A little survey

[TheFarrier]

Just a quick survey for those of you that would humour me. Almost everyone on this forum has a horse/horses/access to horses etc

I would like to know the following please

1) number of horses
2) location
3) what your horses have done feetwise and how often
4) what your farrier charges

and the most important
5) are you happy or unhappy with your current farrier and WHY??


Thanks guys, this is just out of interest

 

[nuffield]

4
shropshire
shoes every 6 weeks
£60 a set
£15 a trim

reasonably happy I suppose.

 

[AmyMay]

1. 1 horse
2. S. Wales
3. Shoes every 5 weeks
4. £72 includes road studs
5. My farrier is fantastic. Nothing is too much trouble - and he'll see me at the drop of a hat.

 

[3Beasties]

1) 3

2) Herefordshire

3) 1 fully shod - every 6 wks, 1 front shoes only - every 12 weeks, 1 barefoot - every 6 weeks at the moment

4)£50 for full set, I think £22 for fronts only and don't think he charges me for the trim


5) I'm happy with what he does but don't like the fact he is very hard to get hold of and he doesn't let me book in advance.

Oh,and he doesn't turn up if it is raining and complains the whole time if it's windy!

 

[Taffster]

1 horse
west yorks
6-8 weeks
£55
He is fab and a proper welsh cob man so knows how to do his feet, other farrier squared off tafs feet by putting side clips on - new farrier took them off immediately and now taf has round feet again.

 

[showjump2003]

1) 3
2) North Wales
3) 2 get full sets, one gets trimmed every 8 weeks (even then horses feet look amazing!)
4) £52 a full set

5. Very good farrier. Never have a problem with my horses feet and they never loose a shoe. He is very good in an emergency and tries his best to come asap!

 

[rara007]

1)12 ponies on the yard.
2)
3) Shoes off 10 of them in the winter so just trims. from Feb on new full sets of heavyweight driving shoes every 7 weeks for 7 of them, mid summer up to every 5 weeks. Stud holes in one of these.
4) Alot! Not sure what per horse TBH, but it is 2 days work.
5) Happy- He doesn't mind doing hundreds of little ponies full sets

He doesn't replace shoes very quickly, but we have only ever had one loose a shoe once, he has caused one lamness from pricking them, but statistically thats good

 

[MistletoeMegan]

1) One
2) Suffolk
3) Lateral extensions behind, sort of normal shoes in front (we are tinkering at the moment)
4) £65 for new, £60 for refits 6/7 weeks.
5) Happy ish, there are better out there, but not any that travel in my area and he has improved my horse's feet a lot. Horse has pretty dire feet (TB, poor heels, doesn't grow a great deal of foot for him to work with, thin soled etc) and they are as good now as I can get them without boxing the horse off to another farrier, which isn't a viable option.

He does all bar 3 horses on a 18(ish) horse yard, never misses an appointment and has a very cute dog

 

[Honeypots]

1) I have 4 ponies and 2 horses

2) I'm in the South West..North Devon

3) They are all barefoot. They are trimmed when necessary. My laminitis pony is done every 6 weeks..the rest anything from between 8 and 12 weeks for various reasons.

4) My farrier charges £20 a trim

5) I am very happy with my farrier. He is approachable, does a great job, is friendly and (almost) always reliable..

 

[shady_lady]

3 horses
south wales
1 set with 8 stud holes and tungsten pins (every 4 weeks, he's a typical TB!), 1 set fronts( 6 weeks), 1 trim(8 weeks approx.).
nothing he had my sisters hand in marriage!

V.happy!

 

[Shellby27]

1) 1
2) Hampshire
3) Trim every 6-8 week
4) £20 trim
5) Happy with current farrier as Rosie hs never been trained to pick her feet up! He is very patient and loses about half his body weight in sweat trying to trim her as she leans on him!!!!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

1. 1 horse
2. Midlands
3. Well usually a set every 6 weeks, but its all a bit up in the air atm.
4. New farrier charges £55 for a full set, which I think is very good, old farrier charged £60...
5. Umm I guess so, though he's only shod her once and she is currently lame (well just very footsore) BUT this was to be expected as the changes to her feet are pretty radical, and providing she comes sound in a few days, yes I will be happy.

