Horse Owner Opinions Needed

[minifreishorsefarm]

We trim our own hooves so we dont have that problem. But years ago when we had big horses, we always brought each horse to the farrier and stood and held the horse. NEVER would I expect the farrier to catch my horse herself. She did complain at the time that a lot of people would do that. She loved us because we always stayed and held the horse and talked to her too.

I cant even imagine expecting the farrier to catch my horse and I would never be gone when she came to do it. Thats about hte rudest idea I can think of!

Marsha

 

[Equuisize]

At the very least, it is presumptuous for them to assume you would do this as part

of your farrier service.

I understand, on days when you have time with a special client, helping out taking

photos or whatever. Sometimes there are people you are willing to just do more

for because of the relationship.

Catching and training horses before you can get down to doing 'your job' with them

is way beyond the call of duty ....... and if you agree to do it, it should be accompanied

with a hefty price tag.

People just blow me away sometimes with what expect with the least amount of

doing on their own part.

The other thing is your own safety......farrier's are actually in a dangerous business.

Your health and welfare, should you be injured by someone's untouched by human

hands horse or just plain naughty horse, while an inconvenience to the owner, could

end up being a major life altering event in your life.

We had a local farrier, some years ago, that had a customers unruly horse flip over onto

his back. He no longer is a farrier and has dealt with many years of pain since.

I protect my farrier with all I've got. People like the way my horses feet look and ask

for his number frequently. If I know they've unruly horses I tell them he no longer takes

new clients. He is my friend and I care about him but he's also an very important part

of my horse care plan and he needs to be healthy to do that.

I have expectations of how my farrier will treat and care for my horses when he's here

and he has expectations of what I will do to make his job go as planned.

Hope you are soon in a position to eliminate the customers that are taking advantage of

your good nature.

 

[Magic]

I'd suggest that you add a BIG fee for having to catch a horse, if you even want to do that anymore, which I can't imagine!

When my farrier comes here, I catch each horse and take it to him, including having the next horse caught and tied up nearby so that I don't slow him down. As he is finished with each horse I take it back to where it belongs and turn it loose. We have over 30 horses here so it helps to be efficient in order to get the trimming done in a decent time frame. But even when, say, the vet is coming and going to look at just one or two horses, those horses are caught and ready to be seen long before the vet ever arrives. It's showing respect for the other person and for their time.

I agree that it would be a good idea for you to write a letter to your customers, outlining what you expect and also what the extra charges will be for extra work.

 

[hahler]

I have already dropped 2 (about 50 head) because of that.

I could use the money but you are right on the injury aspect, which ive been really thinking about lately since im now going alone

If i get hurt all my other clients suffer and i have my own ranch to run as most of you know

i do have alot of "older" clients that i leave extra time to assist them with what ever they need help with.

I know its not 'professional" but its human kindness

what gets me is the people that are able to help wont and i do understand that things can come up all of a sudden which i understand.

thanks for all of the ideas that other farriers are putting into place i just dont want to price myself out of business cause i enjoy what i do

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

Our farrier has "friendly reminders" (aka rules lol) spelled out on our receipts and one of them specifically says:

"Please have your horse(s) ready: haltered, in stall or tied, before your scheduled appt. time to ensure quick service and so I can maintain my next appt. time"

Even has one on there regarding mare/foal and asking that the foal be restrained while he's trimming the mare, said we wouldn't believe how many places he's gone to trim mares (both mini and large) and they'd allow the foal to roam around while he's trimming the mare, of course when the foal went out of sight the mare(s) would act up and get fidgety or the little snot would come up and nip him while he was bent over

Also asks that if the scheduled time is around your typical feeding time, that you feed your horse early, we all know how cranky a horse can get when they know it's feeding time! To me it's kind of sad that he has to spell out all of these things when it should be pretty much common sense!

He schedules a set time and is typically right on time, or on the early side, don't recall him ever being 'late', so I have no problem about having our horses caught, haltered, tied or in stalls, depending on who is being done.. I would never expect him to go out and catch our horses, while our horses are friendly and easy to catch, what would happen if he were to get hurt or vice versa, one of the horses, since neither knows each other?

The last time he was out we had 2 mares, 3 yearlings and 2 foals clipped, all were caught, haltered and tied (with exception of the foals) in anticipation for his arrival.. We always have two people available (typically myself and then one of my siblings or parents) to help him, he'll clip the first and as he's working on the last hoof the other person will have the next untied and waiting so when he's done with the one horse we can move the next right in, that way he doesn't spend any more time here than he needs too and can make it to his next appointment on time.

