Farrier advice

[yellerroseintx]

I have an option to go to a new farrier...I am told he does many of the big farms and only charges 12.00 a head for minis....but.......I had such a hard time finding a farrier that would do minis and when I finally found my guy..he is so great..always calls the night before...very good/patient/kind with the horses and always on time...but he charges 25.00 per horse....I have 10 horses, so that is a big difference. I guess I am a bit attached to my farrier because he is so dependable...........but, this new guy must be good also if so many farms use him and he travels all over....but ..how does one know? Hate to loose my spot with mine yet that is also a decent savings.....aaaarrrgggg......opinions?

 

[Joanne]

My farrier was sick last year and I had to use another farrier for a while. He was a nice guy, but I was quickly unhappy with the newborn foals feet and switched to another farrier.

I love the prices you are quoting. $25.00 is the best I can do here for an adult. They charge $15.00 for a baby.

Money isn't everything. If your guy is doing a great job it would be hard for me to change on price alone.

 

[Marty]

Hi Kathye, $25.00 per horse is a huge chunk of change to trim a mini. A big horse yes ok but not a mini. I think that's way out of line. My farrier is a Natural Barefoot Certified trimmer who is more than reasonable, $12.00 a horse and I split a trip fee with others. The other farriers around here have even been calling me trying to drum up business to see if I would like to use them, since times are tough and are lowering their prices. Ask for references and check out the new guy and see if you and your horses like him and if he is punctual, curteous, and most importantly, knows how to trim. Unless your present farrier can walk on water too, I'd be out there looking for someone else.

 

[MindyLee]

As a mini farrier myself, I see this a lot and dont get bothered by it. I am the undercutter and still see many folks use their old farrier instead of me because they are confertable and very much satisfied with that person. AND theres no problem with that. All else fails, use the cheaper person once and see if they treat you and your minis the same while also seeing their job preformance. If your satisfied, let them know and explain this to them and let them know that if you leave your other guy, that this new guy must be able to take care of your minis and make that comitment like the old one did. But if you hate his work, dont hire him again and go back to the other person. You might want to ask about his experiance with minis as well. Dose he do a lot of them? If so that is always a plus. I personally ONLY work on minis NO biggies. Most of my clients love me and love how I talk to them and their horses the whole time and get the job done correctly at a reasonable price. Some others, just move on or learn themselves. I usally spend my days off from work doing Farrier work off the side which only started as doing my own then the word got out and now 6 years later do about 100-200 feet a year.

ALSO! keep the other # incase you do switch, just for back up. You may end up needing him again later down the road.

WOW!!! I charge $15 per mini & dont even charge for foals until their 4 months old.

 

[yellerroseintx]

[ Unless your present farrier can walk on water too, I'd be out there looking for someone else.

HA HA HA HA...you are so funny Marty!!!!!!!!

 

[Hosscrazy]

If your guy is doing a great job it would be hard for me to change on price alone.

I absolutely agree. A good farrier is worth his weight in gold. BTW - the farriers out here charge a LOT more for trims...$25 is not a bad price at all, and adding to that he's good? I sure wouldn't change!

Liz R.

 

[rcfarm]

I pay 25.00 per mini also. He is a natural barefoot trimmer. He is very reliable and calls day before. Also is very patient and kind to my horses. 12.00 is a great price, but is he any good with minis? In my area 25.00 is good, most charge 35.00.

You could check this person out first.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Hi Kathye, $25.00 per horse is a huge chunk of change to trim a mini. A big horse yes ok but not a mini. I think that's way out of line.

There's those regional differences again!

Out here you can't get a big horse done for less than $50, it costs $100-125 per visit to get my big horse shod. Every farrier I've had charges $25 to trim a mini and some ask $35, no discount for age or size. And people wonder how I can manage to avoid collecting horses!

When you're living at home and trying to support a very expensive habit on one part-time salary, well, another $150 per basic vet visit and $25 every six or seven weeks adds up quick.

On the other hand, I'm lucky. We have good vets who know minis and take them seriously, and the farriers are fighting terrible traffic and putting a lot of wear on their trucks trying to get out here for just little ol' me. It could be a lot worse.

It's definitely enough to make me pick up a rasp and try to keep hind toes squared and imbalances corrected so I can go a little longer between visits though!

Yellerroseintx, I understand your frustration. Try the new guy and see what you think of him, but it's quite possible you'll get what you pay for. I certainly would not alienate your current farrier! If he calls to ask if your horses need a trim because he hasn't heard from you, let him know that you're having budget issues and had to try a farrier who charges a little less but you've been very happy with his service and will come back if the cheaper shoer does not work out. He'll understand. Can you ask your current guy if he'll give you some sort of quantity discount in order to keep your business?

Leia

 

[hahler]

ok this thread got our curiosity up. as most of you know this is what we do full time so as we drive I added up our half used reciept book from only a month and a half use and came up with 518 head then I figured feet and just about fell over (thank god for seat belts) we only charge $15 per head but every one is right if your happy then stay with your old one but if you decide to change check references and double check

 

[RockRiverTiff]

My concern with the new guy would be availability. He's already got a full roster of clients--do you have a very open schedule so you can make dates work every month? That is big savings though! Our farrier charges $20/horse and that's discounted because of our numbers. I'd say $35 is average--yes for a mini--if you can find a farrier that does them at all.

