Barefoot Trimming Question?

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Alimac19

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Right. I have to be diplomatic here so bare with me! I turna a friends horse out for her in the morning, this morning she asked for him to be left in as trimmer coming. No problem. I went to yard, turned out my horse, grabbed tools, and skip bucket. wnet into my stable (opposite said horse) and started to remove droppings done since full muckout at 6:00, so only a couple. Farrier turns up whilst I'm in stable. Said hello, he goes into stable with horse and starts trimming. I thought this was odd as horse has shavings bed down and no level surface so I shout over that he can tie up at end of block or outside for better light. He shouts back that it's OK to do in stable. I finish putting bed down (that was mucked out and put up earlier) and the farrier comes out of the stable and goes to his van with tools. Baring in mind that I'm looking at my watch every five min as I'm in a hurry, I know it took him 5 min in stable. I assume he's gone for more tools. I Grab haynets and am filling first one when he comes back, checks stable door is shut properly, get check (which I beleive is around £40), says goodbye and goes!

Now I'm not a farrier, my horse does have shoes, I don't profess to be an expert BUT, If I was paying £40 for a trim I would expect more than 5 min work and I would expect it to be done on a flat surface to balance foot, after all this is what I expect of my farrier when he puts on shoes. I also thought that with all this barefoot malarky it was supposed to be a better standard of service.

This farrier is registered barefoot and farrier and is supposed to be very highly thought of. Friends horses feet have not been trimmed for about 10 weeks so I would expect some growth. My question is do I tell my firend at the risk of being told he's fab and what do I know, barefoot rules!! Or do I keep quiet and risk this happening again and again. I will not name the farrier so please don't ask.
 
I think barefoot trimming is a rip off !
Sorry but I think people are being gullible if they think they are getting value for money.

If it were me in that situation I would have to say (going a roundabout route !) "Oh, I did manage to turn out your horse this morning as the trimmer had finished before I left, he only took (takes) 5 minutes (might add 'doesn't he ?' if I was brave enough to prompt a response lol!)"
 
my trimmer takes about 40 mins and charges £20. my farrier would take 15 mins and charge £25.
i would say something even if it's just as a passing comment, maybe something like blimey your farrier is quick, it only took him 5 minutes to trim the hooves and didn't ask for a cuppa, wish all farriers were that quick and didn't want a cuppa made for them.

at least you can make out that he was too quick without offending.
 
Right then. I told her. I got the defence that I was expecting but she was supprised to hear that he didn't even come out of the stable and said she would try and be there next time. Thanks everyone for your support!!!
 
That's a shame and gives barefoot a bad rep. AEPs (Applied Equine Podiatrists) in my experience spend about an hour per horse, taking photos, filling in charts and watching them move as well as the trim. £40 for this is a bargain. If a set of shoes is £70 and each shoe is about £1 to the farrier... even taking into account the gas for the furnace and the nails... its still a better deal to have a £40 trim.
 
My farrier charges £20 for a trim and it takes about 5 mins tops! Tbh he has barely anthing to do as I change how much road work we do to keep her feet trimmed, I just like him to look over them and check nothing is amis and put a roll on.

If I was your friend I would want to know. If I wasn't able to be there for an appointment then I would always like to have feedback about the visit. It's just good to know!
 
It sounds odd to me for a barefoot trimmer to be so quick and also I don't know of a barefoot trimmer who would trim a horse without the owner being there, because the relationship between the trimmer and owner is key to the horse's overall success.
 
Andalucian said:
It sounds odd to me for a barefoot trimmer to be so quick and also I don't know of a barefoot trimmer who would trim a horse without the owner being there, because the relationship between the trimmer and owner is key to the horse's overall success.
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My trimmers often do mine without me as I work full time and can't always be there.

But then, after 4 years - they know their way round and I trust them.
 
it doesn't matter how long it takes or how much it costs. What matters is if he did a good job or not. Are the feet balanced and are they now well trimmed? Is the horse sound over any surface? Judge him by what he has done and the results he is achieving with the horse not by the time he has taken.
 
Sounds like a typical farrier? It's unusual for a farrier to also train as a full barefoot trimmer: are you sure he is both?

Trimmers I know spend at least half an hour as they watch the horse move before and afterwards plus discuss things with the owner. Most farriers I know only take 5mins when they chop the edges off with nips, roll the edge and pack up and go home.
 
Kallibear, He is deffinatly both as he is on both the registration websistes and quite high up quali wise. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to get into trouble but I can definatly, definatly say that he did not watch the horse move as it never came out of the stable and he was only there for 5 min. I had a quick look at one of the said horses feet last night but he's really hairy and covered in mud and as I don't really know what I'm looking for I can't say if it was a good job or not. They looked OK but what do I know. I have since heard another complaint of his work which I will not repeat on here.

PS if anyone tries to guess and puts a name on here even if it's wrong I will delete the thread so please don't name names.
 
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Then it's quite possible he's both a crap farrier and a crap trimmer;) And not suprising really- if he's willing to do half-assed jobs putting shoes on then he's going to do a half-assed job of trimming. It's the guy who's a idiot, not barefoot trimming itself. Unfortunuatly he end up tarring all trimmers with the same brush, and farrier too. :(
 
paddy555 said:
it doesn't matter how long it takes or how much it costs. What matters is if he did a good job or not. Are the feet balanced and are they now well trimmed? Is the horse sound over any surface? Judge him by what he has done and the results he is achieving with the horse not by the time he has taken.
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I agree with this. If the horse hasn't much to remove and is well established barefoot the trim can be very quick and watching a horse move isn't always necessary if the hooves are transitioned and in good condition. I'm not a Trimmer or Farrier though just my thoughts. :)
 
Kallibear said:
Then it's quite possible he's both a crap farrier and a crap trimmer;) And not suprising really- if he's willing to do half-assed jobs putting shoes on then he's going to do a half-assed job of trimming. It's the guy who's a idiot, not barefoot trimming itself. Unfortunuatly he end up tarring all trimmers with the same brush, and farrier too. :(
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bloody well put post :)
 
My barefoot trimmer only charges me if she trims, not for the visit, so in the last 6 months she has only trimmed him twice and the total has cost me £70. She doesn't want to see him for 8 weeks and if he doesn't need a trim he won't get one and she won't charge me. Trim or not she spends over 30 minutes discussing his feet and work load etc.
I'm not hippy trippy, this horse is going eventing but his feet are much improved without shoes, he can trot on gravel and tarmac without being remotely footy and just feels so much better to ride.
 
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