farrier rant.......

[perfectpolly]

well i need a rant about my farrier, and now thinking of changing.!!!
friday, came back from a week of camping to find my girl had lost a shoe on thurs. phoned farrier fri early evening....didn't expect to hear anything until mon , but still nothing today!!!! really annoyed as i would like to ride ( getting withdrawl symptoms) and also don't want her to get foot sore as she is flat footed.
i know he is coming to yard on thurs pm but i do feel that some courtesy of calling to let me know would be nice. this is the second time that he has not returned my call. 3 weeks sgo she had a full set of shoes....i had to leave 3 messages and a text before he called me back 5 days later!
is this normal?? would it annoy you too or am i being unfair to him!?

 

[TGM]

Have you made sure you have left your telephone number clearly on his answerphone? Speaking as a farrier's wife, you would be amazed how many people forget to leave their number, or gabble it off so quickly you can't make sense of it, so you can't ring them back!

 

[TequilaMist]

I would be annoyed that I couldn't ride but tbh not at farrier.May well be busy know my one is run off feet some days esp if covering for other farriers hols/sick etc.I do know that IF my farrier can oblige he will but sometimes its just not possable and you have to wait.If farrier made a habit of not returning calls would be irked.
Must admit waiting til Thursday doesn't seem that long to me prob cause thats what I used to do at opld yard.Was just grateful he came every wed.

 

[perfectpolly]

definately left number...in fact mobile and home. in fact i called him and texted on fri for this reason.
i don't mind waiting..... busy time of year,and all, and i don't expect him to rush out to me, just to let me know WHEN he can fit us in.
he's coming to do friends horse on thurs but i don't know if he'll have time to do mine. i need to arrange time to be there, but if he doesn't call how can i be there?? will call again tomorrow, maybe just forgot.

 

[Skhosu]

Fairly normal with farriers tbh! We just keep leavin messages until he comes... He probably has 9million other owners who 'just need a shoe tacked on'; (thats what we've been telling our farrier for a week now, and he's coming tomorrow!)

 

[Sags_Deer]

omg he sounds like my old farrier where do you live!!! - i sacked mine he did that to me a couple of times i call left messages not even a call back saying when he could turn up would have been appreciated. Can you get someone else out then?

 

[skewbaldpony]

Skewbald's rule of farriers - the less stressed you get with them, the more they put themselves out for you. Chill and he'll probably do her Thursday. Lose your cool and he won't. He's got a lot to do, and a life to lead. He could call you back, but he's just tacking one back on for someone else on the end of another visit!

 

[RoyalPolo]

Get rid! It winds me up when people dont have the courtesy to ring back its there buisness after all! I also believe that if most farriers nailed higher up they wouldn't have to keep coming back out to refit missing shoes. My ponies have never lost a shoe and now none of my friends have now they use the same farrier although he also annoys me sometimes to!

I think alot of them need to realise we cannot just turn up out of the blue at short or very late notice as most people work full time and have to fit there horses in around there work.

 

[perfectpolly]

i know i should chill......just feeling a bit ranty!! will be much better tomorrow! promise.
it's just that it's the second time now and i may be expecting too much, but just feel strongly that it doesn't take much to call someone back.

 

[scotsmare]

OK, from a different tack - I LOVE my farrier - yes, it can take him a couple of days to ring back but he generally will fit us in as soon as practical BUT it took me a few months to realise that the less I hassled him the more accommodating he was.

Your farrier could well be covering for another farrier who's on holiday and flat out busy. If he doesn't ring back before Thursday can you not ask your friend to bring your horse in for you on the off chance? Also, if he can't do it then, ask your friend to arrange a time for you for him to come back.

 

[skewbaldpony]

totally agree with scotsmare. my farrier's in the business of shoeing horses. he's cr@p at phoning people and I don't care. Far better than the other way round.

 

[Eaglestone]

I got in soooooooooooooooo much trouble when I mentioned that my Farrier had put his prices up for the 2nd time this year alone (in fact it was the 3rd) .... but you have got away with the thrashing

 

[Cop-Pop]

I've gone through 6 farriers now

I now use one of the more expensive ones in the area

but they turn up when they say they will and have a 'receptionist' who might be a batty old lady but she takes messages and passes them on and makes the farriers ring back!

 

[BBH]

I did a farrier rant post about a week ago. Yours sounds as if it could be the same person.

 

[CracklinRosie]

I have used the same farrier for 11 years now. In this time I have only had one thrown shoe! Horses fault to be fair. He comes to our yard every week so I never have to call him but I'm sure if I did he would come in an emergency. He is so busy right now that if you don't already have an appointment you'll be 2 weeks before he can come. Because he comes ever week if he runs out of time or is very busy you normally have to wait unil the next week but because I treat him with respect he often comes back to do my horses especially. In fact he did just that last weekend.

As a human being it is only fair that he calls you back, however this is not a farriers trait, it's life!

Try calling him at lunch time???!!!!

 

[YorksG]

Ours is not in the habit of ringing back, has no answer phone, but you just have to persist. In the black and white years our (then) farrier was available to speak to in the half hour between his bath and the pub, that was the only time you could catch him and he never rang back. We still had a shod horse! I don't expect the farrier to ring back, he does horses feet, how much time would it take him returning calls! Just be persistant.

 

[foraday]

Gosh I must be lucky!

If shoe comes off Farrier is there within 30 mins!

I have even called him on his day off and he answers his phone!

 

[Armadillo]

I have the best Farrier ever. Always turns up early. He will turn the horses out for you after he has finished. Always returns calls and if you lose a shoe he will be out within 24hrs. Hasn't put his prices up for 5 years. The only problem is that he is retiring in the next couple of years (he is 65 now) and I don't know how I will ever replace him.

 

[perfectpolly]

oh armadillo, i knew that sounded too good to be true!!! its so sad when you are happy with a farrier then they retire, or move away.