Barefoot trim ... how much do you pay?

[tallyho!]

£45 a trim is still cheaper than a set of shoes

Half the price in my neck of the woods.

What needs considering is that farriers are still able to charge £20 because the large amounts of farriery so that does go some way to covering the "trims". If they started having more trims than shoeings then, they would have to redress the balance. It's a business after all.

Trimmers, aptly, trim but in the 2 years it takes to qualify, there is a lot of personal investment in different aspects such as nutrition, biomechanics, pathology, USA study programmes, European study programmes to study with different vets, farriers and scientists. All of which the international community agree, that performance trimming is radically different to a standard pasture trim.

All I'm saying is that, if you want to know more about trimming go to epauk.co.uk or uknhcp.org.uk and have a read of what it takes to qualify. Compare it with Mysercough or Warwickshire and see the difference in curriculum.

Excellent farriers are few and far between... hence why barefoot trimmers are becoming increasingly popular. Also, what you will tend to find is either they are ex-farriers or owners who, failed by traditional farriery for one reason or another has explored barefoot, grew passionate about it and decided to dedicate the rest of their lives to helping hooves undermined by conventional methods.

Neither is "the only way"... it's just ANOTHER way and one that should be accepted, not judge or scorned. There are many horses out there saved by trimming, just as there have been those saved by shoes.

Diversity should be embraced!

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

£20 per excellent trim. £45 for a trim seems excessive. What's he/she using - a gold plated rasp!

 

[ebonyallen]

Sadly, I have just lost my beloved farrier as he's had to retire due to health problems. My barefoot highland gets trimmed every 8-10 weeks so I now have an appointment with a new guy ... I've spoken to him several times as others on the yard use him. He seems very competent, but he's never worked on my pony before. Having got used to paying £20 a time for a trim, i just wondered what other folks pay for this service as the new guy is charging £45.00? Thanks all ....

I £20 for a trim for one and £30 for fronts on the other, so that does sound rather a lot to me. I am in Kent

 

[NativePonyLover]

£20 per excellent trim. £45 for a trim seems excessive. What's he/she using - a gold plated rasp!

For me, cost isn't the main deal breaker between choosing which hoof care provider to use. Not because I've got so much money I can be complacent, but because hoof care is still one of the most fundamental things - 'no foot, no horse', after all

I'd rather pay a little more for a professional, customer driven service that maintains a healthy, sound horse - regardless of whether that comes from a farrier or a barefoot trimming specialist. The cost of that service is somewhat irrelevant - I'd rather cut back non-essential costs elsewhere, if need be.

£45 worked out in terms of time spent with me the client (it has been up to 2 hours on some cases, when my horse was particularly nervous/difficult), plus supplies of essential oils used, plus educational material given, follow up emails & query answering - it works out at good value, for me.

Actually, come to think if it - when he was at his worst, they'd pop by our yard FOC every week or so to just acclimatise my horse & get him used to them just being there, maybe picking out his feet & feeding a polo, before heading off again.

So, yes they might be £20 dearer than some - but they are worth to me far more than that £20

 

[BBP]

I've spent less than £50 in the 6 years I've had him. Farrier spends less than 2mins on them and won't take my money for it.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Farrier £20. Excellent man, he watches them trot up, we discuss how they've been moving, any metabolic/mechanical issues etc and has kept them sound and working. My previously farrier-phobic horse adores him.

 

[Blurr]

Trimmers, aptly, trim but in the 2 years it takes to qualify, there is a lot of personal investment in different aspects such as nutrition, biomechanics, pathology, USA study programmes, European study programmes to study with different vets, farriers and scientists. All of which the international community agree, that performance trimming is radically different to a standard pasture trim.

In what way does a 'performance' trim differ from a 'pasture' trim?

Also, where does that fit in with horses 'self trimming'? That is, the belief that horses wear their hooves the way they need them? If that's the case, what does it matter who trims? (unless of course the person doing the trimming lames the horse at the off set).

 

[criso]

In what way does a 'performance' trim differ from a 'pasture' trim?

Also, where does that fit in with horses 'self trimming'? That is, the belief that horses wear their hooves the way they need them? If that's the case, what does it matter who trims? (unless of course the person doing the trimming lames the horse at the off set).

Self trimming is an ideal which not everyone can achieve, even if you can you still might want a professional to check from time to time for an underlying problems even if they don't pick up the rasp.

I had one that was more or less self trimming so every 3 months or so, I would get him checked, talk about diet, how he coped with different surfaces, if grass sugars were affecting him and look and assess the quality of the new growth and foot balance at rest and moving. They might run the rasp round the edge to make it look a bit smoother without altering the balance but nothing major.

