Horse Owner Opinions Needed

[hahler]

OK i have a weird inquiry

as i stated in another thread i dont mind helping to catch, worm, and yes take registration pictures but........

i have been getting some clients that tell me there is the rope and there is the paddock then leave.

some of these ponies the only way to catch them with out at least 2 people would involve a good roping horse

As the farrier is it wrong to charge alittle more per horse that I have to wrangle and wrestle myself?

im just curious on what opinions would be

makes for an even longer day for me and im getting so many clients that im about ready to say cant take anymore (but not at that point)

thanks for your responses

dawn

 

[Hunter]

Hi

I think it is perfectly okay to charge a "training fee" or at least that is what my farrier has been calling it

for years. He has always charge extra for people that just leave and expect him to catch as well as trim.

He adds 10.00 if he has to catch and if it is a rodeo more than twice he will add extra as well. Some may not

agree but I don't have a problem with it.

 

[Shortpig]

First if you are a farrier and consider yourself to be a professional. "Then you are a professional". Expect to receive the respect that comes along with that designation.

Second never in a million years would I expect a farrier to chase my horses, catch them and then trim them. Not their responsibility. They aren't being paid for that.

The farriers we have dealt with over the years would leave a nice note saying when you have time to get your horses feet trimmed give me a call, schedule an appt and be prepared to lead your horse to me, hold it or tie it up and I will be pleased to trim your horse.

What a way to lose a good farrier. Good farriers can be so hard to find the last thing a person would want to do is lose one due to their own lack of consideration.

I wish you the best in your profession and above all else be good to yourself it's a hard enough back breaking job that you do. I know because I do all my own horses feet and have done a few for friends over the years.

 

[h2t99]

I see nothing wrong with adding a catch fee!! I can understand them not being there and that is fine if they are well behaved but have them caught in a stall or tied otherwise charge a fee!! I know several farriers that charge extra if you are not there!! or at least someone there to hang on to the horse!! It is not your responsibility to have a horse ready to get its feet done!! You should not feel bad about it at all, I think it is a respect issue for your farrier!!

 

[hahler]

thank you for the quick responses

i try to keep my prices low and from what im reading what others are charging im anywhere from $5-15 cheaper

i guess your right it is inconsiderate not to "help" with the catching of their horses

 

[Marty]

Wow Dawn, that's not fair to you and not part of your job description! When my farrier comes here she is treated very well with drinks and snacks provided and a fan. My horses are up in the stalls, haltered waiting for her. All my horses are pretty nice to do except this one pain in the butt I have that's such a drama queen, but I did offer her extra because she was being naughty.

Theses clients of yours are taking advantage of you big time. It is very nice of you to help out with photo taking etc. but you do have to know where to draw the line. You need to tell your clients up front that the horses have to be caught up and ready period or you will not do them. Your time is money. And tell them if they are not trained, there will most definatley be an extra fee for that. To be treated like the professional you are, you have to act like one too.

 

[CrescentMinis]

That is fantastic that your business is growing!. As you add more good clients (the ones who have the horses haltered and ready, and hold them for you!), I would drop the ones you are describing who expect you to do all this extra stuff that isn't part of your normal service. I think that is a completely rude and disrespectful way to treat a farrier and I would walk if I were in your shoes.

 

[Christina_M]

My cousin is a farrier so even from the family standpoint, I catch and hold my horses for him. Even though, my horses are trained to stand still for their feet trimming he still wants me to stand right there at their head. This enables me to help in the event that one of them trys to bite him or rear, etc. I can see their face and can tell if something is wrong or may happen. From a safety perspective, I prefer to be there and have a hold of the lead rope, just in case I need to assist. For example, one of my mares, had a bad habit of rearing when being trimmed. (I think her previous farrier might have drove a few nails wrong and caused this behavior.) Anyway, when she did this I could pull the horse by her head away from the farrier so he didn't get stomped on. If I saw her arching her back I knew she was about to rear and could stop her before she did it. A farrier cannot control a horse when they are bent down at their feet.