 

[CharlyOscar]

4 in work, 2 in field
Middlesex
ones in work have new shoes every 6 weeks with 8 stud holes each. ones in the field get shod when feet are long
not sure how much he charges cos always different as horses not all shod at the same time. i know it is £1 a stud hole if that helps

i am very happy with him, as when we have a problem he comes back the next day to sort it. very good to dicuss if the shoes are too big / too small / want to save money / try something new out

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

1) number of horses. 2
2) location. Somerset.Wilts border
3) what your horses have done feetwise and how often. Barefoot trimmed every 5/6 weeks by a qualified barefoot trimmer.
4) what your farrier charges. £25 each

and the most important
5) are you happy or unhappy with your current farrier and WHY??.

Very happy. Have learned more about hoof health, re-balancing feet and general horse anatomy than I ever learned from 25 years using conventional farriers.

 

[Tinkle]

1) 2 Horses
2) West Yorkshire
3) One is shod every 7 ish weeks and the other has a tidy up/trim at the same time.
4) £65 for a set. £20 for a trim.
5) Yes I'm happy. He's been shoeing my mare (now unshod) for a few years and never had an worries - now shoes my gelding. Neither have been the easiest - mare was a pain when I first got her but is fine now, and gelding is just young and a wobbly fidgety sort.

x

 

[Janah]

2 ponies

Somerset

1 shod all round every 6 weeks
1 checked for trimming every 6 weeks

£60 set £20 trim

Very pleased with farriers work, he takes his time and is quiet with the ponies.

Jane

 

[mattilda]

1. 3
2. Cheshire
3. 2 shod and 1 pared every 6 weeks
4. 60quid for shoing not sure for paring!!
5. Wouldn't change him for the world. He is patient, always turns up or rings to say he is delayed and, most importantly, is a cracking farrier.

 

[Brontie]

Dont own any horses so dont have an idea regarding feet etc. Can I ask you a question Mr Farrier?
Coffee_Bean Said:
[ QUOTE ]
New farrier charges £55 for a full set, which I think is very good, old farrier charged £60...

[/ QUOTE ]
How much does it cost to make the shoes. And how much of the money goes towards wages?

Nick.

 

[DW Team]

1. 6 and one on the way!
2. Lincolnshire
3. 2 shod, 4 unshod done every 6 weeks
4. £15 trim £45 a set
5. Yes very happy he is very patent with the awkward one who has gone from having to have the vet out to sedate her to now neading nothing. Mind it has taken 2 years to get that far! Is happy to come back even if it is just for one shoe and he lives over and hour away. Better still if he is running late or once could not get to me because his brakes had gone on the van lets me know. Came out that time on the Sunday.
In return I try to give him tea or coffee. A clean dry place to work. Lighting is there but we do not normaly need it. Most importantly dry legs for him to work with. Pay him in full. I try to always have the next two appiontments booked so I can have them on the day I want and first call of the day 8am!

 

[wannabee]

2 horses
London
Both barefoot
He charges me arbitrary amounts, last trim was £20 (but it was to trim a previously untrimmed yearling), previous time was £10, sometimes he doesn't let me pay him! I know that a full set is £55 and fronts are £27.50.
I love him, very happy with the job he does, he's been my farrier for 15 years, so that says a lot!

 

[Ebenezer_Scrooge]

1) number of horses: 1
2) location: Midlands
3) what your horses have done feetwise and how often: New set every 5 weeks [6 in winter], side clips on front and back, rolled toes to and road nails all round.
4) what your farrier charges: 60 per set new shoes.

and the most important
5) are you happy or unhappy with your current farrier and WHY??

