How would you go about dumping your current farrier?

FestiveFuzz

FestiveFuzz

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Ok so realistically I know what needs to be done, but given that I'm likely to bump into him on the yard again sometime soon I want to take the path of least resistance.

Shortish story...H came in hopping lame with a hole in his frog a couple of weeks ago. On advice of our YO I flushed it with hibi and hot poulticed. The usual gunk came out the next day so I kept on with the flushing and poulticing. Our farrier was unavailable at the time and somewhat non-committal about when he may be able to take a look so I jumped on a fellow liveries farrier visit and got the frog trimmed back so we could see what was going on. This farrier felt the cause of the hole was down to our usual farrier not trimming his frogs properly, hence leaving flaps for all sorts to get stuck in. He also drew my attention to how H wears his hind feet (outer wall almost non-existent) and said that realistically with our increased workload we really should consider putting shoes back on. I'd previously queried how H wears down his hooves with our normal farrier and he'd just shrugged it off, said it was fine and not really offered any more of an explanation.

Usual farrier is also becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of. He used to just book us in every 5 weeks but recently this hasn't been happening and I've had to chase to find out when our appointment is. Myself and others have also noted his standards have dropped...all in all I don't have much faith in him these days and have made the decision to change to the other farrier.

Previously the only time I've changed farriers has been down to a yard move when it was no longer feasible for that farrier to come to us so I haven't ever had to dump a farrier so to speak. As mentioned before, he will still be doing other horses on the yard so I feel like I need to say something rather than just not re-book with him. Generally our correspondence is through text so I'm guessing it would be ok to text him and let him know but I have no idea what to say and don't really want to bring up all the issues I've had with him as I feel it will just make things awkward when I next see him. Just wondering how others would handle the situation?
 
Oh gawd, I know how you feel - its really hard to find a good way to do it!! I took the cowards way out. I was moving yards and said the yard I went to would only allow their farrier. Which was sort of true as they only used one guy as he was so good.

Its difficult. I guess most people would say to just be honest but in reality its easier said than done. Good luck!
 
You have absolutely no duty to tell your farrier you no longer require him, heck you could just not bother calling him again- he may not even notice if he is already hard to get hold of!

I have had similar. New farrier pointed out things old ones didn't (luckily a change of yard meant an easy change of farrier!). It makes you feel guilty for not having done what is best for your horse, however they are the professionals and they should be advising you as soon, and keeping you properly informed of progress/issues/treatment etc.

However, I am probably the same as you, I like to leave things on good terms where I can out of courtesy. Perhaps, if he is that hard to get hold of, leave him a voicemail, or even drop him a text or letter just to say thank you for your support for X years, you no longer require his services at present, and that you wish him well in the future for his business.

Simple, polite, and leaves no room for miscommunication :)
 
PercyMum said:
Oh gawd, I know how you feel - its really hard to find a good way to do it!! I took the cowards way out. I was moving yards and said the yard I went to would only allow their farrier. Which was sort of true as they only used one guy as he was so good.

Its difficult. I guess most people would say to just be honest but in reality its easier said than done. Good luck!
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Haha glad I'm not the only one who struggles with this sort of thing. I'm not sure "it's not you, it's me" really works in this situation either :D
 
last year the farrier hit my youngster. quite unwarranted. I just rang the smithy a few days later and cancelled the scheduled appointment and said I would no longer be requiring their services. No explanation and they dint ask for one. I now have a wonderful farrier and so are his apprentices
 
I wasn't keen on my farrier - I've just moved yards and just wont be calling him again .... ;-)

However, I would be careful about listening to another farrier slagging off your farrier. Pretty underhanded in my opinion. Have you asked your vet's opinion on the points you raised above?

Look, you don't have to talk to him so just don't rebook him. If you see him at the yard and he actually approaches you then either tell him the truth or make something up about needing assistance from someone else to be around for farrier coz you changed job or something along those lines. Awkwaaaaard!!
 
mcnaughty said:
I wasn't keen on my farrier - I've just moved yards and just wont be calling him again .... ;-)

However, I would be careful about listening to another farrier slagging off your farrier. Pretty underhanded in my opinion. Have you asked your vet's opinion on the points you raised above?

Look, you don't have to talk to him so just don't rebook him. If you see him at the yard and he actually approaches you then either tell him the truth or make something up about needing assistance from someone else to be around for farrier coz you changed job or something along those lines. Awkwaaaaard!!
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Sorry I should have been clearer. YO and vet agree with the other farriers opinion, and from speaking to others he seems quite highly regarded in the local area. He didn't slag off our farrier, just explained why the frog was the way it was when I asked. I openly acknowledge I know very little when it comes to hooves and therefore need a farrier whose opinion I trust 100%. On the rare occasions I'm actually around for the farrier I tend to ask a million and one questions as I like to understand why they're doing whatever they're doing.
 
I stopped using mine due to the lack off attention and laming my tb every single time. I just stopped ringing him and got a different one, he still came on the yard but I rarely saw him and if he did he just said Hi and so did I nothing more got said :)
 
I would have no problem changing farriers as you have struggled to get hold of the current one. Just start using the one you want and if the other asks explain that you weren't able to get in touch with him when needed.

However, I would strongly question the new farriers conclusion that you should shoe because your horse has uneven wear on his hooves or that the frog problem is caused by not trimming the frog enough! Both those statements worry me.

