There can't be anything more frustrating than pulling up to a  barn, shoeing a horse and then not getting paid. You’ve put in your valuable time and strenuous effort only to leave the work area with no more money than when you showed up.

Sure, a billing system can work, but sometimes you are left waiting and waiting for that payment, which may never come. 

Some farriers, like Chuck Esau in Huntington Beach, Calif., have taken the hint and decided that charging a $20 fee to bill clients is the most effective way to ensure a check is tacked up to the barn door and waiting for you on every visit.

Matter Of Time, Money

If a customer isn’t ready to pay on time, they probably aren’t ready to pay at all, suggests Esau. He says he can find many other ways to fill the time it takes to shoe a poor-paying customer’s horse.

“I could be out on my boat, watching television or shoeing another horse for a customer who actually will pay,” Esau says. “My time is too valuable.”

It’s not just his time that he is wasting, Esau uses an accountant to handle his finances. Every time a customer has to be billed, Esau is charged a fee. While it may not be $20, Esau needed a dollar amount that would make horse owners take notice.

“I came up with $20 because it makes a difference,” Esau explains. “If you charge $5, people won’t care, but $20…