One of the farriers we used when we first got our trail horses, ended up getting kicked by a horse he was trimming alone, no owner was there and ended up having severe back injuries, he's no longer able to do farrier work

 

[Minimor]

Wow, I can see adding a 'training fee' if you have to trim an unruly horse, and even a 'catch fee' if you have to go out in the pasture and catch an easy-to-catch horse...and I know that catching an easy to catch horse is no big deal, but at the same time if you have 20 horses that you have to go out and catch in order to trim them, that adds a lot of time to your already long day and I think an owner should expect to pay a bit more when you have to do their job and yours too.

Now if you're expected to go out and catch an impossible to catch horse I would say you should just tell the owner that you will be happy to come back and trim the horse once they have caught the horse for you but you are not in a position to spend so much extra time catching horses. If you only had 3 clients and didn't want to give up any of the work that would be one thing, but since you're now picking up more and more clients, do you really need to mess with the impossible to catch horses that the owner can't be bothered to catch for you??

I trim my own horses now, but back in the days when we did have a farrier we always made sure we were there to catch and hold the horses. We'd make sure the horse had his breakfast early if the farrier was coming first thing in the morning, we'd spray the horse for flies and then be there to whisk off flies that still bothered in spite of the spray...we'd supply cold drinks in summer and hot coffee in winter, sometimes had baking to offer with the drink...I would never have expected the farrier to go out and catch a horse, and we didn't have any that were hard to catch.

 

[SweetOpal]

My farrier charges $ 35 per trim, I get the horse out, put it in cross ties and if I need to stand there to make sure that horse stands that is what I do, so when my farrier is here it is an all day thing, I don't expect him to take his life into danger to trim my horses, I consider him a professional and treat him as such.

I have had a hard time finding a good farrier in my area, I am not concerned so much about trims as I am about the 5 moderns that wear shoes. I will do whatever it takes to keep this farrier happy!!! If I were you Dawn there is no way I would subject myself to getting injured, you have many clients that do rely on you and I am sure they have thier horses broke. Good luck, not a business I would probably do well in.

 

[Katiean]

I would NEVER even think of leaving someone else to catch my horse (big or small). We have one mini that takes 2 to catch and it no matter what you are doing with her. If I were a ferrier I would charge a catch fee. Also, if the horse wont stand still, I would carge even more for my time and brused feet if the owner doesn't help.

 

[Michelle@wescofarms]

My old farrier use to help catch the horses, but he also would come and stay for two days at a time - I fed/housed him while he was here plus he liked to start trimming about 5-6 a.m. and I'm not up that early by choice! So I would have the horses penned up and he would start before me - he just left them tied until I could do whatever I needed to them and record which ones had what done. It was just how it worked for that specific situation.

My current farrier - I don't expect him to catch horses it's not his job anymore than I would expect my vet to catch a sick horse! He has been an extra body when we have 'that particular' horse to catch. She sees his truck and wants to head for the hills. It takes three people to halter her and get her trimmed. Long story of a @#% personality and bad experiences when she was young with a throw them to the ground and trim them farrier at her first home.

I do like Andrea's idea having them trained in advance - farriers must love you for that!!! One of the reasons when we start trimming foals we tie them all by their moms so they can learn about lead ropes, resisting, patiences being tied, etc. None are left tied alone we always have 2-3 bodies around on trimming day!

Now if I could get my farrier to come out catch, trim, deworm, etc . . . hmmm wouldn't that be nice!

 

[Miniv]

Think you have your answer already! Any REASONABLE person would NOT expect you to CATCH (or train) their horse!!!!

Some suggestions already made, make a lot of sense......If you want to keep the client for the future, just charge a "training and or a catching fee"..........

It would never cross our minds to make a farrier go and round up the horse(s) for them.........That is mindboggling!

 

[Doobie]

All I would say to your question is this...

My farrier charges $20/horse ('cause there so little and cute')

I have them in the barn, feet are clean, and I hold them.

All he does is pick up their feet and trim!!!!

If I asked for anymore then that I would be looking for a new farrier!

