Farriers: When to Hire and When to Fire

Equine professionals give their insight on farrier work and the importance of a complete team working together to get the best results for performance horses.

Olson Equine

Getting equine professionals to agree on everything is nearly impossible as everyone has their own program they feel works for them and their horses. There is one phrase ALL horse owners can agree on, "No Hoof, no Horse." Farriers are hard to come by especially good ones.

There are currently no regulations on farriers requiring licensing or certifications. However, some farriers choose to go to farrier schools or apprentice under accomplished farriers to gain the skills and knowledge needed to become successful.

Some states have considered requiring certification for farriers, but there are so many grey areas it is a long way from becoming a requirement at this point. In an article written in the American Farriers Journal some of the industries professionals expressed their concerns about the regulation issues.

"Regulation/licensing/etc....whatever you call it, someone will have to be in charge of all that, oversee it, and be the "all knowing" head that determines what is allowed/not allowed. That leaves way too much room for manipulation." Hedi Meyer

"Although I see the benefit of standards in our industry I have major concerns with licensing requirements. The closest model we can compare to would be the requirements for veterinary licensing. If you look up your individual state requirements you will find a great deal of bureaucratic red tape." Richard Armentrout

A main concern with regulation on farriers is the "who" will oversee it? Most likely a government official who knows nothing of the industry leaving the control to an under educated keyboard warrior who would have no clue where the horses hoof ends, and the leg begins.

"Problem is licensing always becomes about money, and does not assure good work, the attitude of the craftsman and his knowledge that determines good or bad results." Ed Smith Jr.

So how are equine trainers and competitors selecting their farriers without regulations on who can or should be considered "professional" farriers? Some horse owners have a personal requirement that their farrier be certified from a reputable school, some pick their farrier from a referral from other equine professionals, and others will use a recommendation from their veterinarian.

Sami Jo Buum

Andrea Busby of Busby Quarter Horses says, "Our farriers are amazing and a part of our team, and to me it is equally as important to me that they listen to me. I don't want to feel like I have to tell them what they need to do, I'm not a farrier, so it is important I have complete confidence in them."

Busby is currently sitting 12th in the WPRA world standings and well on her way to her first WNFR qualification. Busby Quarter Horses is a well-established equine business that raises and trains horses in many different disciplines.

She continues to explain, "I'm trusting my farriers as much as I trust the vets we use. That is how important they really are to our program. I never have some random person on the rodeo trail shoe them either, consistancy is key. Certianly there are many great farriers out there, but I feel my shoer, just like my vet, knows the horses inside and out."

Busby sticks to her program and certainly it shows through the success the program has. "It doesn't matter how good your vet is, they cannot out inject a bad horse shoer!"

Tricia Aldridge of Red Hot barrel Horses says its simply, "I have two farriers a father and son team. They work with my vet and have been on my team for years."

It clearly is working for their program as we have seen Tricia and Adios Pantalones winning everywhere they go. She explains, "You cannot spend 30k in entry fees and be worried about soundness from shoeing and Cutter and CJ Holloway give me that piece of mind."

It is clear trainers and competitors at the top of their game agree that a top-notch farrier that works for their horses and alongside their vets is a key component toward their success.

"There are two types of Farriers out there, those that have been fired and those that are going to get fired" said CT Brown, an Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School graduate and Professional Farrier. He says he was taught this early in his career in the industry.

Farriers either work for your program or they do not.

When asked about working with a client he says he has no problem turning a client away if they do not work well with the vet and the client themself.

"It requires a team to get the horses winning in any event and communication with everyone working on that horse is the key to that horse's success." Brown says he will borderline require a client to have a relationship with their vet and farrier to shoe their horses, because it creates a functioning team that allows the equine athletes to become successful and compete at the top level.

Lee Olsen gave his insight on the farrier/client relationship from an interesting point of view.

He explains, "One advantage we have is that I've seen both sides from a farrier standpoint and the horse owner standpoint. The biggest issue that I've seen on the topic about working together as a team is there is no empathy for the other teammate. "

"And sadly, when the farriers, vets, and owners don't work together as a team, the horse loses every time."

- Lee Olsen

Olsen started his career as a rodeo cowboy who shod his own horses to save money. He decided to make a career of farrier work and got his AFA and CJF certificates and now has an apprenticeship program with a multi farrier practice.

Olsen truly loves the horses so continuing his education and doing the best for the horse is the main goal.

He explains the "system" in more depth, "Veterinarians responsibilities: they should be willing to block and diagnose the specific problem that the horse is having, which can be very hard to do at times. Just simply injecting a horse is not enough to find and fix the actual problem. They need to be willing to allow the farriers to shoe at the vet with x-rays. That goes a long way toward getting the horse where it needs to be.

"Farrier responsibilities include being willing to listen to the vet and owners concerns and change the shoeing if needed. A knowledgeable farrier can save you so many headaches, but you need to allow him to do what he thinks is best. So many times the owners will essentially handcuff the farrier from doing what they know they need to do. To work as a team there needs to be no ego involved by anyone."

Another issue both farriers and vets deal with is owners trying to save money and not following the instructions of the professionals. Olsen explains a crucial step to keeping the horses at their best is schedule. Horses on a schedule statically show better results over horses that do not remain on the schedule. He believes for performance horses a five or even four-week schedule works best. Knowledgeable horse owners that can identify when and where the problems occur help the farrier and vet the most when problem solving soundness issues.

Olsen concludes with, "We love keeping the horses needs above everyone else's, and we find having empathy for your teammates will go a long way."

DVM Paul Fornstrom of Cactus Veterinary Clinic in Pine Bluffs Wyoming says that he likes to advise all his clients to use a farrier with experience, especially experience in performance horses.

"We always want to ensure the foot is level and balanced with the proper shoe for the horses job. For instance we do not want rim shoes on a calf horse."

The Doc goes on to explain, "We always want the angle of the hoof to match the angle of the pastern and the shoulder. Heels pulled back to the widest part of the frog to support the back of the foot. Pull the toe back to ease the break over."

These are the simple starts to the performance horses, of course it can go much deeper in-depth depending on each individual horse.

"I like to work with all farriers. We should be a team to keep our patients in the best condition." Fornstrom invites farriers to shoe horses at the clinic and to view the x-rays. "I work well with most farriers. We come up with a setup for each horse together."

Though working with farriers is the idea, he says, "Some farriers have their own ideas and can be tough."

The consensuses from lead professionals in the equine industry is the horse comes first, and the "team" needs to work together for there to be any success within the arena. If there is any hostility or disagreements within the team delegated to keep your performance horse sound and functioning, find new teammates. It is clear there are professionals that are knowledgeable and willing to work together for the good of your horse, so don't waste your time on egos and conflict.

Also spend the money on the x-rays, the consistent farrier, and the "program". Otherwise, you are wasting your money on the entry fees.