Female farrier

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Gerilew

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Just had my new lad shod by a new farrier who also happens to be female. He's a big lad and due to her size he realised he could push the boundaries :( she managed to shoe him but refused to come again and she said he needs a "man" if shes not up to the job has she chosen the right profession ?
 
Or maybe the horse was just rude!! I wouldn't allow my horse to push the boundaries of someone that has come out to do his feet, man or woman!! maybe that was her polite way to say your horse has no respect
 
He didn't do anything wrong except when she had hold of his foot she couldn't hold it for long and so he'd throw his foot back down ...he doesn't do it to me when I'm picking his feet out. So is that my fault that she's not strong enough?
 
I don't think being pushed around by a bad mannered horse means she isn't up to the job but it's a physical job for sure.
 
She's not coming again and you don't think that she is up to the job so that's the end of the matter. Unless of course your next farrier also isn't willing to work with a horse that you say pushed the boundaries.
 
Gerilew said:
Just had my new lad shod by a new farrier who also happens to be female. He's a big lad and due to her size he realised he could push the boundaries :( she managed to shoe him but refused to come again and she said he needs a "man" if shes not up to the job has she chosen the right profession ?
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If she can make enough money shoeing horses that are smaller and/or better mannered than yours, why shouldn't she do that job?
 
I think you could probably pick his feet out a little quicker than she could fit and attach a shoe.

It is your job to teach your horse manners. If you cannot do that then pay someone else to do so or sedate it for shoeing.

If the lady farrier has qualified I think we can assume she is up to the job if the horse is presented properly. Why should anyone be pulled about?
 
I have a fab female farrier. She's incredible busy. She won't shoe really difficult horses or those that have to be heavily sedated as they can still flip out. Personally, I don't blame her.
 
I've had a lady farrier and she was superb, absolutely spot on for foot balance and shape, better than any bloke I've ever used and my big bolshy lad was no match for her horsemanship either, he knew his place and that was that
 
Gerilew said:
Ok so any suggestions to help him improve his manners he has only been with me for 5 days !!!!!
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Well that is part of your problem! The horse will not be settled into his new environment after 5 days! Pick his feet up regularly, not just to pick out but bang around as if you were knocking in nails and then move foot up high and forwards/backwards as if you were nailing on/finishing off etc. As you now have new shoes on you have 5 or 6 weeks to prepare for the next shoeing. Goodluck and do not be afarid to ask for help when you need it.
 
Thanks. He hasn't put a foot wrong lol so far apart from farrier so I just think she was the wrong farrier for him
 
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I have a big bolshy mare who thinks nothing of cow kicking when someone works on her hind legs. I did a h*'ll of a lot of work with her before anyone worked on her feet without sedation. I made sure they could be held up for long periods, rasped, bashed with the rasp etc. And my horse has a physical issue which is known to lead to problems holding her legs up for the farrier.

No shoes needed, but her trimmer is a female and I'd be mortified if she told me she was too bad mannered to work with!
 
Gerilew said:
Ok so any suggestions to help him improve his manners he has only been with me for 5 days !!!!!
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No real suggestions but just patience and time

Must of been a shock to you, new horse for only 5 days and farrier won't come back. Don't beat yourself up I once called the vet for routine jabs for a new horse, stood him nicely and next minute the horse was on his hinds, it never occurred to me that this horse had a bad experience previously and a massive vet phobia. Thankfully I'd had the same vet for years so he has been back many times although he often recalls the incident :-)

You may be lucky to find a farrier like I had who popped in whenever he was passing if I took on a tricky one, he came with ginger nuts and buckets of patience, bribery and corruption has also worked quite well in the past, they almost droll over him when he arrived after a few weeks, he was calm, controlled with patience of a saint and his visits were so frequent we always got there in the end

Good Luck with your new horse, hopefully in 5 weeks you will look back on this experience and smile when your horse stands quietly and happily for his new farrier
 
Thank u Cecile you are the only one that has offered a littlebit of sympathy and yes I'm sure with some work he'll be much better next time ;)
 
I wouldn't be too worried. I moved yards and the regular farrier there is female. I thought 'great my horse prefers women'. Boy was I wrong.

He hated her, no idea why. He would actually go straight over the top of her when she bent down to get his hoof up. He would push her around, go to bite her repeatedly, strike out at her. I have never seen him act like that and none of the other horses misbehave for her so I can't think its her, he just doesn't like her.

He doesn't do this with any other farrier either, just her. I put an end to it even though she seemed ok to continue, but I wasnt. He could have injured her and then she is out of work, or potentially very seriously injured if he really got her. It was too much of a risk.

The worst he might do with another farrier is pull his hoof away, usually because he has stupidly tried balancing on two legs and failed. But lucky me, I have to get a farrier from an hour away now because he is the pickiest horse ever.
 
If she gets enough work that she can pick and choose I would imagine she does a good job of shoeing and therefore yes she chose the right profession. Spend any time on farriers pages and you will see that the best do pick and choose and have little time for any that are tricky or more likely to injury them and they are good enough that that is their perogative. Farriery shouldn't be a job of strength to hold a foot up, the horse should be doing that so was he leaning/pulling away?

It would be polite to say to the next farrier that the horse is new to you, that you are working on it and are happy to work with them to improve the horse if required but that you may need a longer appointment time etc (and pay appropriately for that time)
 
Well **** I work in HR and I don't like people - should I move to another profession, despite being very very good in my current one? ;)
 
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