Barefoot, trimmer or farrier??

soulfull

soulfull

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A bit of a rushed post as out the door now. So not gone into massive detail


I know farriers do longer training etc and so far have always stuck with them

However I am increasingly aware that certain trimmers are getting such good results etc

The ones I am talking about trim differently to traditional farriers ie they make sure it is heel first

So how on earth do you decide??

and why?
 
Agree with amymay. If you have a good farrier he should be balancing the hooves already. All farriers are taught how to trim the feet.

I am not going to knock barefoot trimmers but they only do trimming.

I would go with a farrier everytime.
 
Personally, I am not impressed by all the weight put behind the formal qualification that support farriers, in respect of barefoot horses. If you are seriously looking to go barefoot then you need a barefoot trimmer. I believe that some farriers who can see the benefits of going bare foot, and take the trouble to study it, probably make good bare foot trimmers but the majority that I know are not really supportive of bare foot, and why should they be?

I think that if a farrier really understood, and cared what goes on with a horses foot, he would not be nailing shoes onto a living hoof.
 
Nonsense ! If you trust a farrier to put shoes on your horse then why not trim ? If something goes wrong with a farrier you have come back due to them being regulated, if something goes wrong with a barefoot trimmer who is unregulated ........ need I say more !!

The loop hole in legislation allowing trimmers to legally trim should have been resolved long ago, but I can certainly agree with others in that the only people touching my horses are those who are qualified and regulated professionals, of whom have years of training.

edited to add - AndySpooner - the job/requirements put upon our horses are the reason shoes are 'nailed into living hoof' - some can manage without, others can't - would you rather a horse unable to cope without shoes be in work and sore or retired due to not being able to cope without ?!
 
farrier all the way for all the reasons stated above.
some one that has no formal qualifications has no place cutting chunks off my horses feet.
 
I think that if a farrier really understood, and cared what goes on with a horses foot, he would not be nailing shoes onto a living hoof.
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I wondered how long that old chestnut would take to be rolled out.

Predictable, and totally inaccurate.
 
Nothing I've seen or heard about shoeing horses will ever convince me to go back to this medieval, backward, outdated, ill informed practise. Of course you're all free to choose.
 
Barefoot trimmer all the way. To say trimmers are not regulated is absolute rubbish. They are regulated and their training is on-going, it doesn't stop after 4 years like a farrier. Farriers are registered, so what, my friend tried to report a farrier to the Registration Council, they were very unhelpful, they are there to protect the farrier not the horse owner. Not saying all farriers are bad, like not all trimmers are good, good and bad in all walks of life. Anyone going to try barefoot need to do some reasearch. Most trimmers, also do nutrition courses as well, and mine has even done a saddle fitting course. Everything affects the whole horse, feet, nutrition, saddles etc.
 
I have used both.At the end of the day I went back to the farrier.My new horse didn't like barefoot and looked much happier the minute shoes went on.Previous one happy with barefoot.First farrier not very good with barefoot one TBH.Trimmer much better.HOWEVER when the second one was getting sore and had a couple of other issues as well.He seemed to panic a bit.Reverted to shoes with new farrier who is absolutely brilliant.I am sticking with him.
 
Oh heck, lets not start war peeps please!!!

If i had a good Farrier i would tend to go that way. However since my Farrier of nearly 2 years caused my Barefoot horse to go severly lame due to a terrible trim im now on the Barefoot trimmer path & im really hoping my horse will be looked after properly.

I guess there's good & bad in every trade.
 
I'm unsure at the moment, both mine are barefoot and I've always had a farrier...

BUT, I find that the farrier takes about 5 mins per horse, doesn't look at how they are moving and I question if they could be trimmed to a higher standard. He is a good farrier and has a great reputation but I do get the feeling that they see a trim as not being too important so needs little time or care, just take off the excess and pass me your money

From what I have been told/ found out, trimmers take much longer per horse, will consider diet, workload and lifestlye and I am starting to sway more in that direction.

I know of one barefoot trimmer who has trained in US, been doing it for 10 years and having met her, gave a good impression.

So, still unsure...
 
I use a (very good) farrier.

If he didn't do such a good job and there were no farriers up to scratch in the area I would look into getting a trimmer.

I think it is silly for either 'side' to completely disregard the other, as some farriers are very good at trimming, some not sure and I am sure it is the same for trimmers.

The one thing putting me off getting a trimmer is the lack of a National/International registration that all trimmers affiliate to.
SOME trimmers spend years studying and qualifying and some spend only a week or 2- it needs to be much clearer which trimmers are doing which courses as 'qualified' doesn't mean anything at the moment.
 
Millitiger - have a look on the UKNHCP site. All their trimmers are on there. I would not use a trimmer that did not belong to an association. Just because farriers have to be registered does not make them any better.
 
Judge each one on a case by case basis. I don't believe qualifications guarantee anything and most people I know who have had problems with a farrier don't bother to report but just change farriers so having the ability to report doesn't mean it gets used.