Sticking shoes on a horse that starts to wear unevenly might well cause problems further up the leg, I would be looking at some bodywork / physio unless there is an obvious conformation reason for the unevenness and he has always done it. I allowed a farrier to convince me to stick shoes back on my sound older mare many years ago because "the wall was starting to wear away on the outside" and her arthritis immediately got seriously worse, I suspect she needed the worn side to make her joints comfortable. Also, the wall being worn away is not automatically a problem unless the horse is lame.

Excess trimming of the frog by a farrier is a common reason for a barefoot horse to need shoes, lots of farriers not familiar with horses that work unshod like to cut the frog right back and call it "tidying". Personally I would be looking at the diet and/or living conditions for frog problems.
 
OP..... Put your brave pants on treat the situation as one of a 'business transaction', or think of it as 'renewing an insurance policy'!! The cards are in your hand.

It's your horse, your horse's feet,...your decision, simple! Keep up with the farrier you're now quite impressed with (and ask him if you can be on his books) and just leave the other farrier to 'lapse' out of the equation.

I'll hazard a guess and say he'll make no advances towards you, to enquire as to why you haven't booked him in the future. If he does, you can simply say that you've been hard to get hold of in the past and more recently when you really needed him to see to your horse, so you decided to move on and find someone else!....end of....and say it with a firm and confident manner... ;)

xx
 
I had troubles getting a farrier after i went through about 4 in the space of a month. None of them could do when i wanted and what i wanted and the fourth one finally lamed my horse for a week so i had a big farrierless hole in my life. I now have my old beloved one back and the only reason i didn't have him for a while was because i felt bad making him come all this way to trim one small shetland lol
 
I would simply send a text or email saying "Out of courtesy I'm letting you know that I no longer require your services" He may choose to contact you to find out why, he may not but he knows where he stands and can make an informed decision to take on a new customer to replace you if he wants to.
 
laura_nash said:
I would have no problem changing farriers as you have struggled to get hold of the current one. Just start using the one you want and if the other asks explain that you weren't able to get in touch with him when needed.

However, I would strongly question the new farriers conclusion that you should shoe because your horse has uneven wear on his hooves or that the frog problem is caused by not trimming the frog enough! Both those statements worry me.

Sticking shoes on a horse that starts to wear unevenly might well cause problems further up the leg, I would be looking at some bodywork / physio unless there is an obvious conformation reason for the unevenness and he has always done it. I allowed a farrier to convince me to stick shoes back on my sound older mare many years ago because "the wall was starting to wear away on the outside" and her arthritis immediately got seriously worse, I suspect she needed the worn side to make her joints comfortable. Also, the wall being worn away is not automatically a problem unless the horse is lame.

Excess trimming of the frog by a farrier is a common reason for a barefoot horse to need shoes, lots of farriers not familiar with horses that work unshod like to cut the frog right back and call it "tidying". Personally I would be looking at the diet and/or living conditions for frog problems.
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We're currently under the physio as he has virtually no lateral flexion through his pelvis. The thinking being that he changed his way of going when we took his back shoes off hence the wear on his outer walls. I am happy with the advice we are being given here and it is with agreement of the physio and vet that we are putting shoes back on. He has recently gone from being out 24/7 to part livery which should help with the quality of his frogs.
 
Kezzabell2 said:
I sent my mum. I was about 28
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HAHAHA Brilliant! I sent my Dad!

I felt bad because my farrier had recommended me for what turned out to be my horse of a lifetime but in the end he just wasn't shoeing him well, so sent Dad for the final shoeing to say thanks but no thanks :D

I'm a coward!
 
I would pick the phone up and ring him. Explain you are ringing out of courtesy to let him know you are changing farriers. Thank him for the work he has done to date.

If he questions why, simply explain its because you a finding it increasingly difficult to get hold of him, and in the case of an emergency you need to know he would be there.

I would be wary of any farrier critising another. So wouldn't burn bridges.
 
laura_nash said:
I would have no problem changing farriers as you have struggled to get hold of the current one. Just start using the one you want and if the other asks explain that you weren't able to get in touch with him when needed.

However, I would strongly question the new farriers conclusion that you should shoe because your horse has uneven wear on his hooves or that the frog problem is caused by not trimming the frog enough! Both those statements worry me.

Sticking shoes on a horse that starts to wear unevenly might well cause problems further up the leg, I would be looking at some bodywork / physio unless there is an obvious conformation reason for the unevenness and he has always done it. I allowed a farrier to convince me to stick shoes back on my sound older mare many years ago because "the wall was starting to wear away on the outside" and her arthritis immediately got seriously worse, I suspect she needed the worn side to make her joints comfortable. Also, the wall being worn away is not automatically a problem unless the horse is lame.

Excess trimming of the frog by a farrier is a common reason for a barefoot horse to need shoes, lots of farriers not familiar with horses that work unshod like to cut the frog right back and call it "tidying". Personally I would be looking at the diet and/or living conditions for frog problems.
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Top post agree on all points!!
 
My farrier would insist on trimming soles, despite the fact that horse had thin soles and I had asked him several times not to. So I just didn't book another appointment. If I had met him socially I would say what I have just written, but he hasn't even returned my livery's calls, so she has changed too. I suspect your original farrier won't even question it but if you did bump into him on the yard just say you prefer to do your own. No reason why not if you aren't having shoes.
I tidy my horses' feet myself on a regular basis and a couple of times a year get a trimmer I trust to just check and advise on any changes. Could you not do the same? Educate yourself, with the help of a good trimmer, and get a decent rasp. It isn't difficult.
 
after being let down several times i just texted mine who id had for 10 years thanked him for his help but that i was getting stressed by his behaviour,horse was my priority and that i had found someone new.
 
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