farrier or barefoot trimmer?

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jordan1991

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Hi iv alway had a farrier trim my boys hoofs but I'm thinking should I go with a barefoot trimmer, maybe there better as thay specialise in just barefoot. Just want to know what all your thoughts of barefoot trimmers as iv heard good and bad.
 
Exactly that. Good and bad. Farriers and barefoot trimmers.

If your horses aren't sound, find someone who trims lots of hard working horses with no shoes on and use them. If your horses are sound, stay with your farrier.
 
I could legally come and trim your horses feet, though I wouldn't, as I've no desire to do possible harm to your horse. Barefoot trimmers are not regulated or sometimes even trained. Your farrier is probably the best person to talk to, also have a look at Rockley Farms website if you are going down the barefoot route. If your horse is shod it's not as simple as just whipping shoes off and away you go, have a good look at what you need to do before you go down that route. Also mentioning barefoot trimming to many farriers is a bit of a reg flag/bull issue.
 
Stick with your farrier. Barefoot trimmers need no qualifications so any Tom, Dick or Harry could trim your horses feet. They generally make the horse lame before they get them sound. They also seem to charge more for a trim than a set of shoes would cost you!

Farriers are trained, they spent years working hard to get their qualifications.
 
EKW said:
Stick with your farrier. Barefoot trimmers need no qualifications so any Tom, Dick or Harry could trim your horses feet. They generally make the horse lame before they get them sound. They also seem to charge more for a trim than a set of shoes would cost you!

Farriers are trained, they spent years working hard to get their qualifications.
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4yrs & 2mths to train to be a farrier! Compared with a few months correspondence, a few case histories and pictures for a barefoot trimmer!

I've heard of several who charge double what my farrier charges for a trim. Daylight robbery and sadly there are gullible people out there who pay it!


Stick with a farrier, talk to them about going barefoot, and whether it's right for your horse. My mare is barefoot and when in work copes for a considerable amount of time until ground is hard. Prior to HOY she went footsore and was shod for two weeks. Shoes came off a soon as we got home.
 
EKW said:
Stick with your farrier. Barefoot trimmers need no qualifications so any Tom, Dick or Harry could trim your horses feet. They generally make the horse lame before they get them sound. They also seem to charge more for a trim than a set of shoes would cost you!

Farriers are trained, they spent years working hard to get their qualifications.
Click to expand...


What a slander! Farriers spend years training to nail a shoe to a horse's foot. They don't spend much time on trimming horses' feet to work hard. My trimmer is a member of of an assoication and has to stico to their rules. I get a short report every time she visits, advice on feeding and managment and sees the horse on concrete before and after the trim. Horse is sound btw. Charges the same for an ordinary trim as my farrier, plus a little more for the working horse.

Some farriers are very keen on barefoot horses and will want to help you, but they will always want to put shoes back on if there is any problem. A trimmer can't put shoes back on, but will give advice in suitable boots and maybe tweaking the management.

The most interesting thing about having a barefoot horse is seeing how differently the new hoof grows.
 
Orangehorse said:
What a slander! Farriers spend years training to nail a shoe to a horse's foot. They don't spend much time on trimming horses' feet to work hard. My trimmer is a member of of an assoication and has to stico to their rules. I get a short report every time she visits, advice on feeding and managment and sees the horse on concrete before and after the trim. Horse is sound btw. Charges the same for an ordinary trim as my farrier, plus a little more for the working horse.

Some farriers are very keen on barefoot horses and will want to help you, but they will always want to put shoes back on if there is any problem. A trimmer can't put shoes back on, but will give advice in suitable boots and maybe tweaking the management.

The most interesting thing about having a barefoot horse is seeing how differently the new hoof grows.
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From experience EKW is 100% correct.

You need to go and find out exactly what a farriers apprentice spends their time on learning, UNDER SUPERVISION, for many months, how to TRIM a horses feet. The majority of barefoot trimmers, train by correspondence, sending in photos which as we know can be very misleading a couple of case histories and the odd weekend course.

Several friends went down the barefoot route and then spent the whole summer with a lame horse and according to their barefoot trimmer this was normal and to be expected - CRAP!

A foot correctly trimmed DOES NOT leave the horse lame. The following work load may have them become sore, but no horse should ever be lame as a result of the trim.
 
Tnavas said:
From experience EKW is 100% correct.

You need to go and find out exactly what a farriers apprentice spends their time on learning, UNDER SUPERVISION, for many months, how to TRIM a horses feet. The majority of barefoot trimmers, train by correspondence, sending in photos which as we know can be very misleading a couple of case histories and the odd weekend course.

Several friends went down the barefoot route and then spent the whole summer with a lame horse and according to their barefoot trimmer this was normal and to be expected - CRAP!

A foot correctly trimmed DOES NOT leave the horse lame. The following work load may have them become sore, but no horse should ever be lame as a result of the trim.
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We're your friends who had the lame horses in the UK or New Zealand?
 
EKW said:
Stick with your farrier. Barefoot trimmers need no qualifications so any Tom, Dick or Harry could trim your horses feet. They generally make the horse lame before they get them sound. They also seem to charge more for a trim than a set of shoes would cost you!

