So you've got the horse balanced, trimmed up properly and shod and you’d like to keep him that way. You ask the horse owner about scheduling the next appointment and you get an answer just about as firm as the sky you’re standing under.

How do you manage to get and keep clients on a regular shoeing schedule? It’s a problem farriers often struggle with, particularly when new to the field or to an area.

Recently, farrier Tony Lowe of Broadway, Va., raised it as a topic of discussion on the online Farrier’s Forum of the American Farriers Journal’s Web site at www.lesspub.com/htbin/ msgboard.pl. Lowe got some solid advice in return.

“One of the most frustrating things for me is horse owners that don’t want to reschedule. I get this line that they will call me when their horse is ready. Sure enough 8, 9, 10 or more weeks later, I will get a call to come out and reset Ol’ Jenny. There are a lot of backyard horses in my area. Work is feast in the summer and beans and weanies in the winter. Any pointers or suggestions would be a great help.

—Tony Lowe, tonteel@aol.com

“To keep your clients regular, try a high-fiber diet.

“Seriously, I schedule my clients on a yearly basis, with all scheduling for the coming year done in October and November. Since most of my clients have been with me for several years, I know the needs of their horses and can schedule accordingly…