Standard of farriers is shocking

I don't really like the title of this thread, it's just put there to grab attention. Of course there are farriers that aren't that good, it's the same in any profession. There are bad dentists, doctors, teachers etc bit the good ones by far out number the bad ones. When you find a farrier that you are happy with, does a good job, turns up when he days he will & will return promptly if there is an issue then hold onto him. We have had the same farrier for the last 15 years. When he's away he lines up a farrier to cover for him & the standard of that farrier is on a par with our normal one.

THE STANDARDS OF MOST FARRIERS IS GOOD!!!
 
JillA said:
This ^^^
The main difference between the before and after photographs is cosmetic IMHO, the "good" farrier has rasped away at the walls to make them look tidier. Or am I missing something?
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that's what I think?
although I *think* flare is to do with multi factors (diet, conformation, any physical abnormalities on leg/ body) than simply trimming...surely rasping it off simple thins the hoof wall at that point?
 
Wheels said:
You should try living in Northern Ireland - it is not a requirement for farriers to be qualified. You can buy shoes in the local tack shop I kid you not!!

Of course there are good qualified farriers, very happy with mine but I only found him after going through 3 others who didn't do such a great job even though they were apparently qualified.
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And the way that farriers are trained in NI leaves a lot to be desired too. I'll never let my farrier go , he's one in a million.
 
Wheels said:
You should try living in Northern Ireland - it is not a requirement for farriers to be qualified. You can buy shoes in the local tack shop I kid you not!!
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yes, and the horses they shoe are badly done, its £25 per set. horse are crippled, owners know no better.
 
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Toby_Zaphod said:
I don't really like the title of this thread, it's just put there to grab attention. Of course there are farriers that aren't that good, it's the same in any profession. There are bad dentists, doctors, teachers etc bit the good ones by far out number the bad ones. When you find a farrier that you are happy with, does a good job, turns up when he days he will & will return promptly if there is an issue then hold onto him. We have had the same farrier for the last 15 years. When he's away he lines up a farrier to cover for him & the standard of that farrier is on a par with our normal one.

THE STANDARDS OF MOST FARRIERS IS GOOD!!!
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true, but they should ALL be good.
Bad farriers should FAIL , ie NOT be qualified.
 
Do farriers have to undergo any CPD like vets do? Certainly I've seen good and bad farriers in my area (Scarlets, I'd be interested in who the farrier is you refer to if you don't mind pm-ing me?) and am fortunate to have a great one myself. There's one farrier in the area who also trains apprentices that I can tell which horses he shoes on a yard without being told, it's frightening, yet owners love him.
 
equi said:
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Equi, does your horse struggle with canter on the right rein? Or do they lean? Fall out of circles, lack a bit of flexibility?

If so, I don't think you can entirely lay this blame at your farrier's feet. That sort of flare, particularly on the inside of the hoof, can result from compensation further up the skeletal structure, usually the back. I am not suggesting that he/she has KS, but there may be muscular or other skeletal issues at stake here - it was cited in that article on How to Help your Horse Kiss Kissing Spine Goodbye.

My mare (barefoot) has flaring on the inside of her off fore, and because we don't rasp the peripole, you can see distinct curvature in the growth lines on that side. She pronates outside to in on that foot and if she's going to be sore, it's usually on that foot. Because I've yet to find a farrier that can recognise under run heels in our area, let alone not pull a face when I mention barefoot, I have relied on a lot of work to keep her in self trim. The good trimmer advises this method... between distant trims.

Having read that article, I've been doing the 'horse yoga' it suggests and in a short space of time (6 weeks) the difference has been incredible. The hairlines are already much straighter and the hoof event lines are already straightening out. And she is much more bendy. Unfortunately she went lame and on the advice of the vet, I had a vet physio in to see her a couple of weeks ago. We found some seriously tight and sore spots on that shoulder and up in her SI region on that side. She will be having regular physio for few months to help with the realignment.

Maybe it's worth asking your physio for a quick assessment.
 
Ah, the old 'mine is better than yours' argument.