As a owner, I wouldn't want the liability of leaving anyone in my barn alone with my horses. I would feel responsible if something happened to the farrier if I left them alone with my horses. I know my horses and how they act. I can tell when everything is fine and when something's wrong. The farrier can’t tell this from under the horse. From the other side, there are all kinds of people out there and if I'm not there to ensure that everything goes well, they might just decide to sue if something goes wrong. You may want to mention to the people that if something goes wrong that they could be liable for any injuries you incur.

Good luck!

 

[Leeana]

I would never expect my farrier to go out in the pasture and chase down a horse, halter it and bring it up to the barn to be trimmed and do everything by himself. There have been times when ive had to go into work, but i bring all of the horses up to the barn and put them in stalls so he knows who i want done. For the most part my horses are pretty easy to trim, but i like to be there just incase one decides to be a pain in the butt. I would have no problem with my farrier charging extra for extra services. You are a professional, lay down the charges for the clients to see clearly and that is what goes

.

 

[Baydreamfarms]

I would expect the owner to at least catch the horse for me if I was doing hooves. Now that said my parents when I was growing up had shoers that prefered to work alone. So the first few times they came out we would catch the horse for them and hand them over and head inside. By the third time or so we would go out an talk to them and they would go catch the horses. Our were usually waiting at the gate anyways. I actually found it very odd when I moved out here that people held their horses for the shoer. But again our horses were VERY easy to catch.

But I would def be wanting a few extra bucks for the hard to catch horses, or would be telling the owners that if the horse isn't waiting for me when I get there, you have 5 min to catch him or you will leave and charge them for your time. Being a farrier is demanding enough and straining enough on the muscles that you don't need an arobics work out as well. I would def start informing the customers with hard to catch horses that you no longer retreive horses, they need to be ready when you get there.

 

[Jill]

Absolutely NOT. When we used a farrier, never would I expect to have him go get the horses himself, etc. Usually, H and I would both be there and one would hold the current horse and the other would go get the next horse so we were ready for him to knock it out and not cause him to waste any time he didn't want to waste at our place.

When I get into a business relationship with a client, the ground rules are spelled out up front as to what to expect from me, and what I expect from them. Maybe you could do something along those lines? Plus, it's a good thing to NOT have to take everyone as a client.

 

[bingo]

A farrier worth their salt has no need to spend any time doing these things with or without the client.

I can tell you I have never known a well respected farrier who is good at what they do waste any amount of time on *training* someone's horse or rounding it up. They simply do not have the time as they are of course in high demand.

Not only would I not expect it as a client but I would not allow it. If my farrier had time or inclination to do these things I would have to wonder.

Of course there is always exceptions we have elderly neighbors with a few horses and they can not walk the pasture to catch them however even then the farrier does not waste her time to catch them. She calls me on her way over and makes sure they are caught and tied and ready to go. She simply is to much in demand to do the things owners should be doing. As it should be IMO

 

[disneyhorse]

When I get a new horse in, it doesn't get its feet done until I myself can pick up all four feet with relative ease. Some horses I get in, I can't catch and I can't get near their feet... If I can't even pick up their feet I can't expect my farriers to and on top of that handle extremely sharp tools!

Once my horses are good, then they get their feet trimmed. They don't get shoes unless they are good at having the feet trimmed, and then we just start with the fronts. I don't expect my farriers to train!

I would be willing to pay a catch fee, or a difficult horse fee. I had a farrier in the past that charged a difficult horse fee... and I got to tell you it DID motivate me to work with my horses more diligently!

Andrea

 

[Riverdance]

You are a professional, and as such, should act that way and be treated that way.

Any farm that expects you to catch their horses, hold their horses and trim their horses should be taken off your list. For every farm that does that, you could be doing two farms tlhat are ready for you with their horses haltered, tied and ready to be trimed.

