Perceived Value Is More Critical Than Your Price

While many horse owners always seem ready to argue about trimming and shoeing prices, it doesn’t mean that they believe your price is actually too high. When they offer a pricing objection, it normally means that they want what they want at the best possible price, says David Downey.

The executive director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University says horse owners who claim a price is too high are indicating that they don’t see the value of the offered services being able to justify the price. Downey says getting a price objection means they are interested in your services or the cost factor would never have come up. He says it’s your job to demonstrate the perceived value of your hoof-care services.

Tools Are An Extension Of Your Hands

Ambrose Gordon, a farrier from El Paso, Texas, says that one of the differences between experienced and inexperienced farriers is familiarity with their tools. “Your tools should be an extension of your hand. They should be second nature to you,” Gordon says. “I hold my tools very lightly. My hands aren’t torn up at all. You can look at a farrier’s hands and see if he has a good working coordination with his tools. If a farrier’s hands aren’t torn up, then you know he’s using his tools properly. The tools and the hands should be one. I’ll drop a tool every so often, but normally, I don’t…