Farriers....Am i being unreasonable?

I always booked for 5 or 6 weeks ahead, depending on whether it was summer or winter, then took the time off work if I couldn't get a Saturday.
 
milliepops said:
Can you not book next appointment in advance? (once you've got this one sorted, obviously!) I've always found that booking in 6 weeks ahead means I could slip it in around work without too much of an issue. I used to always have first slot of the day so that there were no issues with running late etc.
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This. All my clients are rebooked for their next trim when I visit, some two or three future dates if their work commitments mean only one day of the week is possible.

It's so much easier, I would be firefighting my phone all day otherwise and if this is the way your farrier operates I bet he's trying to respond to 50 texts a day.....he just can't keep up with that and do his job.

Try to book in advance.
 
horsefeed said:
They all are already, but I can't afford 7 barefoot trims at £40 each I might as well shoe!!
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£40 for a trim I only pay £45 for a set of front shoes I wouldn't be paying that for a trim my farrier charges me £20, and I always book the next appointment in advance I can't be texting a week before on the off chance he can fit me in, if someone didn't get back to me I would take that as they don't want the business anymore so I would find someone else in your position.
 
Horses seriously eat in to your annual leave when you work Mon-Fri full time and look after them yourself. Making appointments in advance so that you can book leave early helps to keep your employer sweet. That takes care of farriery, routine vaccinations, saddlers, physios, dentists, etc. All that's left are the real emergencies and if you are not blessed with a boss who understands that occasionally equine emergencies will interfere with work, then broken down cars or boilers or burst water pipes or the like can happen to anyone and need immediate attention .... just be discrete and remember to book that as leave first thing the next day.

If you are allowed to book half days, make sure routine appointments are first or last of the day to enable you to do this. It can save a lot of leave.

If you're lucky, you'll still have 5 days annual leave for an actual holiday. Some years.
 
book your farrier 6 weeks in advance on your day off (if your farrier works on your days off) I book mine for every 6 weeks at the weekend so have time if he's late (he usually is as such a good farrier everyone wants him).
 
I book in advance after each visit, if he is ever running late he will text or call me and if he needs to move an appointment he will give me plenty of notice, he understands I work full time and Saturday is my easiest day, however, I can if need be get afternoons off work or leave early providing I give notice, this is generally if madam has managed to rip of shoe off tearing around, and even when she does this he is more than happy to come out and replace it for us.

He is a star, I have used him now for over 7 years, previously for my two boys, one shod the other trimmed and more recently he has helped massively with my less than happy filly to have her feet handled and trimmed and now shod in front.

I have in the past used farriers, who are always late, or just plain don't show, its rude and the lack of communication is a nightmare, especially in an emergency, such as an abscess or pulled shoe.
 
Crikey.. sounds like you are living in Spain OP!! ;)
Being serious now, no, that would not be acceptable for me. I would be looking for a new farrier.
Best of luck.
 
I can't get any time off work during the day. Luckily my horse is well behaved and my farrier is happy to do her without me being there. I leave her in her stable, text him in the morning tell him where the money is and he texted me when he finished. I am lucky to have him as my farrier don't know what I would do without him.
 
Not at all. I moved on from a farrier exactly like this, I didn't want to as he had always done my boy in his old home but working full time I couldn't put up with someone so unreliable and wouldn't get back in touch for weeks.

My new (ish) farrier is always on time, always responds and is equally happy to shoe without me there as long as pony is in as he's very well behaved.

Life's too short to be stressed out about these things.
 
My farrier is Brilliant, reminds me by txt day before appointment, lets me know if he is running late and by how long, re books for 5/6 weeks time and books in a tighten up date in between, he was booked for 9.00pm tonight for a tighten up, but txted me to ask if he could come at 8.00pm instead, no problem, I always pay straight away, give him a tip and xmas tip, and always make him have something for coming out to put lost shoes back on etc, he doesn't take on arsey problem horses or owners, as he has plenty of good ones, if I can't be there he will do whatever if I leave Po ready in stable for him.

No foot no Horse, decent farrier is a must.
 
Blurr said:
Horses seriously eat in to your annual leave when you work Mon-Fri full time and look after them yourself. Making appointments in advance so that you can book leave early helps to keep your employer sweet. That takes care of farriery, routine vaccinations, saddlers, physios, dentists, etc. All that's left are the real emergencies and if you are not blessed with a boss who understands that occasionally equine emergencies will interfere with work, then broken down cars or boilers or burst water pipes or the like can happen to anyone and need immediate attention .... just be discrete and remember to book that as leave first thing the next day.

If you are allowed to book half days, make sure routine appointments are first or last of the day to enable you to do this. It can save a lot of leave.

If you're lucky, you'll still have 5 days annual leave for an actual holiday. Some years.
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I haven't had a holiday since 2001, not even a weekend. I reckon I've had just 5 since 1993. Going on holiday on your own is wildly expensive because of single room supplements etc and I refuse to be robbed.
 
Thanks all for response, I have given him 1 last chance and he's let me down again! Text him Wednesday night and no response. I have the number for someone else locally so will be calling him tonight when he's home.
 
I don't even book the next appointment, I just know my farrier will be there every 6 weeks for M and every 8 weeks for A at 8am on a Thursday. I get / leave the horses in see him at 8, pay him and go to work.

If there's a problem with the standard appointment (e.g. he was at a big show competing this week) he texts me about a week in advance and rearranges (he's coming tomorrow instead). If I need him in an emergency a quick text is all it takes, although I know I'm lucky in that most days he's passing within a mile or two of the yard on his way to or from home and he's either there that day or the next, even if it's at 7am or 9pm. He's also a really nice guy. I love my farrier!
 
For various reasons I have had 5 different farriers in the last 10 years and find they all operate so differently. Only one of those (top remedial farrier from out of the area, saved my horse's life and pretty much generally walks on water as far as I am concerned) ever took advance bookings. He would also text or call if he was going to be a few minutes late, and it was never more than that. And he swept up after himself.

My current one is amazing, very skilled, very professional, helpful and accommodating beyond the call of duty. I am coming to the view that a keen young farrier building a business for himself and who sees himself as a professional is quite the holy grail! I count my lucky stars every time he does my horse.

In between times I have had a couple of farriers with, shall we say, chaotic lifestyles/difficult personal circumstances, and when that turns into non-response to calls and texts, or completely dropping off the face of the planet, it gets pretty tricky. However good their work is and however sympathetic I might feel about what they've got going on in their life, my first responsibility is to my horse, and if he's into his ninth week since he was last done and is tripping over his toes because calls and texts haven't been returned and appointments have been missed then it's only going one way I'm afraid!
 
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