Anyone who has shod or trimmed a horse’s feet has stories about dealing with unruly horses. Ask most of them, and they’ll probably have a few tips to share about how they are able to get those same horses to be cooperative.

But is training a horse to stand properly for hoof care really part of a farrier’s job? Not everyone thinks so.

We asked some experienced farriers to share their thoughts on the subject and their responses covered a broad range of issues, including safety, liability, efficiency and relationships with owners, among others.

Horsemanship
As Part Of The Job

Jack Roth, a farrier, veterinarian and owner of the Oklahoma Horseshoeing School at Purcell, Okla., feels very strongly that training is an important aspect of the job. Roth is a well-known crusader for horsemanship and thinks that aspect of a farrier’s knowledge is as much a part of what a farrier brings to the profession as his or her shoeing knowledge.

“We horseshoers visit the horse more often than any other equine professional,” he says. “The amateur — and even the professional — horseman consider our advice to be valuable. I consider that our horsemanship advice to the owner is at least as valuable as the actual physical work of shoeing the horse.”