Market Research - Barefoot trimming

I've responded to the OP elsewhere so I'm not going to here :)

However my take on the farrier vs EP thing - I used 10 farriers in 3 years for my old horse. 8 of them I can honestly say were not doing a proper job for one reason or another, only two of them were responsible for the majority of the problems that he had (classic long toe/collapsed heel pre-navicular foot) but the others certainly failed to address them. The two good farriers wer fab, but one retired and one emigrated :rolleyes:

The last time he was shod he managed about 2 & a half weeks before he had cast 2 shoes and was clip clump clump clopping his way around, but seemed comfortable. One of the other liveries on the yard had her horse BF & her EP was visiting that weekend, so I had his shoes pulled & booked him in. All I can say is :eek: I was amazed. She looked at his conformation. She watched him walk and trot uphill and downhill. She asked me what work he did, what he ate, what problems he had. She took pictures. She trimmed him. She watched him walk/trot again. She trimmed him some more. She explained to me what she was doing and why. She wanted me to understand his feet, the dietary and environmental factors that affect them, and explained what I needed to do to optimise these factors. The contrast from the monosyllabic farriers who acted like they were doing me a favour when they shod my horse was gobsmacking.

To cut a (very) long story short, I have stuck to barefoot over the 5 + years since this first encounter with an EP, I have learned so much from the EPs I have used and I have never regretted taking the barefoot route. However I wouldn't knock a GOOD farrier - there are some great ones out there whose client's horses have stayed sound for years and have great feet. We actually have a good farrier in our area now and I would have my horse shod by him if I thought it was the right thing to do. Sadly, however, there are a lot of farriers out there who don't do a great job, and there are a lot of owners who only judge the quality of their farrier based on the length of time their horse can go between shoeings and the amount of money they charge. Not a great metric in my book.

So I wish the OP well, and I hope that one day barefooty people and shod people can live together in peace and harmony (but I am an old hippy :o) :cool:
 
Rem said:
I am considering training as a barefoot trimmer in the UK and am carrying out some market research to see if it would be worth the money spent on the training. I would appreciate it if you would take the time to answer just a few questions for me:

Would you use a barefoot trimmer?

I would consider it. I currently use my farrier to trim my barefoot mare. I'm not sure what you could offer that he doesn't tbh? I have been lucky to find a v good farrier so am not v tempted to give him up! For feeding and other additional advice I read up on and educate myself so I don't really look to my farrier for this kind of info.


How much would you pay for the service?

Would have to offer more of a service than my farrier in order for me to feel that I would be better off moving experts and pay more. I currently pay £20 a trim.

What would you expect for that money?

Being on time, supportive but not evangelical, pleasent manner, v good at trimming and good with my mare. Very open to offering the best for my mare - if that is shoes at any point then I would want to feel confident that they would be open to that idea - best thing for my mare is my number 1. Price would have to be inline with my farrier - pennies are a little tight tbh so am looking to cut down rather than spend more unless I can see a clear advantage to changing something. Would want them to have a good rep - it is how I pick people I use as it is hard to find someone good otherwise.

Would you be happy to contribute above the fee quoted for travelling costs?

Not really, I don't with my farrier. Sounds silly when I pay travel for a vet. Guess because there are usually more farriers in an area then travel fees aren't usually an issue. I suppose that just because they are fewer trimmers I don't want to have to pay extra!

Please be honest in your answers and thank-you in advance
Click to expand...

Have just read back through my post, and didn't mean it to sound so negative! It is an idea I would certainly be open to. It is just that currently the trimmers (or eps) that travel to my area charge around £50 plus travel - when I get a good service from my farrier for £20 I would struggle to justify the extra cost. I must admit that when checking their websites and they also list natural horsemanship and the dreaded 'p' training - it puts me off so much you wouldn't belive!! A person with a good straight forward approach doing a good job suits me well!
 
Would you use a barefoot trimmer? NO

How much would you pay for the service? I WOULDN'T, BUT WOULD EXPECT MAYBE £10 MORE THAN BAREFOOT FROM FARRIER

What would you expect for that money? ?

Would you be happy to contribute above the fee quoted for travelling costs? NOPE
 
I use a barefoot trimmer. I pay her a flat fee. She is doing a superb job so I do not care if she seems expensive. She is extremely knowledgeable and open-minded and never misses an opportunity to broaden her knowledge, keeping up with new research and going to seminars. My horse' s action is miles better than it ever was when shod. I was only going to keep him barefoot for the summer, now I never want him to be shod again.
 
Spinal Tap said:
I've responded to the OP elsewhere so I'm not going to here :)

However my take on the farrier vs EP thing - I used 10 farriers in 3 years for my old horse. 8 of them I can honestly say were not doing a proper job for one reason or another, only two of them were responsible for the majority of the problems that he had (classic long toe/collapsed heel pre-navicular foot) but the others certainly failed to address them. The two good farriers wer fab, but one retired and one emigrated :rolleyes:

The last time he was shod he managed about 2 & a half weeks before he had cast 2 shoes and was clip clump clump clopping his way around, but seemed comfortable. One of the other liveries on the yard had her horse BF & her EP was visiting that weekend, so I had his shoes pulled & booked him in. All I can say is :eek: I was amazed. She looked at his conformation. She watched him walk and trot uphill and downhill. She asked me what work he did, what he ate, what problems he had. She took pictures. She trimmed him. She watched him walk/trot again. She trimmed him some more. She explained to me what she was doing and why. She wanted me to understand his feet, the dietary and environmental factors that affect them, and explained what I needed to do to optimise these factors. The contrast from the monosyllabic farriers who acted like they were doing me a favour when they shod my horse was gobsmacking.

To cut a (very) long story short, I have stuck to barefoot over the 5 + years since this first encounter with an EP, I have learned so much from the EPs I have used and I have never regretted taking the barefoot route. However I wouldn't knock a GOOD farrier - there are some great ones out there whose client's horses have stayed sound for years and have great feet. We actually have a good farrier in our area now and I would have my horse shod by him if I thought it was the right thing to do. Sadly, however, there are a lot of farriers out there who don't do a great job, and there are a lot of owners who only judge the quality of their farrier based on the length of time their horse can go between shoeings and the amount of money they charge. Not a great metric in my book.

So I wish the OP well, and I hope that one day barefooty people and shod people can live together in peace and harmony (but I am an old hippy :o) :cool:
Click to expand...

That response is so eloquant - I couldn't have put it better myself, thank-you. And the reasons you went with an EP are the same as mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top