 

[fancyappy]

Our farrier charges a fee for anything extra he has to do for us, even cleaning the hooves before he works. And even though I sometimes grumble about it privately I also understand why and accept it as a normal business practice. I am a businesswoman and understand that services performed require payment.

If I could not get off work to catch and hold my horses for my farrier and he charged me for doing it for me , that is ok cause I am paying for his time and a service he performed for me.

If a horse is having a bad day and dances or is getting bit by flies and I am out of fly spray and dances, etc he charges an extra 20.00. It is a big incentive to have my horses clean, ready, calm, trained etc so he can do his work and move on to his next job.

He will do anything extra that is needed , all without complaint but he will charge me for it. He is not there as my friend ,{although I enjoy his visits and educational conversations very much} he is there in a business capacity.

And even though he would go into the field for my horses, catch them etc, I have never asked him to do that. It would not be fair or professional on my part to ask him to do that. But I know he would if I asked him too....for a fee...lol.

So I am always as prepared as possible, have my horses ready, trained and waiting. He does his excellent part by arriving on time, never canceling, coming on short notice for emergencies, being cheerful , treating both me and my horse with respect and doing a great job.

 

[Laura]

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.

Amen to all of the above. If you're not going to be home, put the horse up in a stall. If it's hard to catch in a stall, leave a halter and catch rope on it AND pay a training fee for it and a damage fee if it fighs!

 

[dannigirl]

My farrier is great. I bring him the horses and tie them and he trims them. If for some reason, my husband cannot be there and I have one that is a bit of a problem, we will have him in a stall and the farrier will help me catch him, but never would I expect him to chase one in a paddock. I offer him drinks and a sandwich if he is there near lunch time. He always wants to do 10 at a time to make my cost a bit cheaper while making the drive worth his effort. The one time that he got them from the stall himself was an emergency and I needed the horses done for a show. He fully understood that my Dad needed me ther and Dave was at work, so he gladly did that for me. He got a couple of sweet breads for that effort the next time he was there

 

[minie812]

Gee Dawn, I would not expect you to chase mine all over the back forty. For crying out loud...charge them! People will take advantage of you any way they can. I would tell them that you charge xtra for that stuff...that would make for a long and tireing day for sure...day after day after day...

 

[alphahorses]

I agree with ShortPig (okay -side note here ... would be great if people put names on posts)... and Christina.

You are a professional and your client(s) are taking advantage of you. Express your expectations in a professional manner, and if the horse is not in the barn next time, drop them unless there is some exceptional circumstances (e.g. you mentioned elderly clients). I don't know what your area is like, but around here, there is enough business that good farriers can be choosy about their customers. I would never consider taking advantage of my farrier - both because I respect him, and because it's a nightmare to find a new one! I even make sure they are all in and feet are dry so the farrier is not handling mud.

Christina's point is also good. The owner needs to know what is going on with their horse and should also be concerned about liability. There are always exceptions - I've had times when a horse has needed attention and the farrier has come when I wasn't here, but the horse was in the stall and trained to stand quietly.

 

[Fred]

Dawn you have gotten a lot of good advice. I did some horses for friends where I would go out and catch them, BUT it was MY decision and it was an agreement beforehand to do so and it worked out fine as the horses behaved better for me. I dropped several people for ASSUMING that I would just come in the barn and do the horses and the horses would act up and heaven forbid you discipline them and then you charge too much. Not to mention they would leave because they were always busy, plus some of the horses needed veterinary attention and when it was mentioned it was blown off or you were wrong. THEY WERE DROPPED. They didn't like it and they didn't get it and were highly insulted they were dropped but thats too bad. SOME people will take advantage any way they can. If its a bad actor charge more. If the client is stupid charge more or don't do them. I did many horses and never saw the owner for years because we had a system but it was a system that worked for us. Others who ASSUME you will do everything and take the abuse are not worth it. Linda

 

[billiethekid40]

I would also NEVER expect a farrier to catch and handle horses for an owner, however when I was still in high school my farrier and I had a terrible time catching up for appointments and he offered to drop by on his schedule and do the horse and I left his payment for him. (of course it was a farrier I trusted and had used for a while to be doing my horse when I wasn't home!) But then, my horse will halter himself for anyone holding a halter so it was hardly an issue of "catching" him. I never paid him any extra for this service, but would have had to pay more to arrange his trips for evenings and weekends which I would have gladly done had I had a horse that was at all difficult to catch or handle for trims, or had the farrier not offered this arrangement.