Rick Morris

Rick is not just my farrier, but a friend. He has been our “family farrier” for years and he is an amazing guy. His experience and knowledge have helped so many people and, more importantly, so many horses. He is always available for advice and will make a barn call anytime he is needed. He has seen my horses through abscesses and injuries over the years and helped my OTTB that has as he put it “4 different feet on one horse” live a comfortable life. He has shod my current horse from 6 weeks old. It is so nice to have that farrier that everyone trusts. His humor and patience is priceless! He has a gift for calming any horse down when they are nervous. I would like to know what he actually whispers in their ears. Whatever he says, it works. So I think paying tribute to Rick is an awesome idea and a great way to say, “Thanks for always being there for us.”

—Sue & Frank Huffman
(Leroy, Ohio)

We all know changing farriers is a challenge, especially when your horse has founder issues. Well, when my horse Faline and I had to move to a different location we ended up leaving a great farrier. I was so nervous about trying out the farrier that was in the area and so was Faline. As soon as she saw him she ran backwards ... ugh. About a week after she was done, she was so lame. Again, terrified of trying someone new, I ended up moving her to where I worked at Rustler Ranch in Pierpont, Ohio. I talked with my old farrier who we loved so much, still too far for him to travel. He recommend Rick Morris who only lived 15 minutes away. I was so thrilled and thanking the Lord! I know his work and it was very similar to Tom’s. I called him up and he was out within a couple of days. The day after Faline was done she was happy and sound! Yay!

At that time we had some horses on the Rustler Ranch property that were having some soundness issues, also due to founder and soreness. And, we tried a couple of farriers in the area with no such luck. So I brought in Rick almost 2 years ago now and there are no more lameness issues in our barn. Thank you Lord! He has done wonders for all here at Rustler Ranch. He trims and shoes all of the horses on our property, from our little ponies to the giant drafts, and now we don’t have an issue with any of them. I highly recommend him to everybody!

Rick is also very kind and caring towards all the animals here on the Ranch. This makes his job so much easier. He is patient and kind with all and it’s not about how many horses he can get done in a day. It’s about catering to their specific needs. Before he goes to work on a horse he greets them eye to eye and loves on them for a bit, gaining there trust. This makes the horses feel at ease and safe, which again makes his job easier.

I always tell Rick, “I don’t know what I’m going to do when he retires. There’s nobody else I can trust with my horses’ feet.” The Lord has Blessed Rick with many talents in caring for our Equine Friends. We are blessed to have him! Not only is he a friend, he is also great farrier!

So a big thank you goes out to Rick Morris, from all the staff here at Rustler Ranch in Pierpont, Ohio!

— Candice Kovalak
Rustler Ranch
(Pierpont, Ohio)