My farrier is soooo rude!

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Mlini

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To cut a long story short; my horse lost a shoe on Saturday night. I tried ringing the farrier, no answer. Got a text 'Hi, its **** cant answer, please text'. I text him telling him the issue and that I need him out asap, no answer. The YM has tried to contact him, my OH has tried to contact him, I have been ringing/texting since it happened; still no answer.

This is not the first time this has happened..
B lost a shoe a week after being shod; it took him a good week to even answer the phone, never mind come out and put it back on.
He was booked in for 1pm, turned up at 2.30pm.
S lost a shoe and didn't get it back on for 2 weeks.
He missed an appointment and didnt rebook, horses had new shoes 3 weeks late.

He does good work and is a great person but it is an absolute pain in the bum to get him to come out. We have decided enough is enough now and will be getting a new farrier. I can't understand why he would be so useless and unreliable when he is self employed and it will be his own livelyhood at risk. Surely you would rather come out and do ten minutes work rather than lose out on 5 horses to shoe every 6 weeks? :confused:

Anyone else have problems with their farriers?

Any recommendations for Leeds/Selby area?
 
Most farriers are hard to get hold of.Theyre often late.I told my farrier to phone me if hes late or not coming.He hardly answers his phone.
 
Have you been trying to contact him on Saturday night and Sunday? Do you think that is reasonable? I wouldn't even have attempted to contact mine about it until this morning. He is human and needs some private time with his family, my bad luck if my horse throws a shoe on a Saturday night!:confused:

Do you always demand this sort of attention from him? If so maybe he is rather reluctant to get back to you in the hope you do find another farrier?:p
 
Some farriers seem to forget that we are paying customers. Even if he couldn't reply over the weekend, and Grumpyoldmare does make a very valid point then I would have expected a reply first thing this morning.

We had one who was like this and sacked him. Have used someone else for several years now who is always very communicative, respects the horses and ourselves as clients and does a good job. Sadly not in your area though.
 
I got rid of my last farrier for the very same reason. My 3 are un-shod, and are impecable to handle, so £20 x 3 = £60 for less than an hours work.
My new farrier is brilliant, he came at the drop of a hat when my old lady cme down with concussion lami last year, rang me to see how she was doing, came every 2 weeks for 2 months to correct my foals slight toe in, and will call/text me if he is going to be more than 10mins late. AND hes a fiver per trim cheaper! If you get a good one, treat them like gold! Hope you get it all sorted :)

I must agree with grumpyoldmare though, its only now that Mark has told me to call any time day or night if I need him that I will contact him 'out of hours' - as a SE groom, and with the family being farmers, I know how precious some time to ourselves is!
 
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grumpyoldmare said:
Have you been trying to contact him on Saturday night and Sunday? Do you think that is reasonable? I wouldn't even have attempted to contact mine about it until this morning. He is human and needs some private time with his family, my bad luck if my horse throws a shoe on a Saturday night!:confused:

Do you always demand this sort of attention from him? If so maybe he is rather reluctant to get back to you in the hope you do find another farrier?:p
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^^ This
 
I had a farrier who was very difficult to get hold of too and unreliable. I got tired of it and found a new one who, although he is more expensive, is way more reliable and easier to get hold of. He is worth every penny extra that I pay him! He's not in your area either though. Good luck with finding a new one. Possibly wouldn't phone a new one Sat. eve or Sunday though!
 
I had similar problems with a large practice in Surrey. Never saw the head man himself, but had two apprentices, one of whom was so late (over 2hrs and I was needing to go to work after), I told him to tell his boss I was never ever calling them out again. No idea if he did, but that was nearly 5 years ago and I've got a much better farrier since (who is actually slightly early at each call!).
 
I am always astounded that some people think that they can call their farrier any time they like and expect him to drop everything to see to their needs :rolleyes: as though they are the only customer they have.

My own farrier told me of one customer who rang at 6.30 am on a Sunday morning, you would not do this to your saddler, so why to your farrier? Another customer expects him to do horses in a muddy field as she can't be bothered to bring them up to the yard.

Perhaps I am lucky but every farrier I have had has always turned up roughly on time, sometimes late but then although they plan their day there are always some customers who ask them to do an extra horse or two. I have only had three farriers in the last 30 odd years and they were all, without exception reliable, perhaps the fact that I respected their weekends and always have the horses ready with feet picked out when they arrived.

TBH if you had called me on a Saturday evening, I too would have asked you to text, and I would not get back to you until Monday or did you expect him to call you on Sunday? He probably has appointments this morning, give him a chance!
 
grumpyoldmare - he works weekends too and has said that we can contact him whenever.

