Blimey!! How much?! farriers and shoeing gulp

[TPO]

I reckon it's not so much that people don't value the time and skill of their farrier or don't understand that the cost of materials and fuel have risen or even begrudge any farrier making a living. It's more that most wages haven't risen in line with inflation so we are paying more out for everything from the same coming in.

So paying the best part of a grand a year/£110 every 6wks out for shoes is going to be felt.

I remember back in the good old days (!) of the "barefoot taliban" on here how going bf was often the more expensive option between supplements, boots and trimmers. I'd be surprised if current price rises don't cause an increase of shoes being pulled and boots bought.

 

[maya2008]

£30 per trim here, but he declines to do the young ones and prefers to watch my husband do them and give advice, so we save money that way. We also don’t need a trim too often as roadwork = self trimming ponies.

 

[AUB]

I pay £160 for a full set every 6 weeks.

 

[dorsetladette]

We pay £30 a trim,£50 for fronts and £80 for a full set. I wouldn't change my farrier for the world now, he's done so much for our boys. And if the babies only need their toes tidying he'll just charge for 1 trim instead of 2. He lives just round the corner and we are always his last appointment of the day. His wife often turns up with the kids and they play in the field while we have a 'refreshment' - they have become friends over the years.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I reckon it's not so much that people don't value the time and skill of their farrier or don't understand that the cost of materials and fuel have risen or even begrudge any farrier making a living. It's more that most wages haven't risen in line with inflation so we are paying more out for everything from the same coming in.

So paying the best part of a grand a year/£110 every 6wks out for shoes is going to be felt.

I remember back in the good old days (!) of the "barefoot taliban" on here how going bf was often the more expensive option between supplements, boots and trimmers. I'd be surprised if current price rises don't cause an increase of shoes being pulled and boots bought.

I guess I just can't believe sometimes how cheap it has stayed over there (I've been away for awhile). My views are also different because I'm used to paying more here and while searching abroad at our new location, prices are higher for good work. That certainly doesn't take away from it being difficult and I understand that wages haven't risen while everything else has.

Keeping horses in most parts of the UK has always been relatively affordable, IMO. At the end of the day they are a luxury sport pet though. I can't say many people are hurting too badly when they can still afford to have multiple horses which accounts for many members here. I know some will take offense to that statement, and fair enough, but to some extent, it's not wrong.

Regardless though, we'll all feel it in some way, and it still sucks.

The notion of more horses going unshod and/or in boots is interesting though. I wonder how much of a shift we'll see there.


Edit: I understand the grumbling to some extent and can't say that I wouldn't be doing the same!

 

[Fred66]

Bloody hell. I trim 2 of mine myself and the tricky one gets a £55 trim from my excellent barefoot trimmer every 6 weeks. Yet another reason to be barefoot

£55 for a trim is very expensive

 

[teddy_]

I am in the SE and I pay £53 for fronts / £68 for a set.

My farrier is not VAT registered, though.

 

[SantaVera]

I wonder if horse boots will become more popular.

I stopped having mine shod years ago its too expensive. i use hoof boots if needed but mostly get about barefoot. i pay £30 fpr a trim approx every 12 weeks as they wear naturally with hacking.

 

[paddy555]

£55 for a trim is very expensive

that depends. It is very easy to put a quick bog standard trim on a horse very quickly.
However there are trims and trims.

If the job of a farrier is to produce a ridden horse, then leaving aside specialist shoes etc, it may take an average farrier around 45 mins to put average shoes on an average horse. I have seen lots done more quickly especially on a yard situation where the horses are lined up but 45 mins is pretty reasonable. Of the £105 he charges the cost of the shoes is pretty low, there are increasing fuel costs to get there but a large part of that £105 is going to be iro his labour.

The barefoot trimmer has similar costs to the farrier, insurance, a vehicle to get around, and increasing fuel etc.
They also have the cost of rasps which when checking the prices don't seem to have increased that much, knives and nippers same as the farrier.
If it takes 45 mins to trim a horse and with a good trimmer it will not take less as they have taken care to study the stance of the horse, it's movement, how it's feet are compensating for body issues etc. then they will get £55 for their efforts to produce the same ridden horse.

So for the 45 min (or so) the trimmer will be getting somewhat less for their labour and expertise than the farrier.

A good trimmer will have no less expertise just different expertise as they will be providing the info the owner requires to get or keep the horse barefoot.

So if you have a pasture pet then £55 just to remove excess growth may well be expensive but £55 to produce a barefoot riding horse may not be.