This was the same horse that 3 farriers left lame and/or sore because they wanted to do more than the horse needed. Couldn't get them to watch him move but they were very happy to use the rasp.

The lesson I learnt was that it was better for us to pay more for someone to do less

Personally I don't like terms like performance trim or pasture trim, the person is question should trim as appropriate to the horse.

 

[Possum]

£40 per horse, and I don't begrudge her a penny of it. She has a wealth of knowledge, travels miles out of her way to get to me, has shown me how to keep on top of them between visits and is available for advice and support between trims if necessary. Because of this, generally she sees my boys about every 12 weeks, so I also save a shedload compared to what it would cost to have a farrier every 6 weeks - and my horses' feet look fantastic.

 

[tallyho!]

In what way does a 'performance' trim differ from a 'pasture' trim?

Also, where does that fit in with horses 'self trimming'? That is, the belief that horses wear their hooves the way they need them? If that's the case, what does it matter who trims? (unless of course the person doing the trimming lames the horse at the off set).

Well, here we all come full circle.

A pasture trim is a trim a farrier generally performs to round off a hoof for pasture. Something no one ever does now anyway as horses are in full work 365 days a year in most cases.

A "performance" trim is one that takes into account everything I mentioned before, trimming to the horse and hoof. It's a term many dislike but it's one word at least that simplifies the technique.

It only matters to the owner it seems. The horse only cares if it is sound.

 

[budley95]

I pay £20 for a trim in Kent. And my farriers brilliant. And suggested taking his shoes off as his feet were rubbish...

 

[ester]

These threads always tend to go the same way and I kind of figure if people feel they are getting value for money and the horse is sound all is good

I was paying £40 but now do them myself - his feet grow too quickly to self trim and it suits him better to have a rasp every2/3 weeks than a 6 weeks+ trim, though still know I have trimmer on the end of an email if I have any queries/want her to come and look. Farrier had never done a barefoot rehab and I have never seen the point in paying one to have to leave specific instructions about frog/sole/bar trimming.

 

[tequila_sunrise]

I was £30 a trim with farrier and now £20 with trimmer.

 

[Jaffa]

I was £30 a trim with farrier and now £20 with trimmer.

Oh how I wish I could find a trimmer who would be the same price as that

I have tried three different trimmers/EP and all want to charge £65 for the visit, yes they will be with me over an hour, but I honestly find the 'report' they give you at the photographs is all 'fluff' as I read someone describe it once, and that's the way it honestly feels, it's like they have to give you extra information to warrant the extra cost.

I've settled on a local farrier who trims my horse all round and I'm tempted to run a riders rasp on my own horses hooves inbetween to smooth it out and just have the farrier check it every 10 weeks or so.

I think TallyHo raises a good point, being barefoot or shod isn't a 'ONLY WAY' principle, being barefoot is just another way to try some horses take to it, others don't.

The barefoot page on Facebook is rife with evangelicals who declare that ALL horses should be without shoes and it would work but the owners are being lazy to keep it up.

 

[Doublethyme]

I've used both, more expensive trimmer when I just had the one horse, he was lovely, experienced but my mare struggled to be properly rock crunching. For £45 a trim ever 4 weeks we never really got to where we wanted to be. Horse then had a career ending tendon injury and went back to shoes for the eventual endless road rehab work...with the blessing of my trimmer as no way would horse have coped without.

Fast forward and my old girl is retired still in front shoes done by my lovely farrier who is exceptional. He has actively encouraged me to keep my new riding horse bare, has worked with her since I had her at 18 months. She's now 6.5 and motors around over all surfaces including hacking on our tough flinty tracks. He doesn't make a big fuss about the barefoot stuff just gets on with it but is always there if I have questions. It is refreshingly easy and less stressful with my farrier and only costs me £24 when he does a proper trim every now and again depending on my mare's feet. He rounds them off slightly every time when he is out to shoe my other mare but never charges. Plus he was first class helping me teach the younger one when she was a baby. ..usually for free!

No brainer for me, but if I couldn't find a decent farrier I would use a trimmer again.

 

[smiles24]

I have the best farrier ever! He comes out and checks mine regularly and only charges when they need something. He charges £20 a trim. My farrier encouraged me to take the shoes off my mare and worked with my vet and X-rays to make the transition. I can honestly say without him I would not have a sound horse let alone be able to still ride and compete. He has taught me a lot about 'barefoot' and is always on the phone for advice. Basically he invested a lot of time and effort to then earn less from me! I think his experience of shod and unshod hooves gives him such a diverse knowledge that I could not imagine using a trimmer.

 

[WindyStacks]

Oh I think I win - £55 - every 6 months. So "expensive" due to geographical location. Happy to trim myself so will probably only have one more appointment and then take over the reins myself.