I would send those farms that treat you with less respect a letter indicating what you expect when triming their horses; that if they do not comply, you will be dropping them from your schedule. Why work twice as hard for less money, then if you did two farms in the time it would take you to do one where you are chasing their horses, or even helping them chase their horses.

A good farrier is hard to come buy, expecially one who is willing to do Mini's.

 

[Joanne]

We do not expect our farrier to do anything but trim their feet, however I certainly appreciate it if they speed the process along and occasionally come to a pen with me so that more than one horse can be lead to the barn for trimming. Most of our horses stand quietly and leaving them with the farrier while I return horses that have been trimmed is not a problem. For some of the colts or stallions if they are dancing around I stand at their head while he trims. And dams with foals at their side I hold the foal at the mares head which keeps her from being anxious and moving around to see where her foal is.

We have cross ties and rubber mats in the barn as well as good lighting to make this easier for everyone.

 

[Denise]

Now Dawn I thought you liked the little rodeo's.

Only kidding-dont kill me.

I am one of her clients and I can say she does an excellent job, is on time and even calls when running behind. I do not expect her to go get my horses or trim an unruly one, that is my job to train that little toot to stand and behave, she is a farrier not a horse trainer.

Time is important to her and to have to wrangle horses and catch them is unbelievable that people would expect that from her.

Personally I would leave and tell them when you have them up and haltered, give me a call, I might be able to come back.

 

[LittleRibbie]

Like most people here, I have mine ( I only have 5 ) in their stalls all set to be trimmed. I would never expect my farrier to catch or round up any of my horses. IN MY WILDEST DREAMS COULD I IMAGINE ASKING MY VET TO COME OVER AND HALTER AND ROUND UP MY HORSES FOR VACCINATIONS.....WHILE i SIT IN THE HOUSE AND HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE...SO WHY WOULD A FARRIER BE ANY DIFFERENT!!! THEY ARE BOTH PROFESSIONALS AND SPENT TIME LEARNING A PROFFESION AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH!!

I have had this farrier a couple of yrs. now and he knows all my horses little quirks but I still want to be there to watch and remind him...."S'mores sometimes shows his locking stifle....he's not being a brat" or "Peanut has a fear of her left front being touched" You just never know if the someone is having a bad day ( just had to chase 3 horses around the pasture followed by a kick in the privates ) ....... and I dont want it taken out on my horses!!

Its sad that you would have to send letters out to some of your customers. Its just a simple common courtesy for horse owners. Have your horses ready.

Its too bad because Im sure you want new customers and would like to go the extra mile for people but it sounds like some are really taking advantage of your kindness!! Heidi

 

[mininik]

Get some policies in place and stand by them. You're a farrier. Not a trainer. Not a vet. Not a photographer. Why should you have to be out there catching, training, vetting or photographing horses for a farrier's fee? Please be careful and note that giving wormer in the case of a horse having a reaction or overdose could become a major liability issue. I wouldn't doubt "wrangling" a horse out in the field for the owner could go bad as well should the horse end up hurt. I say stick to what you're trained and licensed to do.

 

[Cowgirl Up]

I agree with everyone else. I would never expect my farrier or vet to come and catch my horses!

It is my job as the owner to present them with a clean, caught, trained horse standing in a good place for them to do their job. I cannot imagine just tossing a vet or farrier a lead rope and going "they're out there. Thanks." and walking off!

I honestly cannot think of any way to be rude to a professional giving my horses care.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Thats crazy. I wouldn't want to leave my farrier and my horses unsupervised. What if something happens to you, or the horse, who would find you and when? I would consider that to be a little bit of an issue.

If you are left by yourself, and you are expected to catch them yourself, then yes I would certaintly charge a fee. Also I always wondered if farriers don't charge extra for a horse that doesn't behave, and I mean really DOESN'T behave. Cause it is not your job to train these horses, its the owners resposibility to train them to behave for trimming.

You are very kind to help catch, worm, and help with reg. pictures. But when the owner dosen't bother to help you I think that draws the line.