Farriers are trained, they spent years working hard to get their qualifications.
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Only an eejit would let a Tom, Dick or Harry with no qualifications near their horse's hooves ;-)

As others have said, there are good and bad in both professions - had I not moved to England, my horses would likely still be shod (my farrier in Scotland was one of the good 'uns) but the 5 farriers I got through in my first few years in Yorkshire were shocking - the last 2 made my lad lame. My UKNHCP trimmer helped returned him to full, rock crunching soundness. So I'm sticking with my trimmer. Yes, she charges more for a trim than a farrier would but my vet bills have nosedived!
 
Tnavas said:
From experience EKW is 100% correct.

You need to go and find out exactly what a farriers apprentice spends their time on learning, UNDER SUPERVISION, for many months, how to TRIM a horses feet. The majority of barefoot trimmers, train by correspondence, sending in photos which as we know can be very misleading a couple of case histories and the odd weekend course.

Several friends went down the barefoot route and then spent the whole summer with a lame horse and according to their barefoot trimmer this was normal and to be expected - CRAP!

A foot correctly trimmed DOES NOT leave the horse lame. The following work load may have them become sore, but no horse should ever be lame as a result of the trim.
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LOl I have a so called expensive trimmer and the photo of the progress my horses have made more than affirmed the benefit of paying for more than a run over with a rasp and some nippers.
There are two schools here for Bf training and I don't recommended the weekend trained ones speaking fom first hand experience.

Go to any racetrack and look at the quality of shoeing and theses are the people that are training the next generation. My trimmer is trained - block courses and 1 year of supervision, has BF horses herself and has to re qualify every year on a block course, where they all share and discuss what they have learnt/found amongst themselves to better improve what they are doing.

She discusses management which I have never had a farrier do in my life and I have used many so called qualified ones - all of who were more than happy with leaving shoes on for many weeks with out better educating owners.

My horse has never been lame after a trim but without conditioning requires boots on rough surfaces, the same as I do.


Ask for potential hoofcare people to provide you with case studies and take you thru the why if they cant move on.
 
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Tnavas said:
A foot correctly trimmed DOES NOT leave the horse lame. The following work load may have them become sore, but no horse should ever be lame as a result of the trim.
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Exactly

However that is why there are 3 farriers in our area I wouldn't let near a rocking horse. 1 left my horse footy, 1 non weight bearing and 1 left him bleeding.

Eventually I found a lovely trimmer who leaves them sound, it does cost a bit more than the farriers but worth it not to have a lame horse.

Truth is that going for either is not going to guarantee a good job, ask and get recommendations.
 
Personally I would stick with a farrier because I know they have spent many years training and the first thing they learn is how to trim correctly, it's not all about nailing shoes into a hoof.

But I would suggest if you are considering the barefoot route contact Rockley Farm

http://www.rockleyfarm.co.uk/rehabilitation.html

They will be able to give you loads of advice when it comes to selecting your farrier or bare foot trimmer.

I think there are good and bad practices out their in both fields. And I dare say some farriers may be a bit quick to resolve everything with shoes.
However, I don't think every horse can go barefoot, a lot of it depends on what you do with them, the facilities you have, type of ground your horse is kept on and whether the owner has the time to manage the transition from shoes to barefoot, because as others said it's not as simple as pulling the shoes off.

Good luck, and hopefully you will get lots of advice xx
 
cptrayes said:
Exactly that. Good and bad. Farriers and barefoot trimmers.

If your horses aren't sound, find someone who trims lots of hard working horses with no shoes on and use them. If your horses are sound, stay with your farrier.
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This...^ FYI... I use my farrier who also specialises in barefoot trims too and has a lot of BF clients,.. as over the past few years he's seen more and more horses joining the barefoot world!

I made a big mistake of dropping my farrier and being 'talked into' using a barefoot trimmer used by the owner of a yard I moved onto (YO's were extremely controlling and pretty much got everyone on the yard to use this BF trimmer,..and there was always something in it for them too if you get my drift!!). Never again!! He made such a mess of my boy's feet.... I was absolutely mortified (I was there with him too while he was trimming them and he just would NOT listen to me when I stated that he was prone to his front quarters always flaring out, which is where he would always abcess in the past as it stretched his white lines,.. and that he did really well having a mustang roll all round). Guess who was foot sore the day after and blew an abcess within two weeks of him being trimmed!!?? Just my experience you understand....and Thank the Good Lord I got my old farrier back after some grovelling to him and i'll never ever change over again to a trimmer as unfortunately this experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Now I have rock crunching, tight white lined, shiny horn as hard as nails feet and he pretty much self trims his own now with a 6 weekly visit to re-balance and trim if necessary. Obviously diet and mineral supplements go a very long way to keeping him sound and healthy, together with working him on varying terrains too which is an absolute must when keeping your Barefooters barefoot!! :)

Hope my bit of info helps you out OP.
 
