot Trimmer," he's a dang good farrier and good at what he does. I've never had a horse sore from a trim job or a shoe job and he spends just as much time trimming a horse that's barefoot as he does trimming the hoof for shoes.

A good farrier will always be a good farrier no matter what he's doing.

Hey Barefoot, where's your published work? Where's the proof that you're qualified?

Google the farrier, a lot of the time you can find things on people.

Ask him about your horse's hooves and any problems, and ask what he'd do. Ask him about scenarios. You're an employer, interviewing him for a job, treat it as such.

If he's any good he should supply you with a list of customers to contact as references.

Ask around also, you'd be surprised how word of mouth gets around.

I have gotten onto a brilliant barefoot trimmer who has done an awesome job on my mares flared hooves. She also had shoes on her front two hooves only. Since the regular barefoot trimming she doesn't require shoes at all. My gelding also had pretty crappy feet with very thin walls which chipped and cracked very easily. Her corrective shoeing has improved the quality of his feet immensely. (I also have them trimmed every four weeks until all the issues are resolved).

See if you can find anyone who has used him before.

@Gallop. We TD Barefoot because she gives bad answers. She's so high and mighty thinking that only her way of doing thing is acceptable and no other way of doing things will ever work for a horse. I think I've only ever seen one good answer from her. All her answers are just ignorant, rude, and I don't agree with any of her methods. The point of TDs are to say when you disagree with an answer. Considering I never agree with her answers, I TD her.

EDIT:@ Gallop. You have said on MANY occasions that all horses can go barefoot. I've also seen numerous answers from you saying to pull the corrective shoes off a horse and do corrective barefoot work instead. We've all seen them so please don't deny it.

Ask for references of course, but also ask him things like

How long have you been doing this?

How many steady customers do you have?

Ask him how he would adress your horses problem

Just things like that.

I simply asked for a number of a client so i could ask them what a job he does