It is not the fact that he hasn't come out and put it back on this weekend that annoys me. It is the fact that he can text saying 'please text don't ring' but then doesn't text back when you tell him the issue.

Still not answering texts or calls now.
 
I like my farrier,hes brilliant with my two and sorted her abcess out and gave me instructions how to care for it. He was the one who came out to my boy when he was new to trimmimg,previously kicked out.
There are some farriers who are rude.Don't think its fair to bother the farrier on his day off tho.
 
Rosie041390 said:
grumpyoldmare - he works weekends too and has said that we can contact him whenever.

It is not the fact that he hasn't come out and put it back on this weekend that annoys me. It is the fact that he can text saying 'please text don't ring' but then doesn't text back when you tell him the issue.

Still not answering texts or calls now.
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If you had continously been texting me I would probably ignore you too - sorry but he is probably as fed up with you as you are with him!
 
I think I would only ever ring our farrier on a sat morning if needed, as I know he sometimes works then. But I wouldn't expect him to sort me out at the weekend, unless he was in the area and could swing by (but that would be his choice!)

Farriers are people too!

Our farrier comes to us to shoe 3 and trim 2 (although those two not every time depending on growth/wear), he is always on time, and will ring if he has any problems. He is an excellent, neat, quick farrier and the equine vets even commented on how well shod mine is. He always gets tea and choc biscuits when he comes - his dogs (lab and mental beagle) get biscuits too ;)

We've had him 25 years and I don't know what we do when he retires :)
 
Amaranta said:
If you had continously been texting me I would probably ignore you too - sorry but he is probably as fed up with you as you are with him!
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We haven't been continuously been texting and calling him. I called Sat evening about 5.30. He text. I text. YM has rang him (don't know how many times) and left a message about the horse. And my OH rang him once. That is it. Wouldn't exactly call it pestering, would you? He works weekends, so not his day off. Has previously told us we can contact him at any time.

Just out of interest, how would you contact your farrier if your horse desperatly needed a shoe putting back on? And how long would you wait for a reply? I have previously waited 2 weeks for a reply. Horses have had the same set of shoes on for 9 weeks before due to his unreliability.
 
Well all I can say is - I am confident I could telephone my farrier at anytime 'In An Emergency' such as lammi problems etc.and he would be out to me as soon as he was physically able. Not because he is working 24/7, but because he knows me well enough that if I called out of hours then it really is a genuine emergency.

If one of them throws a shoe this is NOT an emergency in my book or his. However, if I were to phone him on a normal working day and say horse has thrown a shoe, going to a show next weekend he would find time to pop out and put it back on for me.

All the above is reasonable give and take with you farrier IMO. Keeps me happy and keeps farrier happy. The scenario you describe would p**s most farriers off, and quite rightly so!:(
 
grumpyoldmare said:
Have you been trying to contact him on Saturday night and Sunday? Do you think that is reasonable? I wouldn't even have attempted to contact mine about it until this morning. He is human and needs some private time with his family, my bad luck if my horse throws a shoe on a Saturday night!:confused:

Do you always demand this sort of attention from him? If so maybe he is rather reluctant to get back to you in the hope you do find another farrier?:p
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I thought this too!
If somebody was phoning, and then continued to when call wasn't answers on a saturday night, I wouldn't be so willing to get back to them.
 
I dunno I think some people are being a bit unfair to OP.

If she is a pain in the arse the farrier should reply and say I don't want you as a client anymore

It is very rude to ignore people, takes what 3.6 seconds to write a text??

sounds like you are getting a bad service imo, I assume if he replied and said sorry you lost a shoe, I will be with you Thursday 2pm, you would be happy?
 
OP I'm not so far away from you and my farrier is really good at answering his phone/coming when he says he will (although annoyingly he's usually early). If you're interested pm me and I'll provide name/number. x
 
As a farriers wife it genuinely shocks me that people expect farriers to be a 24/7 emergency service. I have been called up at 6.30 in the morning and midnight. If you don't drop everything and rush out you are labelled as unreliable or rude.
I find the people that always get good service from their farrier are usually good customers. There are exceptions, we have a few farriers round us that don't treat their customers fairly BUT I've had verbal abuse from people that are on their 4th farrier and they are STILL blaming the farrier.
 
