[mowhaugh]

Daisy's mum, which farrier do you use?

[Daisys Mum]

Daisy's mum, which farrier do you use?

Gareth Hicks

[mowhaugh]

Thank you, my farrier very inconsiderately moved to Lochaber!

[lachlanandmarcus]

stick with a real farrier - they are experts in things like laminitis etc. there are many barefoot trimmers that are horrendous but they also don't learn physiology the way  a farrier has.

They might learn it but I've learned 100x more physiology, diet, everything from my trimmer in a few months than in 15 years from any farrier I've used ! (even the good farriers who've done a good job on hooves have been almost non existent in communication or advice about diet, physiology etc). Have to repeat the 'it depends on the individual' thing. good farriers are good, good trimmers and good.


Also it depends when they did the learning, some learned before the advent of mobile x rays and scans which have led to massively more info about what's going on inside the hoof and leg. Thankfully this has meant that horses with navicular are no longer always shot as Incurable and heart bar shoes are no longer the default option for lame horses :-)))


The ideal is a farrier (who has the years of training) who is also barefoot friendly. But in the absence of that, owners should judge by results for their horse.

[Herdygirl]

stick with a real farrier - they are experts in things like laminitis etc. there are many barefoot trimmers that are horrendous but they also don't learn physiology the way  a farrier has.

 I agree with Shygirl, I want a professional, with years of training to attend to my animals, not someone who has done a course over a few months

[Humblepie]

iv never had a problem with getting my farrier to trim my natives feet and not shoe them.
the danger with barefoot trimmers is they have let some horses suffer horrendously and quite famously with cases of laminitis etc paring away their hooves thinking they are healing them, and niave owners have let them do this. the way a farrier treats laminitis and liases with the vet is not the way a barefoot trimmer would.
im sure many people can trim a horses foot but it can be easy to ruin a horse if the feet arent balanced etc as the strain of an uneven foot goes up the leg.
i have 6 ponies and 3 of which i would say havent got perfect feet/legs and need a competent farrier, even though they are all without shoes.

theres a really nice lady farrier in your area. she is very gentle and really competant.

[lachlanandmarcus]

My farrier did zilch liaison on my Pony's lami, trimmer was wonderful. So there ARE cases where Sweeping generalisations aren't helpful. It depends on the trimmer or farrier concerned!!! Rubbish ones and great ones of both. Farriers should I agree know more, in theory, however I have seen horrendous cases of farriers so it isn't always the case.



The bit I agree on is that owners who don't want to know anything about diet or hooves should stick with a farrier. But that's not the kind of owner I aspire to be.  Owners should be critical and prepared to learn about hoof health and diet whichever they use ideally.

[sabrina]

I have had the same farrier for years. He is very good with my bunch although none wear shoes. He did shoe my horses when I was still riding. Thanks to him taking the time to teach me how to trim I can do the ponies if need be but Pitstop has had laminits in the past so leave him for Chris. You have to be able to trust your farrier and your vet to do the best for your animals