Come on people. In all walks of life there are some better than others. If your farrier/trimmer does what you need them to, then surely we can stop with the pettiness? I have a farrier, he shoes one, trims the other two. Because that's what suits my horses. Certainly no lameness/issues ever shown in any of them.

Let's be adults about this and report those who do a less than professional job.
 
I agree with posters further up that the flare has been left unresolved for a number of visits, and the rasping on the second shot looks like he was trying to file the leg off at the knee to make it look balanced, which has to weaken the hoof wall.

Poor horse.
 
ester said:
same leg here equi?

https://forums-secure.horseandhound...38998-We-have-a-diagnosis&highlight=arthritis
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Yes which is why it's so important to keep the flare at bay cause it effects his entire body first farrier was just of the mind that's how his foot is. He needs to get done every 6 weeks now. He was previously barefoot but his heels got too low which gave him tight hamstrings.

Physio is already booked and has been for weeks but needed feet done first or he would have just ruined any work done.
 
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Ah you see my view would be totally the opposite, that that is supportive flare and he would be better off keeping it rather than it being continually removed.
This post does at least show that it isn't so easy to define good and bad.
this is my chaps hock issue side I mostly think clever him for growing his own lateral extension :)
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The problem with the flare is that it twists his leg onto the outside of the hoof which aggravates his "issue" and makes him short. He's now back to walking normally cause his leg needs to be as straight as possible and his heels supported
 
Did you or your farrier have that conversation with the emergency farrier so he knew? Because without that information I can totally understand why one wouldn't rasp so much of that wall away.
 
ester said:
Did you or your farrier have that conversation with the emergency farrier so he knew? Because without that information I can totally understand why one wouldn't rasp so much of that wall away.
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I told him his issues but frankly he wasn't interested in us at all he was on his phone most of the time saying I'll be there in ten mins to about three other clients - and I had waited four hours on him to come. If I hadn't been desperate to have him seen I would have sent him packing!
 
DragonSlayer said:
Ah, the old 'mine is better than yours' argument.

Come on people. In all walks of life there are some better than others. If your farrier/trimmer does what you need them to, then surely we can stop with the pettiness? I have a farrier, he shoes one, trims the other two. Because that's what suits my horses. Certainly no lameness/issues ever shown in any of them.

Let's be adults about this and report those who do a less than professional job.
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Who do you "report" to? The WCF is a members cub, paid for by subscription. There are also unregistered farriers who are regularly shoeing horses, we know this because they regularly get taken to UK court.

... and in this"case", some of us think it is the first farrier, and some, the second one, who may have thought he was resolving issues from first one. Though he should concentrate on the horse he is shoeing
 
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Exploding Chestnuts said:
true, but they should ALL be good.
Bad farriers should FAIL , ie NOT be qualified.
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This ^^^ in capital letters!! Regardless of the opinions of people on here, I think the FRC should be notified if a horse goes lame after trimming or shoeing, within 24 hours, or a vet is called in to deal with hoof lameness. I know not all hoof lameness is attributable to bad shoeing but the farrier is a hoof care professional and should spot any early signs and know how to treat or manage it,
Just off to find my tin hat :)
 
tristar said:
i know a very highly qualified farrier with 40 years experience who raves in desperation about the state of training and shoeing of horses, he was also training young farriers and left because the school was, in his opinion not teaching how it should, he is currently writing a book about the state of affairs at this moment.
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I feel it is the same in the Saddlery trade, VERY different now than how it was when I trained 30 odd years ago and I see some appalling saddlery design and manufacture these days as well as some truly awful saddle fitting and flocking. I too have written articles on the subject.
Oz (Saddler-traditional)
 
cremedemonthe, i think there are very similar issues in the saddle trade, i know someone who paid a lot of money for a new saddle which it turned out had a twisted tree, the horse developed small lumps on one side of its back, the saddle was made by someone who was 6 TIMES champion of the year saddler, if they can`t get it right what hope is there, that`s why i use tg`s saddles because you know the trees are true and you can examine the panels yourself, and i never seem to have a problem with them .
 
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