My Farrier

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Fionafaye

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I had my farrier last night. He was fine with 3 of my horses but wasnt with the fourth. She is a 16.2hh 4yo TB and is quite fidgety. She stood fine for her first front foot, fidgeted a little with her first hind foot but with her second hind foot she wouldnt hold it still. She wasnt trying to kick him or be nasty, she was just moving it. He grabbed hold of the foot she was moving and pushed her over, making her hop on one hind leg before dropping the foot he was holding smacking her twice on the chest with his hand, picking up one of his metal tools and hitting her twice in the ribs with it. This is when I intervened, by this time I was angry and I shouted something like "Thats enough. She is my horse, I dont treat her like that so you wont. I dont mind you hitting her with your hand but when it comes to your tools you are going too far" and he replied by saying "Put her back in her stable. No-one talks to me like that, put her back." So now I have a horse with one of her front feet trimmed, one of her back feet trimmed and the other back foot is half done. It isnt the first time he has treated my horses badly, he kicked one of my other mares in the stomach because she lost her balance and snatched her foot away from him before she fell. He is coming again in 12 weeks under the condition that I am not there (I am 14 so my mum is always there anyway). Did I over react or was I right?
 
Jeez, sounds like a horrible man! I would have reacted the same and I wouldn't be having him back.
My farrier is so patient and good with my 4 year old, they haven't got the best balance at that age and now she is a star with him. There is no need to act like that, it is totally out of order
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Btw, 12 weeks is a hell of a long time till you get feet done again
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Well, first thoughts here.

I've found that holding the more difficult or nervous horse is better than having them tied up.

Sack the farrier.

And if you can't sack the farrier - someone needs to be there next time the horses are shod.
 
I did the same to my last farrier, who hit my mare in the chest with his rasp! He was clenching up on his knee?! and Skew-whiff likes to lean on the rest and stretch her front legs. He knew this but obviously she tried to do this on his leg and he hit her!

I went mad and told him that he wouldn't be coming back! (there were a few other things I wasn't happy with either fwiw)

So I agree with you!
 
I have no issue with a farrier giving a horse a smack but this is well OTT and out of order. Id get another farrier and would make sure to name and shame him!
 
My farrier once hit my horse with his clenches it was a TB on his ribs and he had a swelling the exact shape of the tool when he did it i thought he had hit him with his hand and then when turned him out noticed it safe to say i wasn't best pleased
 
I think it was rather unprofessional of him to leave the job half-done and I expect he did it because you're young and he would've been embarrassed/humiliated to be spoken to in such a manner by a young girl (not that I think you did anything wrong) Did your mum not say anything to him?
 
Well the farrier said 12 weeks was all he could manage, 10 weeks is what I usually get, sometimes 8. There isnt a lot of reliable farriers in NE Scotland, but I know of a bare foot trimmer who I am going to try and get because I never have shoes on them anyway. I was holding her, I dont like tying them up in case they panic about anything, at least I can let go of the rope. I dont feel so bad now, I probably would have been better being a bit more calm about it, rather than going mental, but at least I got my point across.
 
You should have smacked him in the chest!!!!

I don't allow anyone to smack my horse - I'm the only one allowed to smack her!!!!
 
You did the right thing, a farrier should never treat a horse like that.

I am Moray and we use the Simpsons to shoe my horse, if you need them let me know and I will give you their number.
 
You did the right thing, who does he think he is. Don't have him back, I would be tempted to report him. On the subject of barefoot trimmers, whilst I have no first hand experience of them I have heard a lot of bad things. My horses are unshod but I use a regular farrier to trim them. I would be inclined to ask around and use a farrier who is recommended to you.
 
I would use a different farrier. My TB mare was mistreated by a farrier as a four yr old and 4 years on she still isnt 100% being shod. She might remember that experience for life, its not worth it. Find another farrier whos nicer to you as well! He should be ashamed of himself, talking to a young girl like that!
 
[ QUOTE ]
He is coming again in 12 weeks under the condition that I am not there (I am 14 so my mum is always there anyway). Did I over react or was I right?

[/ QUOTE ]

I would be making dam sure he wasnt returning in 12 weeks and another farrier who knows how to treat horses and people with some respect!!!!
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My ex farrier kicked my pony in the stomach really hard 5 weeks ago.
To say I was gobbsmacked was an understatement.
Fortunately for him my husband did not see him or he would not be doing any farrier work now!!

He had actually hurt him with a nail and my pony snatched his foot away. Four days later he had an abcsess that had come out through the bulb of his heel
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New farrier came out this morning and was appauled at the cr*p job the other farrier had done.

My pony is well behaved and very laid back normally.

I wish I'd have complained at the time, but was too upset to say anything.
 
Your mother must report him to the Farriers Registration Council for three reasons 1, he left the horse unfinished 2, for hitting the horse and 3, sorry to say this doing all this infront of a minor.
 
