HOW TO FIND A FARRIER
Because I flaunt my mobile phone number and my email address so freely, I receive a lot of phone calls and a lot of emails. Invariably I am either under a horse, running a course, or out of range in the outback, but I make a point of ringing every caller back as soon as I can and I check my emails daily.
Leaving a mobile phone on for 24 hours a day has its disadvantages when travelling - I am often woken around 5am by my mobile phone, when unwittingly someone from the eastern states has rung me not realising that I am currently travelling in Western Australia which is two hours behind their time. I had an email last week from a woman who hoped I would be able to tell her the quietest stock horse stallion in Australia suitable for her mare. I am flattered that people think I know every horse in Australia, but I really don’t. I receive a huge number of calls and emails from people asking me to recommend a ‘good farrier’ in their area. In actual fact, I … Continue Reading ››IN SEARCH OF THE QUALIFIED FARRIER
WHAT SHOULD WE PAY FOR EGO? ZERO!
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FARRIERS GONE?
Equine Influenza in the eastern states has been a steep learning curve for everyone in the horse industry, and many have suffered financial loss because of it. The bottom line is that very few horses died because of EI, the horses are still out there and they are still growing hoof at the same rate as they did before, and they still need trimming and shoeing at regular intervals. But where are the farriers?
During the lockdown, farriers could only visit one property per day. This was fine where the farriers had large numbers of horses to attend to on one property, but most farriers visit six or more properties per day, which made the financial situation for them untenable.
During the lockdown, many part-time farriers and indeed many full time farriers found alternative work. Many farriers have a trade such as fitting and turning, or metalwork, or automotive skills. Many farriers went to work for the mining industries, and then found that the money was good, they … Continue Reading ››
A WASTED DAY ON THE JOB
EQUITANA DISCUSSION 2005
One of the sessions at Equitana 2005 in Melbourne in November was an open discussion on ‘To Shoe or Not to Shoe’. Panelists were Carl O'Dwyer, Grant Moon, David Farmilo, Will Miller, Dan Guerrera and Mark Rodney.
The discussion was well attended considering it was the last segment on the final day, starting at 5.15pm. The audience had the opportunity to question the panel and it would probably still be going if Equitana hadn't closed its doors!
In summary, horse owners obviously have an ever increasing problem with farrier related problems. I made the comment that horse owners have a duty of care to their horse when it comes to hoof care, and I was very promptly put in my place with the audience demanding to know just how they can get their farriers to listen to what they want.
One member of the audience labelled farriers as 'precious' due to their reluctance and affront at having the owner daring to make … Continue Reading ››
FLOATING THE HORSE
You are probably asking ‘Now what does floating the horse have to do with the farrier?’ I shoe a lot of horses from my home property - most of my clients bring their horses here and some arrive very late, citing the same old problem that the horse wouldn’t load, and consequently arrives still in a distressed state, which makes shoeing it less than desirable. There is also the danger involved in loading an untrained horse that jumps sideways off the ramp and splits its hooves or pulls a shoe off, or various other injuries which all add to the drama.
So what is the problem with training the horse to load properly?
There are many and varied ways of training your horse to load, and training the handler to train the horse is the first step in almost all methods, or should be. I agree with any method as long as it is peaceful and doesn’t waste time. Horse owners spend great amounts of money to learn … Continue Reading ››
FURTHER TO FLOATING THE HORSE
CHANGING TIMES AND LANGUAGE
‘HANDEDNESS’ IN HORSES (LEFT AND RIGHT HANDED HORSES)
Horses don’t have hands of course but that doesn't mean they don’t have a dominant side. And this left or right-handedness is an important concern for farriers, trainers and riders.
If a horse is right handed, when you look at the off fore hoof closely you will notice it is bigger than the near fore hoof. And conversely, if it is left handed, the near fore hoof will be bigger than the off fore hoof.
The reason for this is that from day one of the horse’s life, its brain dictates that it will use its naturally stronger foot, and so it develops bigger. Sometimes the difference is so small that the only way you can tell is to feel the width of the coronet band (ie the hairline at the top of the hoof) and then compare this with the opposite foot in the same manner. Your fingers will notice the difference.
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