farriers attitudes.

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mel456

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I was wondering if anybody has had a farrier named Luca Palmer?
I live in north Suffolk and haven't had a lot of luck with farriers they have all been very grumpy or they just want to get my horses shoes on a leave.
he shod my horse the other day and i was very impressed with his work.
he was very well mannered and very passive with my horse, my other farrier was very grumpy and quite rough with my geegee

he was on time and had a professional attitude to his business, he was friendly and very informative about everything he was doing to my baby's feet

i was wondering if anybody had a farrier like this?
i know the farriers training has been under a lot of pressure with their offsted report (you only have to read the barefoot forums)
but my new farrier (Luca) has made a great effort to be professional and he explained everything to me.

he even had some horse bones in his van to show me about the anatomy of my horse (i couldn't recommend him highly enough)

is this the new age of farriers or do people think differently?
 
Cant complain about my blacksmith does a great job and always up for the crack. However my father was a blacksmith in the 1950s when i was growing up and yes he was a bit grumpy but if you have ever worked on a forge in summer and spent your whole day bent over Clydesdales feet trust me you would get a bit grumpy.
 
I think farriers are gradually changing their ways of thinking and due to the CPD stuff they have to do are continually learning whereas many years ago you did your training and that was that.

I also think that shoeing costs are going up and this is very much reflected in the 'new type of service' we now receive.

The best recommendation in respect to my farrier came from my vet who said that looking at xrays of my horses feet (when he had his last steroid injection for arthritis in his coffin joint) was that his feet were balanced beautifully. This compliment I passed on to my farrier from my vet, and he was really pleased.

My farrier isn't so keen if you are there with your horse when he is shod as he says horses nearly always play up in front of their owners whereas if they are just left with the farrier (as is nine times out of ten the case with my horse as I am at work) they do not receive the attention when they play up. My farrier just turns up, drags the horse from the stable and puts him back in afterwards. I've not yet trained him to sweep up (the farrier that is, not the horse) lol
 
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Applecart, I make a point of being on hand when my farrier is around, but I'm not on a yard or anything - I either clean tack, poo pick, clean the pony or generally tidy up - so that he's not left alone. My previous farrier was kicked in the head whilst shoeing, he wasn't alone but the fact that someone was there to call the air ambulance saved his life, and that has stayed in my mind ever since.
 
I don't really mind if they are friendly or not.

I just want them to do the best for my horses, treat them firmly but fairly, keep me informed of any problems, try and prevent problems from happening and turn up roughly on time. (unless there's an emergency) Also, if they're in over their head they should say before it becomes a big expensive risky problem for me and my horse.

The way I see it I didn't go to farrier school for x years, they did, so they are the expert. I feel I am paying them for their expertise, it upsets me a lot if they could have been more proactive about something that has become a problem for my horse but needn't have been, if that makes sense.
 
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My farrier is also fantastic, and I would highly recommend him to anyone. I have used him for many, many years.

He would actually rather I was there when my horse was shod (as would most good farriers), because, apart from supplying the tea and biscuits, I can also tell him how my horse has been, any concerns I may have and any issues he would like to discuss with me.
 
My farrier is fantastic, his work could not be faulted and he really knows his stuff! Only problem I have with him is he is so good he is very popular and hard to get a definite day/time for his visit!
 
My current farrier is incredible. So gentle and patient. My boy can be funny about strangers picking up his feet, not helped by a previous farrier smacking him with a rasp when he wouldn't stand still. Needless to say that farrier is not allowed near him now.
 
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