Strange Question from Farrier...

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Mlini

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My horse needs shoeing.. I have decided to use the farrier that does most of the yards horses (I have only just moved there a week ago)

He was supposed to be coming this evening to do them but has now cancelled and will do them later on in the week :(

The girl that runs the yard has text me saying the farrier has asked if i can measure his feet (front to back and side to side) and let him know the measurements, so that he can make some shoes that will fit the horse perfectly.

I dont understand how the farrier can make shoes that fit the horses feet perfectly without having the horse in front of him.. :confused:

Has anyones farrier asked them to do this before?
Or would you agree with me that this is a very strange thing to ask??
 
He probably brings along a preformed shoe of approximate size then adjusts it to an exact fit when the horse is in front of him.
 
Mine makes his own shoes and labels them with my/ other owner's initials so they don't get mixed up, so sounds normal to me. He does tweak them when he is here (he hot shoes) x
 
Perfectly normal request - he can make up the shoes in advance and do the final adjustments when the horse is in front of him.
 
Not that strange a question tbh.
Could be he makes his own shoes or will have a pre sized set the size your horse needs that will be tailored to his feet .
He could be shoeing a shetland or a shire, so needed a clue :)
 
He will use the measurements to make sure he has the right basic size, the shape will be altered when he has the horse in front of him.
Quite normal
 
jhoward said:
but wont the size of his feet change depending on how much is taken off when the initial trim is done???
Click to expand...

Yes but unless they're overlong then it shouldn't change by much. Dad normally takes a couple of different sizes to a new client based on the questions he's asked them to get the one that's the best fit. Then as above will fit precisely once on site.
 
Oh, I thought he would come with a few sizes and choose the best whilst there.. I suppose it makes sense if he is going to make his own shoes :)

He came to look at the horse last week so I thought he would have a good idea of what sizing he needs!
 
yes i guess its normal...

but if he cold shoes from those measurements i'd run a mile. when i moved to aberdeen for uni i took my horse with me. she was shod by the yard farrier, who asked for the measurements and proceeded to make the foot fit the shoe.

we never used him again... this was the only time iv ever been asked to give shoe sizes. all the other farriers i used while away hot shod and sized at the time.
 
Hello :-)
That is a perfectly normal question to ask, most farriers will buy there shoes however there are the occasional farriers who make some/most of there shoes..

My girl has funny sized feet, she's inbetween a size 3 and 4 .. so they make hers usually, or alter a made up one to fit hers..

Basically you'll measure your horses feet, tell him the measurements and he'll go into the forge and make you a nice new shiny pair/set of shoes that are made to measure! Either that or he only carries a couple of each size and he needs to no what sort of size your horses shoes we need to be... :D
 
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