Farrier Problem

[George50]

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[calshoer]

Something yuou need to understand is that there is NO legal specifications in the USA for what constitutes "certified" .Sometimes just finishing six weeks of school and no real world experience is "certified".
Unlike England , "certification" in the USA is completely voluntary , with no set standards. There is no legal requirement to be a farrier here.
The various organizatiOns or farrier schools who offer "certification" set their own standards. Some levels are truly difficult to achieve (AFA or Guild Journeyman) and I respect the hard work it takes to get there, while some are ridiculously easy.
You might get a "certified" farrier who has years of field experience and who worked years to get the "journeyman" level, or you might get a certified "master" or "journeyman" who just paid a bit extra and went to school an extra few weeks and who has a grand total of three months school,taught mostly by another student with a few months more experience and little to no work in the field.
Or you might get a basic level certified who can nail on a decent ,plain, level shoe on a sound non distorted foot but who will be lost dealing with anything out of the ordinary.

I know as many terrific, experienced well educated farriers who can work well with veterinarians and who are not certified or members of any organization as as those who are just as great and ARE certified.
And on the other hand I know a lot of certified farriers ,(even journeyman) who are laming horses as I know non certified farriers. Knowledge of the horses *foot function* and needs are not guaranteed by any card.
In other words, experience combined with a history of current continuing education is what you need in a farrier, not some card or label.
Don't ask your vet only for certified farriers. Instead ask him or her for names of farriers who they work well with as a team, and who will follow their trimming and shoeing recommendations.
Patty

[Jaye Perry]

Thank you for your response. ... so far no vet I have talked to will recommend a farrier. So I am approaching the subject in reverse. Talking to farriers and asking them who they prefer to work with.
I would really like to have a working team of professionals, but to date have been very disappointed in both the farriers and veterinarians in my area.


To help you out here what has to be stated up front to any farrier or vet that you are using is this is and will be a business realtionship.
We, as farriers, are in the business of keeping clients horses as sound as we can for as long as we can. So from the owner's point of view a trust is given for that or those horses he/she is resposible for.
What the owner can do is treat the relationship as a business venture which requires a job interview.
An interview for the job of farrier, not a horseshoer is a business partnership. There is a difference, in alot of cases a really big difference.

So as a horse owner treat the interview like you are going to hire the person to work at your company where YOU work and make your Money. Questions that you and your other equine professionals on your existing team has to formulated to aquire an experienced, knowledgeable and consistant farrier. These questions have to be asked and answered to the satifaction of you team.
If the Farrier has to follow the vet(s) trimming and shoeing recommendations that tells you as a horse owner that the farrier has not formulated or experiened enough to examine a set of x-rays, formulate an opinion on a horse's conformation or has the ability to think for him or herself towards the goal of the team. This not to say that vet or other's opinions are not needed or respected; it is being part of the team, each has their OWN expertise and that is what owners need a team in which each person's expertise is considered and respected via the performance of the horse. If one or the others do not know then the professioanl thing is to say "I don't know" and not disprese "blame" upon the others of the team.
One thing to keep in mind a "Farrier" is a mechanical expert, the "vet" is a medical expert , there are overlapping consistancies in both professions , but both , if professional will give recommendations to solve a problem and come up with solutions.