Mike Barksdale

I first met Mike in the fall of 2012 when a friend suggested I give him a try after having a few unsuccessful farriers and with her horse having had similar issues. I have a horse with a slight club foot who over the years since he was 3 months old have tried different vets and hauled him a few places for corrective work with limited success. They all could get to a certain point and then start regressing. I saw my friends horse with similar issues was getting better so I decided to give Mike a try. It has been a remarkable year. I never knew my horse could have a normal foot! We have no swelling in the tendons and no pain. He is off all pain medications, as well, and he does not need his ulcer medication. Along the way I watched him with the horses and you can tell he really enjoys what he does. He really communicates with them through touching and talking. He always gives positive praise and even when they're having a bad day he never loses his temper. He truly has the patience for this job. I have another horse that has navicular and had developed a bad abcess that I did not know about. I remember Mike calling me and sending me a picture of what it looked like. He took the time to clean it out, treat it, wrap it and it was taken care of, and he did not even charge me. He even text me the next day to see how he was doing. Even when it is not foot related like when my horse was having stomach issues the day he was there, he would text me and ask how he was doing. I have never had a farrier care that much to take time out of his busy day just to check on my boys and make sure everything is OK. There are many farriers out there that do a good job, but not many are a true horseman like Mike Barksdale. I feel I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

— Becky Hansen
(Kaufman, Texas)