Posted by Danvers on September 19, 2003 at 11:08:41:
In Reply to: Re: Farriers Relief Fund posted by Rick Burten on September 19, 2003 at 00:49:31:
: : This is not a personal solicitation for money!!! Recently my husband for injured while working on a horse. I e-mailed the farrier relief fund to see if we could get some help. They were very sympathetic to our plight, but unfortunatly had no money in the fund. I have to be honest, we have never given, but this has opened my eye's. As soon as were back on our feet were going to set up a monthly donation. I'm also planning to contact many of the company's that we all spend thousands of dollars at and ask them to also regularly donate to this cause. This has also hit home the need to have at least 1 months salary sitting in a savings account. Thanks for listening
: Sorry to hear about your husband's injury. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.
: If your husband is not a member of his state farrier's association , he should join. If the association does not have an Injured Farrier's Fund, they should start one.
: I am fortunate enough to be a member of a state association that has as one of its member benefits, just such a fund. When a member is injured, he/she receives a check for up to $500.00 depending on the severity of the injury and the length of time he/she will be out of work. For extended recovery periods, the executive committee can decide to award another sum of money to help the injured farrier along. As well, we get together to pitch in to help the injured farrier keep his/her practice going.
: One more thing. In addition to health insurance, farriers need to cary disability insurance. It may seem a bit costly, but not having it is even more so.
: Rick
Rick is spot on with this one. We've got a similar fund set up for the Indiana Farriers' Assn.; in fact, we looked at what Rick and the LoL group had done as part of the model for setting it up. It's always unfortunate when it has to be used, but fortunate that it's there to be used.
Another reality here is life insurance. While we tend to focus on kicks and broken legs and such, the reality is that we spend a lot of time behind the wheel and doing other things that can result in catastrophe. Although some are still unaware that the program exists, there's a $50,000 accidental death and dismemberment policy that's automatic with your AFA membership. Sadly, those policies have been used each year. The first year we offered it, we lost three young members.
~~Danvers