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

HI! KATHYE, CHECK REFERANCES, I TRIED SOMEONE ELSE AND WAS VERY SORRY. YOU KNOW HOW MANY I HAVE SO PRICE IS A BIG DEAL. IT TOOK MORE THAN I SAVED TO CORRECT THE HORRIBLE TRIMS I GOT. IF THEY ARE GOOD,YOU LIKE THEIR WORK AND NOT MEAN TO THE HORSE. DO A FEW EVERY MONTH IN ROTATION, THATS WHAT I'M DOING. GIVE MILLIE A HUG FOR ME AND TELL HER I STILL LUV HER.

 

[Margaret]

25 per trim is a good price in my opinion- for a good farrier.

That is my price for close clients, and I do charge a little more to go out further for the extra mileage.

 

[Minimor]

If your current farrier is good and you are pleased with his service then no, I would not switch just because the other guy is $10/horse cheaper.

I also would not take the word of all those other farms--big farms or small farms. At the very least I would want to go to some of those farms--at least one of them, if they have a number of horses I could look at--and check out his work for myself. Or, I would have him come & trim my horses once...or at least trim 2 of them...and see what I thought of his work. Thing is, I have learned over the years that different people have different expectations when it comes to farrier service.

Some owners aren't all that interested in whether or not their horses are correctly trimmed--either they just don't bother to pay attention, or they don't know what is or isn't good farrier work, and so as long as their horses get trimmed every 6-8 weeks, they are happy, and will say that their farrier is wonderful & does a great job. They maybe don't notice that the heels are left too long, or the angles are wrong, or the foot is crooked.

Over the years I've had people tell me that so & so is just a fantastic farrier. Then I've tried the guy for myself & been extemely disappointed in the results. I've been at shows and farms where I was able to size up the trim job on other people's horses--and while they're telling me about their fabulous farrier, I'm noting that the horse's feet are each at a different angle, or the horse is trimmed crooked...things like that. So, I never take anyone's word for it--I like to see for myself. And I'd sure never take the farrier's word for it when he says he trims for Big Name Farm--if you ask Big Name Farm you might learn that they had used the guy once & then sent him packing because he lamed 3 horses!! Yeah, the guy trimmed for them once, he isn't their regular farrier--see it happen that way too.

 

[vvf]

ok this thread got our curiosity up. as most of you know this is what we do full time so as we drive I added up our half used reciept book from only a month and a half use and came up with 518 head then I figured feet and just about fell over (thank god for seat belts) we only charge $15 per head but every one is right if your happy then stay with your old one but if you decide to change check references and double check

So, are you coming back up to S.D. this fall to trim? If so, contact me, I have 24 to do. And have been looking for a new farrier.

 

[disneyhorse]

A good farrier is hard to find!

I would stay with the one you have now... sometimes QUALITY is worth a little more!!!!

Personally, I have never paid less than $25 for a trim (it's expensive in my area, up to $50 per horse, I'm paying $40 now). Money is part of horse ownership!

It may be worth the money to stay with who you have... it may be a gamble to switch.

Andrea

 

[Katiean]

I pay $35 each to get my horses trimmed. I have 4. My guy says it takes just as much time to trim a mini as it does a big horse. This is true if they are doing a good job. Then there is the extra stress on the farriers back. I would rather pay $35 each and have them done right than pay $15 and then it is just an acceptable job. That reminds me, I need to get Scott out here.

 

[ljc]

Wow. I'm another Southern California poster here and I'm astounded at how inexpensive trims are in other parts of the country. I'm paying $40 per mini, which, in comparison to what I pay for my big horses ($135 for corrective front shoes w/pads in front, barefoot behind; $225 for corrective front shoes w/pads and plain ol' steel behind; $85 for plain ol' steel in front, barefoot behind) seems really cheap.

But after dealing with farriers for the last 40 years, I would NEVER switch shoers simply on the basis of price if I was happy with the work being done. One bad shoeing (or trim) can take months, if not years, to undo. I value my relationships with my two farriers so much and it's a two-way street.

I would stick with what you have.

And doesn't $25 seem cheap now that you've heard prices out here? (Up in the Bay Area, I was paying more than $300 for shoes for my show hunter). I was thrilled to see cheaper prices down here.

 

[Joanne]

ljc I can sympathize with you. We are in Northern California and yes, there are apparently regional differences !!

I LOVE the thought of $15.00 a horse!

But alas, $25.00 is the cheapest we can get, and that is a quantity discount. We had to hire another farrier last year as our own had surgery and was out for months. I paid much more for the replacement (despite the quantity issue) and he did not do a good job on my foals. As soon as I could bribe my original farrier back I did. She agreed that that we had some work to do to correct the foals.

He was leaving the heals too high. It is amazing how a couple of bad trims at a critical time can cause so much grief. I paid more and got less skill.

Money is one thing, skill is another. Money does not always buy skill or common sense.

 

[coopermini]

If your current guy is doing a good job keep him. Around here mini trims are $20-35 each and not sure many are happy with the quality of the work. Most are just glad to have some one that will do them. Thankfully there are a few that do a very nice job with minis here.

 

[krissy3]

i also agree that you should stay with the guy that is already doing a good job...1 bad trim and you could be out of a lot more money in vet bills and corrective trimming...it happened to me... I ended upü spending about 500. in vet bills to find out my horses were lame due to VERY bad trims. OUCH!!! 25 is a very good price...45 is the norm around here .