QR I wholeheartedly agree with all the posts so far. OP or her mum should report the farrier on the grounds as listed by Welly.
Do not have this farrier back. Farriers in my opinion should not behave like that around horses even if they are having a bad day.
I have only ever seen a horse hit once by a farrier. It wasn't one of mine and to be honest the horse did deserve it as it was being down right dangerous and could be a sh*te as it liked to throw its weight around from time to time. It was smacked once and told off and thereafter it behaved. It was an overweight cob and I doubt it would have felt much under its padding anyway.
But after hearing the story of the OP and others too I cannot condone what has been done to any horses on this thread. Totally unjustified in my opinion.
The farrier at the centre of this topic I think needs to take a long hard look at why they became a farrier. Mine is absolutely lovely and is the best I have ever had. I have never seen him to be nasty with any horse even when they have reared and allsorts. He is a gem. If only all farriers were like that. Sadly there are one or two who it seems fail to understand horses.
To OP, sack your farrier. Report him and get another. You and your horses will feel much better for the change. Neither you, your mum or your horses should have to put up with any form of abuse like that.
I am sure that people on this forum will be able to put you in touch with some nice farriers or barefoot trimmers in your area. I would recommend mine but sadly you are miles away from me.
Good luck and don't let the b***** get you or your horses down x
Caz
 
I had to check your location when I first read your post because I had an unfortunate similar experience. The farrier shoved a rasp in the belly of a (usually very laid back) mare who (he knew) was suffering from an abcess so she pulled away due to pain. In the same session he wollopped his own dog with a tool for eating the hoof trimmings. Needless to say I didn't have him back. One week later my boy lost a shoe whilst turned out in a dry starvation paddock and has NEVER lost of shoe in his long life! So it wasn't even as if he was a great farrier.

I am now back with my old farrier (previously thought I should go with someone closer when I moved yards) and so glad. We have a good laugh, he's very knowledgable and great with the horses, turns up on time and easy to get hold of, oh and cheaper!!

Don't put up with that kind of behaviour. You were damn right to stand up for yourself. I was too busy calming that mare down and sort of missed the moment to yell and really wish I had!

I'm not saying everyone should love their job but if farriers have no respect for horses maybe they should rethink their careers.
 
i had a farrier punch mine 4 times in the ribs for pulling away, never used him again
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OP, please don't use this farrier again. And if you do, if I were you I would be there when he came back so he knows he's got to behave - he won't want to get caught out twice. He'll end up making your horses scared to be shod
 
QR Gosh there are some horror stories here and I do hope these people were reported. You may not think one voice against a single farrier is enough for action to be taken but if enough people report these farriers over incidents then I am sure that the appropriate action will be taken.
 
The very reason I am saying this is not just because I am appalled by what I am hearing about farriers but also through personal experience.
Our cob is scared of the farrier. Why he is scared of our present farrier is beyond me as all he has done is show kindness to him and we even had some fronts put on him earlier in the year. We can have him trimmed without a bucket of feed though now as we had previously used this to help keep him calm.
My first farrier who was also a very nice bloke had such trouble with him when we first got the horse nearly 3 years ago. He was shod then but we reckon it may have just been for his breaking in and going to auction. He also thought there was a chance that the horse had been hit or beaten in some way either by the handler/owner or the farrier when he had been shod as he had such a fearful reaction to my original farrier when he removed his shoes and trimmed. We very nearly had to sedate the horse and he almost refused to finish the job that day as the horse was that bad. It was not the horse's fault at all. You could see he was scared as you could tell by his eyes and body language.
I wholeheartedly agreed that some force of abuse or forceful handling had been used on my horse before we had him.
For that I am very mad. Horses do remember. They remember far more than we give them credit for in my opinion.
Bad experiences at the hands of a farrier or handler whilst been attended to by a farrier can have a dramatic effect on a horse and that is something I truly believe after seeing what has happened with our cob.
He has been next to our big lad who is well behaved every time he is shod and we have done this to help show him that everything will be ok, especially if he saw Doug was fine with it all. But even after a couple of years of trying to get him used to it all he can still throw a wobbly and I truly believe it stems from his first experiences with a farrier before we got him.
Therefore I appeal to anyone and say that if you ever have any reason to doubt your farrier's attitude with your horse and if they ever reprimand your horse severely or for no justifiable reason then don't let them near your horse again and report them. Not just for your horse but for the sake of others. No horse should have to tolerate any form of abuse, especially from someone who is being paid to attend to them. Fair enough if the horse is being dangerous then the farrier and handlers/assistants have every right to try and defuse the situation by whatever approach seems fair at the time. But horses being abused for the simplest of things and especially as it appears on here being abused for reacting to pain or incorrect nailing procedures is totally out of order!
 
Definately report him to the Farrier's Council or whatever it's called! And get rid. There are plenty of good farriers out there that won't hit your horse with their tools! You were absolutely right and I would have gone MENTAL if a farrier had done that to Genie.
 
I had a pony who would stand on the tripod and rear wjile being shod, the farrier hit him so hard with a rasp that his belly became swollen
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So we got a new farrier who is amazing defo chane farriers
 
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