Certified Farrier Ask Me Anything
- Thread starter vhenry12
- Start date
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
what does a farrier do?
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
ahh hoof doc
A farrier is a specialized blacksmith with training in trimming/maintaining hooves and applying shoes to horses. An experienced farrier is apply to apply therapeutic shoeing to fit the needs of an unsound horse.
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
*sends my doggo for her hoofes* xD she need some trimming of her paw fur 
lol before I became a farrier I was working with companion animals wanting to be a vet*sends my doggo for her hoofes* xD she need some trimming of her paw fur
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
i bet u are happy that u became a farrier =)
I enjoy the work, gets me outside as well
Cookiecaretaker
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
and i bet its very rewarding making animals feel alot better
Always, it’s why I’m working to specialize in therapeutic shoeing and becoming an equine vetand i bet its very rewarding making animals feel alot better
In average, how many legs per horse?
4, on a good day 5In average, how many legs per horse?
Absolutely but I couldn’t find any job more satisfyingFarrier, check!
Sense of humor, check!
Looks legit!
Also, respect! This job is not easy on your back even when the horses are well behaved and never put a foot wrong.
Get the usual unruly one and boy you feel it!
Goattobeloved
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
Ok. Pulled this photo out of my ass... err jack, I mean
Seen anything like this?
Except for this permanent structure failure, starting at the crown, the rest looks all good
Seen anything like this?
Except for this permanent structure failure, starting at the crown, the rest looks all good
My first assumption is damage to the coronary band, was there an injury or currently a scar?
Second assumption is the middle section was an old abscess that caused damage higher up leading to the crack
Looks similar to the injury that put my QH out to pasture years ago only much worse, just a little rock strike on the coronary band leading to a very thin spot in the hoof wall for the rest of her life.
Goattobeloved
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
That was the first assumption.
Here I missed mentioning it is about the same in both hands, but rear hoofs look fine.
Right now, either genetics, some internal pressure of the ligament (I did not fully grasp that), fungus infection (farrier opens it clean every time, so air could reach, no result in a year)
Personally think the hoof is quite dry, so applying products for that. Might solve the issue or (probably) not, but at least will solve one thing.
Except bringuing a vet with a portable Xray, we are at a miss, and everyone considers it quite... unusual
Yep. similar result. With this one I joke he is trans species transitioning to bovine
In your case, I take, the band does not grow, then crack and fall leaving the hole, but it just grows with the shape of the notch and looks smooth.
Mine lived with the weak spot in her right hind hoof for ten years or so, she was already retirement age when she injured herself so I just kept it notched so the crack didn't spread up the hoof, never bothered her in the slightest fortunately as she wasn't very active in her later years.
Speaking from my own experience working on my herd's hooves it's definitely rough on one's lower back, dealing with something like my miniature mares is even worse than say a larger equine like my mustang and molly mule, and the mustang is hoof shy so she's not easy to deal with anyway.
JackAtack
Tourist
How's the pay assuming you own your own business what would you say your end of year take away is?
End of day though if the work makes you happy and you cover all your bills your doing better than a lot of people
My books aren’t full as I moved a few years ago and have had to slowly build my books for personal reason but when I do work I make around $150-300 an hour depending on whether I have shoes or trims. I spend most my time driving currently. My goal is about 5-10 horses a day 4 days a week which would put me at $250-$1500 a day depending on the work
Absolutely I’m actually due for a chiropractor appointment soon. I’ve found that finishing the hoot hurts the most as opposed to pulling shoes or putting shoes on
I run a farrier business and our partner makes $450k gross.
Average prob closer to $60-100k.
JackAtack
Tourist
Right on I briefly looked at going to a school in Oklahoma as I was based in Texas and horses are everywhere
I recommend you make some connections with local farriers before school, school only teaches you how not to fuck up a horse. Connections are very important in the farrier world, it’s not really a competition when you have a decent client base