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I swapped from farrier to trimmer, feet looked great but was not right in the early part of this year and it was basically down to being overtrimmed at the wrong time of year, have now got new farrier and all is good again so its trial and error I am afraid.
 
I have both a farrier and a Bare foot trimmer do my mare that has Navicular. I have found that since using a BF trimmer she is much better and walking well. For a horse that is working I would always use a BF trimmer.
 
I've used both and have just changed from a barefoot trimmer back to a farrier. I'd noticed my pony's feet beginning to "slipper" over the last few months and he'd become increasingly footy on stones. He's already out overnight muzzled and in during the day on soaked (and rinsed hay), fed the correct diet, worked over all terrains, etc (I've had a pony with metabolic problems before and know how to manage them) but there was no improvement. The last time the trimmer came out I mentioned my concerns and she told me my pony had LGL. I disagreed and said I felt it was the trim.

The farrier came this morning (4 weeks post the trimmer's last visit), said his heels were under-running and the toes were too long. He noted that the pony had a really poor break-over due to the length of his toes and trimmed him up nicely (and quickly - pony was dead impressed at only having to hand his feet over for a few minutes each rather than up to 15!)

I rode out straight after the trim and felt that the pony was moving more freely through his shoulders and he was beautifully sound on the roads and fields (although still footy on stones as, obviously, it's not a miracle cure). The farrier sees no reason to put shoes on as he feels the footiness is just a trimming issue and is confident that with the right trim and workload it will resolve itself.

I'm hoping that the change of trim does sort it but I am not averse to putting shoes on if required, so at this moment in time, I'm falling on the side of farrier rather than trimmer.
 
We mix and match, and fortunately we manage to keep them both 'on-side' and even talking with each other! It was our farrier that recommended trying my horse barefoot. This worked well until he kept getting his apprentices to trim and my poor horse was ending up with 4 odd feet! I have now used the same barefoot trimmer for 8 years and he gives a balanced, conservative trim that is the same price as the farrier. My horse has NEVER been lame due to trimming by either the farrier or the barefoot trimmer. Barefoot trimmer also did my son's horse who was eventing at BE Novice level. When the ground was hard but the grass wet on top - typical UK summer (!) the horse was slipping so trimmer recommended shoes and farrier was happy to oblige. I guess the key is finding and keeping professionals who take their job seriously and have the horse's best interests at heart. Fortunately there is plenty of work for both on the yard so everyone is fairly happy - or at least professional enough to smile and get on with the job!!
 
Celtic Fringe said:
We mix and match, and fortunately we manage to keep them both 'on-side' and even talking with each other! It was our farrier that recommended trying my horse barefoot. This worked well until he kept getting his apprentices to trim and my poor horse was ending up with 4 odd feet! I have now used the same barefoot trimmer for 8 years and he gives a balanced, conservative trim that is the same price as the farrier. My horse has NEVER been lame due to trimming by either the farrier or the barefoot trimmer. Barefoot trimmer also did my son's horse who was eventing at BE Novice level. When the ground was hard but the grass wet on top - typical UK summer (!) the horse was slipping so trimmer recommended shoes and farrier was happy to oblige. I guess the key is finding and keeping professionals who take their job seriously and have the horse's best interests at heart. Fortunately there is plenty of work for both on the yard so everyone is fairly happy - or at least professional enough to smile and get on with the job!!
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Although I defended trimmers, I agree with the above 100%. I have been to yards where the horses are all barefoot and thought "I am glad my horse doesn't move like that" - but then I didn't see it when in shoes!

My horse has never been sore after a trim from a trimmer, although they have been after a trim by a farrier. However it was the farrier who suggested I take my horse's shoes off early this year to give his feet a rest, although I don't expect he thought it would be for ever.
 
i have a barefoot trimmer (equine podiatrist) i've had him since January and if i'm honest i've only had 2 farrier to trim my horse one was good and the other was awful i got no feedback on his feet he had some thrush at the time (wet ground/muddy) and after looking at the work he did i was very dissapointed. so i did some research and found my trimmer and hes been nothing but amazing he explains everything he does why he does it. gives logicial asnwers to why horses have problems as mine suffered from a abscess and of course overreacting me panicked. but i don't think i would go back to a farrier now. as hes not agaisnt shoeing but he sees no point when the workload is not sufficient and afterall if a horse is lame without shoes then something must be wrong.
 
If you're happy with your farrier then stick with them, barefoot trimmers are a very mixed bag and unregulated. I have four horses on my yard trimmed by a farrier and he is amazing, whereas the owner of another horse on my yard uses a barefoot trimmer he's used for years and comparing the trims on all the horses you can see massive difference between the trims and the farriers trim is far superior.
 
Stick with your time served man he has passed the required standards to make qualified. My father was a blacksmith between the wars and it was a long and hard apprenticeship in those days but a better tradesman you wouldn't find. There are a lot of fly by nights that could ruin your horse. I learned enough of my father to shoe a horse but I would never do it, I get the time served man.
 
Farrier. I've used both and found that the farrier has always trimmed a sound level horse. I can't say the same about barefoot trimmers.
 
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