At last week’s International Hoof-Care Summit, we sat down with Welsh farrier Haydn Price. A recent inductee to the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame, Price is well known as a giving mentor and the lead farrier for Team GBR’s dressage and showjumpers. This hour and a half-long interview will be available as a video and audio download in the coming weeks on our site.
It is hard to pinpoint a single segment from this conversation that stands out as important information or keen insight. Rather, when you speak with someone like Price who possesses this depth of knowledge, the entire time spent in conversation is more like a personal classroom. And calling this a conversation stretches the truth, as he did the heavy lifting, imparting his knowledge.
However, out of the countless points I could harvest from his insight, Price took a moment to highlight the incredible need for teamwork for the horse’s best interest. It doesn’t matter is you are part of a team prepping a horse for the Olympics or part of the horse owner-veterinarian-farrier team, there are lessons to gain from his insight on teamwork.
In the team dynamic, he says is important to know when NOT to say something. Price cites that saying the wrong thing as the farrier could place doubt in a rider’s mind. While there are only a handful of Olympic equestrian farriers, think about how this applies to any level of farriery — even at the most common level.
For example, the farrier is the footcare expert for the backyard horse owner, among other equestrians. So restraint isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when asked for your opinion by the owner or rider. What is the subject you should avoid discussing? Well, that can cover anything depending on the circumstances, from the feet to the opinion of another farrier’s work and everything in between. The consequences cover an equally diverse array. There always are occasions when it is more valuable to not say something — the talent is to recognize when.
Below is the conversation and Price’s thoughts regarding teamwork, along with the full interview in the video following.
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