I love my farrier, very happy with him and his shoeing, always lets me know if he's running late. Brilliant with my horse, answers all my questions and we have a good chat too. Always asks what I've been up to etc. I always make him tea and cake or similar. My horse's legs & feet are clean etc and we are are always ready for him when he arrives. I like to look after my farrier!

 

[pricklyflower]

1) 2 horses, 1 pony
2) Channel Islands
3) 2 horses - shod on front only, every 6-8 weeks / Pony - trim every 6-8 weeks if needed
4) £40 for shoes on front and trim back / £20 for trim on 4 feet
5) more than happy and will dread the day that he stops. He is always on time, has never let me down, will come out at the drop of a hat if my horse is lame (usually knows more about it than the vet!), will give me advice on my Landrover, works happily with my vet, managed to come up with an idea to keep my old boy (RIP) happy with his feet so he could carry on being hacked out when everyone else had given up on him, never issues a cross word at my horses, always knows the gossip, the list goes on, he's just a really nice chap!!

 

[TheFarrier]

[ QUOTE ]
Dont own any horses so dont have an idea regarding feet etc. Can I ask you a question Mr Farrier?
Coffee_Bean Said:
[ QUOTE ]
New farrier charges £55 for a full set, which I think is very good, old farrier charged £60...

[/ QUOTE ]
How much does it cost to make the shoes. And how much of the money goes towards wages?

Nick.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is not cost effective to make shoes. Shoes can cost from a couple of pounds a pair upwards depending on the shoe

The money it costs us to do the job goes to shoes, tools, nails, insurance, vehiclesurchace,maintenace,tax,FUEL, Income Tax, accountants fees, registration fees and maybe a few things i have forgotten

the actual wage i believe the average a farrier takes home after tax is £15k. its not as much as you thought is it!! and i can back that up i would just have to find the article

 

[joeanne]

6
Hampshire
1 full set, other 5 barefoot
£55 for a full set of shoes, £10 for the small ones foot trims and £15 for the big'uns foot trim.
Our old farrier was cheaper but the new one is fantastic, punctual, and most importantly he has patience with the nervy one.

 

[LadyRascasse]

1) 2
2) sussex
3) normal shoes and they are checked at 4 weeks and are usually left for weeks just depends on what he feels at the time
4) £75 per set flat rate, road studs ect is included in that (if you ask my farrier he say he does it for the love and his wife is the money taker, lol they are both lovely people though)

and the most important
5) i am over the moon with my farrier mostly because he has respect for me and listens to what i say about my horse and because he cares about them. also the good sense of humour helps.

 

[tasteofchristmaschaos]

I have one (very large) horse
I am in Gravesend Kent
He gets trimmed all round and has fronts put on
Don't know how often he is done as have only had him 2 weeks
Costs me £42.50
I have only had him out once so far, but seems to be good

 

[Rowreach]

3 horses, shod all round
3 ponies, 2 of them shod all round, one unshod (I hate the term "barefoot" in relation to horses, lol

)

Fermanagh, NI

The horses are done every 4-6 weeks depending on workload/time of year. The ponies are done 6-7 weeks on average.

He makes all their shoes (no machinies on this yard!

)

I'm married to him so he doesn't charge me.

He shod for me for 10 years before we got married (and married for 10) so you could say I am happy with his work!

 

[dobbin27]

2 horses, 1 pony
South lincs
Full set £60, trim £20 x2 every six weeks
Have just changed to a new farrier as last one too unreliable. New one is fab so far though!

 

[DW Team]

Farrier wow as little as that you certainly are not in it for the money. Well thank you and all the other good farriers I have come across. The last three have been ex army. We moved alot 21 homes in 26 years!

 

[vhf]

1
Cornwall
Fairly standard shoeing, double clips in front, 8-weekly like clockwork
Too much! £63
Extremely happy. Hard to fault in most ways. I'm lucky to have him.