if your fairrier hit your horse

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My farrier has once, and he was quite right to do so. It taught a young horse a sharp quick lesson and some manners and saved him from a nasty accident.

If it were for nothing, then I would not allow it.

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I agree.
 
You sound as though you believe excess force was used, if that is the case your trust has been broken and you need to find another farrier. My farrier has slapped my horse on the stomach before when he was fidgiting with hot shoes and it was justified, but this is the same farrier who took 2 1/2 hours to shoe my horse the first time so he wouldn't be scared.

Everything should be in moderation, a reprimand I can understand, 4 punches in the ribs is excessively heavy handed unless he was scared for his safety in a big way. Just make sure you find a decent farrier before you sack the old one, it is a nightmare trying to find someone decent that knows what they are doing and actually likes horses!
 
a farrier i used hit Belle as hard as he could with his hammer. Thinking back now he could have done so much damage. Yes she is a pain sometimes i dont mind too much if they give her a telling off because she is a bugger but it was way too far. I was furious and never used him again and defo didn't recomend him again.
 
It depends on how the horse was behaving, and the agreement you have with him; in our case we hold the difficult horses and if a smack is required tend to do it ourselves. If they still play up the farrier knows he is ok to administer a flat handed smack, but not a kick or a fist or a wallop with a rasp.
If the horse was that difficult I would not expect my farrier to struggle, it's our job to make them sensible to shoe or trim, not his!
Talk to the farrier, explain you do not want him to discipline your horse, but bear in mind how dangerous his job is, if your horse is a nasty sod, he will most likely say find someone else..
 
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by punching them???????
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i was/am replying to you original posting question............
 
horse is in no way nasty, he does however have remembered pain in his hind,farrier knows this & horse gets better each time he is shod, a flat handed smack i have no problem with, it was the fact he punched him in the ribs,hard,4 times that i have trouble with.

going to call him & have a chat sometime soon i think
 
Sacked the last farrier that hit my horse. Same thing, horse was pulling away and farrier lost his temper, frightened horse, horse broke loose, I had to run and shut the barn door or horse could have been on the road. The farrier's instant response was "It's a t*at, send it back" (had only bought the horse recently). I thought what a defeatest attitude! So persevered, found a new farrier on recommendation who so far has been really good and very patient, the first time we used sedation but we now have the horse ok to be shod on fronts giving him a bucket of feed for distraction. Got in touch with lady who owned horse from a yearling and she informed me that his shoeing issues had stemmed from a very bad abcess.
 
I would say something! None of my farriers have ever hit any of my horses, but even when one raised his voice loudly at one of mine who is a very sensitive horse (therefore yelling makes him worse), I told the farrier not to yell. Simple. He wasnt offended and shouldn't be! We know our horses, a farriers job is to do their damn feet, NOT to disipline your horse! I would have told him not to do it and if he argued then that'd be him gone.
 
My boy was a real pain to shoe when I first had him. He had a real 'I don't want to stand still' attitude. My farrier is wonderful, has worked with a lot of young horses and knows exactly the best approach to them.

A well time 'oi' or 'no' worked wonders, never once did my farrier hit or slap my horse and he is now an angel to shoe. He treated my horse with respect (and listened to when I said he may have problems holding one of his back legs up for a long period of time) My horse loves him!

Also, we as owners should spend time handling our horses feet alot! Even banging them with things (back of a dandy brush is always handy) to get them used to things so the farrier has an easier time!

Back to the OP original question.....I would have hit the farrier back and would be looking for a new one!
 
In your case I'd change farrier. I have no problem with a farrier growling at a horse or giving him a tap to behave but hitting 4 times is excessive and it's obviously upset your horse and you. My farrier smacked my old horse once when he reared up on top of him, I didn't have a problem with that as the horse was being downright naughty.
 
A farrier is considered a professional person. Their job involves working with horses. If a horse misbehaves and the farrier believes that they are in danger then he can simply state that he can not continue shoeing the horse. If the horse plays up and needs to be disciplined then the farrier should only do this once he has the owners express permission. Farriers are all registered and their registration body has a code of conduct and also a disciplinary committee who have the power to repremand or strike off a farrier from the register if they are found to be in breach of their code of conduct.

By hitting a horse without the owners express permission the farrier is risking being reported to their professional body and suffering the subsequent consequences.

We can all loose our temper however a professional person must not do this or ever resort to force. Once they have used force they may have to face the consequences.
 
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My farrier once kicked my horse in the belly, but he had had a REALLY bad day and my horse was making things worse. So although I was fuming at the time I let him off and

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My farrier also did this as he had had a bad day. He is now my ex-farrier. This is disgusting, unacceptable behaviour. If someone saw me doing this to one of my horses, they would probably report me.
 
My farrier gave mine a smack last time, he was generally being a bit of a bugger for him (nothing malicious though) so he just gave him a slap. I don't mind, I'd have done the same.
 
Reprimanding a horse with reasonable force is one thing, being unnecessarily aggresive it another.

My friend was having her horse shod and the horse adjusted position - the farriers response was to kick it so hard in the ribs, all four feet came of the floor. He needed sacking but the idiot was persuaded by someone else with the same farrier that it was a reasonable reaction.

I dont think it was.
 
Smack yes. Murphy can be a biter and if he bit my farrier I would expect him to have a smack. But if he ever even dared to boot my horse in the belly he'd have MY foot in his sharpish.
Im sorry but kicking a horse in the guts is hardly a suitable reprimand for being naughty whilst being shod. Not in my book anyway.
 
ok,thank you everyone, would like to ask that this post is left to disapear,admin will not remove it & i would hate for my farrier to read this before i talk to him
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thanks again
 
I would not be bothered - I only used farriers I trusted, and if they thought it was fit, it was fine by me. I even gave a vet permission to belly kick my horse if he thought it would work, and if it was cheaper than sedation.
 
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