Countrychic said:
As a farriers wife it genuinely shocks me that people expect farriers to be a 24/7 emergency service. I have been called up at 6.30 in the morning and midnight. If you don't drop everything and rush out you are labelled as unreliable or rude.
I find the people that always get good service from their farrier are usually good customers. There are exceptions, we have a few farriers round us that don't treat their customers fairly BUT I've had verbal abuse from people that are on their 4th farrier and they are STILL blaming the farrier.
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Quite true, but we are not talking about other rude inconsiderate horse owners ( and there are loads who think the world revolves around them like you said) but what's your opinion on the OP.. she sometimes doesn't get a returned call for 2 weeks :eek:??
 
Rosie041390 said:
We haven't been continuously been texting and calling him. I called Sat evening about 5.30. He text. I text. YM has rang him (don't know how many times) and left a message about the horse. And my OH rang him once. That is it. Wouldn't exactly call it pestering, would you? He works weekends, so not his day off. Has previously told us we can contact him at any time.

Just out of interest, how would you contact your farrier if your horse desperatly needed a shoe putting back on? And how long would you wait for a reply? I have previously waited 2 weeks for a reply. Horses have had the same set of shoes on for 9 weeks before due to his unreliability.
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So, you consider that he works both Saturday AND Sunday and therefore feel that calling him at 5.30pm on a Saturday (a lost shoe could have waited until Monday) is fine, it does not matter that you personally have not called or texted him since, but, by your own admission both your OH and your YO probably called him on Sunday hmmmm and you wonder why he has not got back to you? Really?
 
grumpyoldmare said:
Well all I can say is - I am confident I could telephone my farrier at anytime 'In An Emergency' such as lammi problems etc.and he would be out to me as soon as he was physically able. Not because he is working 24/7, but because he knows me well enough that if I called out of hours then it really is a genuine emergency.

If one of them throws a shoe this is NOT an emergency in my book or his. However, if I were to phone him on a normal working day and say horse has thrown a shoe, going to a show next weekend he would find time to pop out and put it back on for me.

All the above is reasonable give and take with you farrier IMO. Keeps me happy and keeps farrier happy. The scenario you describe would p**s most farriers off, and quite rightly so!:(
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Maybe I should have explained it better. It is my vet that has requested that the shoe be put back on asap.

I was just after a reply stating when he can come. Not a miracle!
 
I'm not sure why farriers should be treated any differently to any other business, if you need their custom, you ring them and expect them to get back to you. Also if they are not going to be on time they should text or call... I often wonder why some people are in awe of farriers giving them special rights!
No you shouldn't ring them late evenings/weekends if they don'y work these hours (and if its not an emergancy) but you should expect them to get back to you in reasonable time and be on time for any appointment just like all other situations in life.

OP, I would of long ago now found another farrier - you are not in the wrong and you cannot be expected to be hanging on for weeks on end when your horse needs shoeing, find someone who can commit to a normal working business arrangement. Goodluck.
 
Devonshire dumpling said:
Quite true, but we are not talking about other rude inconsiderate horse owners ( and there are loads who think the world revolves around them like you said) but what's your opinion on the OP.. she sometimes doesn't get a returned call for 2 weeks :eek:??
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thing is DD, we are only hearing HER side of the story, I agree that 2 weeks is too long and I would be pulling my hair out, but WHY does the farrier not call back for two weeks? Could it be that the OP is very demanding, from her, her YOs and her OHs actions this weekend it would seem to be that way, although if this is the case then the farrier should have sacked her rather than keep her hanging around, my own farrier would have sacked her months ago :p
 
Amaranta said:
I am always astounded that some people think that they can call their farrier any time they like and expect him to drop everything to see to their needs :rolleyes: as though they are the only customer they have.

My own farrier told me of one customer who rang at 6.30 am on a Sunday morning, you would not do this to your saddler, so why to your farrier? Another customer expects him to do horses in a muddy field as she can't be bothered to bring them up to the yard.

Perhaps I am lucky but every farrier I have had has always turned up roughly on time, sometimes late but then although they plan their day there are always some customers who ask them to do an extra horse or two. I have only had three farriers in the last 30 odd years and they were all, without exception reliable, perhaps the fact that I respected their weekends and always have the horses ready with feet picked out when they arrived.