 

[TPO]

I guess I just can't believe sometimes how cheap it has stayed over there (I've been away for awhile). My views are also different because I'm used to paying more here and while searching abroad at our new location, prices are higher for good work. That certainly doesn't take away from it being difficult and I understand that wages haven't risen while everything else has.

Keeping horses in most parts of the UK has always been relatively affordable, IMO. At the end of the day they are a luxury sport pet though. I can't say many people are hurting too badly when they can still afford to have multiple horses which accounts for many members here. I know some will take offense to that statement, and fair enough, but to some extent, it's not wrong.

Regardless though, we'll all feel it in some way, and it still sucks.

The notion of more horses going unshod and/or in boots is interesting though. I wonder how much of a shift we'll see there.


Edit: I understand the grumbling to some extent and can't say that I wouldn't be doing the same!

I guess its all relative. People who can afford it comfortably will probably continue to but people who were just getting by are likely to be hit fairly hard by everything increasing.

It's not just shoes but feed, forage, bedding, fuel, vet call out charges, saddle fitting fees, wormers, drugs & so it goes on...

There's got to be a recession with how things are going and I can forsee a lot of welfare issues.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I guess its all relative. People who can afford it comfortably will probably continue to but people who were just getting by are likely to be hit fairly hard by everything increasing.

It's not just shoes but feed, forage, bedding, fuel, vet call out charges, saddle fitting fees, wormers, drugs & so it goes on...

There's got to be a recession with how things are going and I can forsee a lot of welfare issues.

Of course it's more than just shoes. It's nearly everything and it adds up.

I'm pretty sure a recession is looming in a few countries, but we'll see. I do worry about welfare issues.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I pay £160 for a full set every 6 weeks.

Wow. Whereabouts are you ?

 

[Sprogladite01]

Really interesting to see the variances here. My shod boy is £120 every 5 weeks for a full set plus remedial pads in the front feet, and my barefoot boy is £25 a trim every 5 weeks (I'm in Cambs)

 

[Laafet]

I wonder if horse boots will become more popular.

Only problem is you cannot compete in them for BD so if you do dressage then it's shoes or no shoes.

 

[Sealine]

I'm paying £80 for a set including road nails in Herts/Beds.

 

[paddy555]

Only problem is you cannot compete in them for BD so if you do dressage then it's shoes or no shoes.

why not, I don't mean it's the rules I mean why wouldn't a horse be able to walk, trot, canter etc around a flat area in boots?

 

[milliepops]

iirc the BD rule is related to not having the heels covered, same as how you can't use over reach boots. i know some hoof boots have less of a heel covering than others but i think that's where it came from, nothing to do with the horse's ability to do the work with hoof boots.

 

[MagicMelon]

Keep the horse unshod. I honestly dont know how people can afford to shoe! So expensive. Id rather stick to paying my barefoot trimmer £37 per trim. I XC'd barefoot yesterday and most BS is on a surface these days so Im not sure why so many people still choose to shoe when really a lot of them dont need to.

Hoof boots should be allowed for BD etc. Ridiculous they arent but a lot of the horse world is still stuck in the dark ages, same as why cant you do BD (and BE dressage) bitless? I dont ride bitless, but I have always wondered why others who do cannot compete that way. It gives them no advantage over someone with a bit! Same goes for hoof boots. Should get the choice. But then again, you're still required shoes for the odd thing - I can never do the working hunter at Blair because they demand the horse is shod. I remember watching a girl jump a lovely clear only to be told on the way out she was eliminated as her horse was barefoot! Bizarre and extremely outdated.

 

[Fieldlife]

Only problem is you cannot compete in them for BD so if you do dressage then it's shoes or no shoes.

Most barefoot horses dont need boots on artificial soft surfaces, so are okay for dressage. Also boots above hair line are not allowed low profile boots which dont reach hairline would be allowed, I htink.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I never quite understood why people who ride primarily on soft surfaces believe that there horses must be shod. Yes, I know unshod isn't for every horse and all that, but still, when I think about it, I wonder how many horses need shoes.

Here people automatically put shoes on when the horse begins work/is started under saddle (on soft surfaces). Sometimes all 4, sometimes just the front. Or they think they need 4 shoes for "serious work"...and that definition varies.

It's just like a...mindset of sorts.

 

[Fieldlife]

I reckon it's not so much that people don't value the time and skill of their farrier or don't understand that the cost of materials and fuel have risen or even begrudge any farrier making a living. It's more that most wages haven't risen in line with inflation so we are paying more out for everything from the same coming in.

So paying the best part of a grand a year/£110 every 6wks out for shoes is going to be felt.

I remember back in the good old days (!) of the "barefoot taliban" on here how going bf was often the more expensive option between supplements, boots and trimmers. I'd be surprised if current price rises don't cause an increase of shoes being pulled and boots bought.

