Major Pet Peeves that Farriers Have with Footcare Clients

Concerns % of Farriers

Inappropriate work area (unsafe, poor environment, poor lighting, unlevel ground)

 84%

Horses that compromise farrier work and safety (spoiled, misbehaving, poorly trained, undisciplined, not trained to trim/shoe)          

 76%

Payment (not paying on time, not paying at time of service, chasing money, post-dating checks, asking to wait to deposit checks)                 

 63%

Dirty horses or hooves (wet, muddy, unhealthy environment, dirty stalls)                  

 59%

Don’t follow farrier’s directions (failure to comply, don’t listen, don’t follow treatment guidelines)      

 45%
Horses not ready for farrier (in pasture) 40%
Inappropriate frequency of scheduling trimming and shoeing intervals                                          39%
Misinformed (internet-educated, reads too much, or misunderstands, out-of-date information)          35%

Lack of footcare (don’t pick up feet/hooves, don’t clean hooves, poor foot hygiene, thrush, stone bruises, disregard for horse’s health and feet) 

 32%
Telling farrier how to shoe (know-it-all, offer advice) 30%
Lack of hoof-care knowledge (no horse sense, lack of education, limited information) 28%
Forget, miss, don’t show up for appointments 26%

Cost complaints (cost-driven decision-making, price bargaining, not wanting to pay fair price, whining about costs)

 25%

— Survey of attendees at 2007 International Hoof-Care Summit

 

Steel Still Dominates Shoe Choice

Among full-time farriers, steel shoes make up 76% of all of the shoes they use. This is followed by 11% for aluminum shoes.

Hand-forged shoes make up 7% of the total, followed by 4% for glue-on shoes and 2% for plastic, synthetic or other types of non-metal shoes.

— 2018 American Farriers Journal Farrier Benchmark Study


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