TBH if you had called me on a Saturday evening, I too would have asked you to text, and I would not get back to you until Monday or did you expect him to call you on Sunday? He probably has appointments this morning, give him a chance!
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WRONG!
I've had people call me at 11.35 pm Saturday night when I was in bed, 6.20 am in the morning when I was in bed (yes I am in bed alot it seems!) and LOTS of people booking me to go and fit and flock up their saddles MILES away, I get there (I am ALWAYS early and polite) only to be standing there for a couple of hours and no one turns up,no explanation no apology.It even happened one year on NEW YEAR'S DAY!
I very kindly went out to see to their saddles and new year's day is the day after my birthday so I deliberately didn't go out new year's eve celebrating the new year and my birthday as I knew I had work the next day.I wasn't charging any extra to go out on that day either and yes, no one turned up, no apology after either, so now I don't bother to fit and flock or do saddlery repairs on site at yards or saddlery shops because of this reason as well as the rocketing fuel costs, I simply can't afford to turn up and no one there.
Another one I had over somewhere in Kent, was a man who wanted his rugs washed and repaired, I collected them and did the work, returning on agreed day to his yard, he said he'd leave me the money or a cheque, nothing, so I rang him.Oh just leave the rugs and I will send you the money, yeah right you will!
I ended up selling his rugs to pay his bill after numerous attempts and giving his chances to pay his bill!
The amount of people over the years who have wanted me to leave the yard without payment is amazing!
Funnily enough as you turn to leave before you've flocked their saddles up suddenly a cheque book or cash appears, funny that isn't it!
Sorry for hijacking your thread but I just HAD to answer this. OP I hope you get a Farrier to sort your horse's out!
 
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Rosie041390 said:
my horse lost a shoe on Saturday night. I tried ringing the farrier, no answer......... I have been ringing/texting since it happened; still no answer.
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You have been texting and calling since it happened on SATURDAY NIGHT? I expect he can't wait to get rid of you, sorry. I would never demand to speak to my farrier over the weekend. If it was an emergency such as a shoe half on and digging in, I would remove it myself (with my farrier tools) and contact him first thing Monday. But a straight foreward lost shoe, that's hardly an emergency.

Having said that, my farrier is always bang on time without fail so you have my sympathies regarding his lateness.
 
grumpyoldmare said:
Have you been trying to contact him on Saturday night and Sunday? Do you think that is reasonable? I wouldn't even have attempted to contact mine about it until this morning. He is human and needs some private time with his family, my bad luck if my horse throws a shoe on a Saturday night!:confused:

Do you always demand this sort of attention from him? If so maybe he is rather reluctant to get back to you in the hope you do find another farrier?:p
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My thoughts exactly - he isnt a memember of the emergency services! I am very lucky that my farrier is always reliable, however I wouldnt dream of chasing him at the weekend. If you are not happy with his service, go elsewhere.
 
Amaranta said:
thing is DD, we are only hearing HER side of the story, I agree that 2 weeks is too long and I would be pulling my hair out, but WHY does the farrier not call back for two weeks? Could it be that the OP is very demanding, from her, her YOs and her OHs actions this weekend it would seem to be that way, although if this is the case then the farrier should have sacked her rather than keep her hanging around, my own farrier would have sacked her months ago :p
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Exactly so her farrier obviously doesn't have a problem taking her money for the 5 horses she brings to them, therefore she deserves a fantastic services, she is giving him at least £300 every 4-6 weeks... She is his bread and butter, I think she deserves some respect, IMO OP is coming across as a bit demanding in the thread as she is peed off and quite rightly so!

I have a lovely lady farrier and I treat her with respect and likewise, we must assume the op is telling the truth and don't need to hear both sides of the story, she was just after some advice.

I have a best friend who is a farrier and OMG he is shocking!! He doesn't turn up, doesn't reply to people, turns up late etc etc, he is good at what he does and somehoe gets away with it?
 
Amaranta said:
thing is DD, we are only hearing HER side of the story, I agree that 2 weeks is too long and I would be pulling my hair out, but WHY does the farrier not call back for two weeks? Could it be that the OP is very demanding, from her, her YOs and her OHs actions this weekend it would seem to be that way, although if this is the case then the farrier should have sacked her rather than keep her hanging around, my own farrier would have sacked her months ago :p
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My thoughts exactly. He is probably trying to dispose of her as a customer by being unreliable.
 
I would expect my farrier to put on a lost shoe in 24 to 48 hours if I needed it done for the next day I would expect to have to take the horse to him somewhere were it suited him.
I would only push for next day or same day if it was really important that the horse went somewhere like a regional or something like that and the lost shoe was going to mess it all up.
My farrier is rarely late and will always sort out in a real emergency so I don't mind waiting a couple of days if it's not.
2 weeks is way to long to wait you need to change your farrier OP.
However it would have to be a dire emergency for me to expect him to do it at the weekend I would never ask unless the horse was doing something vital.
 
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