Neither do I like a system where a trimmer can just set themselves up without a legal requirement to have trained properly and have insurance etc. I know that barefoot organistions are trying to address this but it's not in place yet.

I have a barefoot horse and currently use my old farrier

but

He was rehabbed barefoot for me and I have had advice elsewhere about diet and exercise which my farrier was unable to provide. Had I had to rely on my farrier during this key stage then the transition would not have been a success.

I also have to keep an eye that he does not start to trim frogs and soles too aggressively as this will lame my horse.

I'm a little paranoid about this as I used another farrier who claimed to specialise in barefoot horses who decided my horse's back frogs were too big and attacked them leaving him unable to walk comfortably without boots and pads for a couple of weeks.

So at the moment using my farrier to tidy his feet every couple of months works but only because I have had to educate myself to do everything else and I would consider using a trimmer if there was a suitably trained and recommended one that covered my area.
 
amymay said:
Farrier.

Someone who has no recognised qualifications doesn't get to treat my horse in any capacity.
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Agree totally, so many people are going to bare foot trimmers and I will never understand why. Why don't you just trim your own horses feet???? A course and your away.!!!
 
I fully agree that there are good and bad in all professions.I went to a barefoot trimmer because I wasn't happy with the farrier but now have a fantastic farrier.If I still had a barefoot horse though, and wasn't happy with the farrier I would consider going back.
 
poodle20 said:
Millitiger - have a look on the UKNHCP site. All their trimmers are on there. I would not use a trimmer that did not belong to an association. Just because farriers have to be registered does not make them any better.
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I have looked before thanks.

You say that you wouldn't use a trimmer who wasn't affiliated with an association but what is to stop me setting up an association tomorrow, hosting training weekends on trimming straight away and then myself and whoever has done 2 weeks training with me advertising as 'qualified and registered?'

And as I said in my original post some farriers are good and some are bad so not sure where i inferred they were better as they were registered??

Again. as i said before, people on both sides are too passionate they seem to not actually read other people's posts and opinions before making assumptions.
 
I have a fantastic farrier who is a horseman aswell, so is very knowledgeable in all area's of keeping horses. His whole family are proper "nagsmen", and he is incredibly enthusiastic and conscientious about his work, so therefore I trust him hugely. The jury is still out regarding trimmers, but my horse is shod all round anyway :)
 
I didn't make assumptions. If you read all the posts, a lot of people are inferring that farriers are better because they belong to a Registration Council.

I am not getting into battle about trimmers vs farriers, I was just stating my opinion which is what other posters have done.

At the end of the day - each to their own. If you have a good farrier you are lucky. I personally use a regulated trimmer who is fantastic and more knowledgeable about feet that any farrier I have ever met.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
AndySpooner said:
Nothing I've seen or heard about shoeing horses will ever convince me to go back to this medieval, backward, outdated, ill informed practise. Of course you're all free to choose.
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Hope your horse never requires any form of surgery to it's hooves or suffers a broken bone in the foot!!

And before you start bashing on about barefoot, both of my horses are as it is right for them both at the moment. If it became not right, I would reassess the situation. That is the attitude ALL people should have. Nothing is right for every horse. Each case and situation should be assessed individually.
 
cm2581 said:
Hope your horse never requires any form of surgery to it's hooves or suffers a broken bone in the foot!!

So do I.

And before you start bashing on about barefoot, both of my horses are as it is right for them both at the moment. If it became not right, I would reassess the situation. That is the attitude ALL people should have. Nothing is right for every horse. Each case and situation should be assessed individually.
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I find sitting on this particular fence very uncomfortable, lol.
 
The one thing putting me off getting a trimmer is the lack of a National/International registration that all trimmers affiliate to.
SOME trimmers spend years studying and qualifying and some spend only a week or 2- it needs to be much clearer which trimmers are doing which courses as 'qualified' doesn't mean anything at the moment.
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And this is exactly my issue. Put far better here than I could have.

I don't object to trimmers per se - just the fact that they are not regulated.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Agree totally, so many people are going to bare foot trimmers and I will never understand why. Why don't you just trim your own horses feet???? A course and your away.!!!
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We do. It has taken a lot of hard work and research on the part of my OH but he looks after our horses' feet.

Knowing the training that most farriers get here I wouldn't let any of them near my horses hooves.
 
How come all barefoot trimmers wear expensive shoes?
My farrier diagnosed a problem that my vet and an expensive physio missed, he was right too. Never underestimate a farrier and never expect one to show up on time;)
 
I use UKNHCP trimmers and have done for 4 years.

As my horses were barefoot I was relegated to the farrier's apprentice.

One day said apprentice decided to investigate my horse's sole and started digging into live tissue.

I was oblivious until I looked down to see my horse standing in pools of blood.

No explanation or apology was offered by either apprentice or farrier.

That's when I started using trimmers.
 
As my horses were barefoot I was relegated to the farrier's apprentice.
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But could have spoken to the farrier and said you wanted him, not apprentice...

No explanation or apology was offered by either apprentice or farrier.
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Out of order - but did you ask for an explanation??
 
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