My current horse didnt have his shoes put back on after surgery last August. I already had trimming tools. Farrier (who doesnt shoe any more) does him every 5-6 weeks at £50 which includes a fair bit of travel. I trim him weekly in-between (mainly just putting bevel back on, shortening toe, levelling any bar below hoof wall, and levelling higher heel side.

However I have 3 sets of hoof boots for him (four boots each set), and think the relative pay back on these might take a while, before barefoot is cheaper than shod. Though the biomechanics, foot function and soundness benefits have been massive for this particular horse.

And I have finally stopped using back boots for hacking (though not sure if that work when field wetter in winter, will keep them to see).

I was using redhorse products and good vitamins / minerals / low starch / low sugar before taking shoes off - all expensive, but all important IMO.

 

[Fieldlife]

I never quite understood why people who ride primarily on soft surfaces believe that there horses must be shod. Yes, I know unshod isn't for every horse and all that, but still, when I think about it, I wonder how many horses need shoes.

Here people automatically put shoes on when the horse begins work/is started under saddle (on soft surfaces). Sometimes all 4, sometimes just the front. Or they think they need 4 shoes for "serious work"...and that definition varies.

It's just like a...mindset of sorts.

I am very keen on barefoot.

BUT the horses in my vicinity it is rarely as simple as taking shoes off and all is fine.

Currently the ground is very hard on tracks and in fields. And horse with typically poor function shod feet, where you take shoes off, is going to struggle in turnout / walking outside arena to turnout not in boots. Boots to and from turnout not easy.

Similarly in mid winter, ground is really wet, making for soft feet, and horse with typically poor function shod feet, where you take shoes off, is going to struggle in turnout / walking outside arena to turnout not in boots.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I am very keen on barefoot.

BUT the horses in my vicinity it is rarely as simple as taking shoes off and all is fine.

Currently the ground is very hard on tracks and in fields. And horse with typically poor function shod feet, where you take shoes off, is going to struggle in turnout / walking outside arena to turnout not in boots. Boots to and from turnout not easy.

Similarly in mid winter, ground is really wet, making for soft feet, and horse with typically poor function shod feet, where you take shoes off, is going to struggle in turnout / walking outside arena to turnout not in boots.

I mean yeah, you definitely have to be strategic about it. I wouldn't just randomly pull the shoes and expect everything to be fine. That might be a bit too much effort for some.

When my horses shoes were pulled I slowly introduced him to different surfaces, and he did really well. His diet was already good, so I didn't have to worry about that. It was in the fall sometime, and the ground wasn't bad either.

 

[ester]

It depends on your arena surface, the horse I ride is exclusively ridden in the arena for most of the year and it’s very abrasive so is shod

(and we know I’m very barefoot pro!) Re the rules and boots I know that using easyboot glove shells have previously been discussed as to whether they are low enough to be permitted (mine would stay ok without the gaiters in the school)

 

[Leandy]

I think it depends a lot whether the farrier is just coming to you (and likely therefore incorporating a travel/visit charge) or is coming to a big yard to shoe multiple horses in a day.

 

[milliepops]

Most barefoot horses dont need boots on artificial soft surfaces, so are okay for dressage. Also boots above hair line are not allowed low profile boots which dont reach hairline would be allowed, I htink.

rule 88 permits plastic or glue on shoes providing not more than 50% of the hoof is covered, and none of the heel.

 

[irishdraft]

My farrier has just announced he is now adding vat so £96.00 for a set & £54.00 fronts only for my retired plus £6.00 fuel. He is a good farrier but last couple of years has been putting his prices up twice a year so now is over the vat threshold.

 

[ester]

rule 88 permits plastic or glue on shoes providing not more than 50% of the hoof is covered, and none of the heel.

I think the hairline rule was maybe US and they were using the glove shells

 

[Laafet]

Most barefoot horses dont need boots on artificial soft surfaces, so are okay for dressage. Also boots above hair line are not allowed low profile boots which dont reach hairline would be allowed, I htink.

BD rules are that no hoof boot or any form of shoe replacement are allowed to be worn during competition.

That's from the 2022 Handbook - after rule 88 ( permits plastic or glue on shoes providing not more than 50% of the hoof is covered, and none of the heel. )

I only know because my friends Spanish horse wore Cavallo's for schooling and hacking but was not allowed to compete in them. Which was ok until he had to walk across stoney car parks to get to the warm up or from the warm up to the arena for competing. Which is ridiculous. Maybe they will change it to be more inclusive.

 

[Fieldlife]

I think the hairline rule was maybe US and they were using the glove shells

Yes, sorry I think that sounds right.