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I'm working with an owner and her horse. The horse's feet were atrocious. She has switched farriers and the horse is ever so much sounder now. BUT, at about 3-4 weeks after shoeing, he starts to almost develop the "slipper" foot that you see on horses who haven't been trimmed in years. You know the one?
He forges quite a bit during this time (as he should).
The farrier doesn't really want to make an appointment for the next time to get his feet done. So, unfortunately, it seems the horse goes an extra week or so before he gets done.

So, does your farrier make an appointment for the next visit at your visit? And, anyone else deal with this early "slipper" foot issue. The farrier doesn't want to go to every 4 weeks claiming that the horse doesn't have enough hoof to remove.
So, obviously this slipper is not over growth but something else entirely.

My farrier has always made an appointment for the next time. He's been my farrier for 15/16 years. If my horse(s) need a shorter interval he will accommodate; but, I also know that the few times I've need any type of corrective work it's been important for the horse to have enough hoof wall/foot to work with or you end up doing more damage. I haven't had to deal with such an issue as you describe in any of my personal horses; but, having a farrier and vet collaborate on what needs to be done has worked well for me (and the horse) with other issues.

I do my own feet now but when I had farriers we always had a regular six week appt schedule….

That’s obnoxious. I’ve got a standing appointment day and time, every 6 weeks. That’s been the standard with my farrier for the 15+ years he’s been doing my mares’ feet. The other farrier who comes to our barn has a standing appointment time too.

I’m not looking forward to moving next year because I’ll need to find a new farrier (and barn, and vet, and dentist …) I have a few rasps, and am planning to ask my guy for some basic tips for emergencies.

I also have a standing appointment and the next date/time is confirmed each appointment and written on my receipt.

I would either want a farrier who is very structured in his schedule (like the one I have now) or one that is very flexible and available so I can say 'can you come this week?' and the answer is going to be yes 90% of the time.

We book the next one before he leaves the barn. However, we are now doing the "moving to a different barn and only having one horse" dance. Fortunately, the new barn is on his way home, so I think we'll be able to sort it out. I hope so, as he's done a good job for me and has been reliable and works well with my vet.

Yes, I always have a standing appointment. In my experience, the farriers that don't secure a future appointment before they leave just don't have good business practices in general.

He always makes the next appointment at his visit. He has business cards, and on the back side it has an area for writing in the date and time.

My farrier and vet work extremely well together. I have a recovered founder pony that currently needs trims every 4 weeks, while the rest of the herd (of 3) goes every 6 weeks.

My founder pony has been a very difficult case. Both my farrier and vet are saints!

I’ve had the same farrier for 30 years. He works very well with my vet and will accommodate when they need to be scheduled together. Each time he comes we discuss the growth rate (usually seasonal) since the last shoeing/trim and schedule the next appointment for an appropriate number of weeks for each horse before he leaves. I have four horses and they occasionally have individual appointments. Occasionally (especially with my seniors) when he arrives he’ll say “he needs another week or two” and we reschedule for that horse. He wont shoe unless they have enough growth. By choice he prefers barefoot but Arizona weather and rocky ground conditions mean that most (not all) my guys have at least front shoes. One is shod all around since he gets tender footed and grows very slow. One (the youngest) is barefoot. My farrier is in his sixtys now and I fear the word retirement.

I don’t know what you mean by “slipper”. Flares?

My farrier, who was here just this morning always schedules the next appointment date before he leaves my barn (my oldster is on a 5 week schedule). He also phones the night before to confirm the next day's appointment and approximate ETA. I've used him for about 5 years now and have mentioned before that although his technical skills are not fancy, he loves my old gelding, is always on time, and will work with me, to the best of his ability, on any hoof maintenance issues that may arise. When my oldster turned 30 in August, my farrier brought him a large carton of those little applesauce cups, announcing "You don't celebrate a birthday on just one day, you have to celebrate the whole week!"

I have dealt with farriers who refused to schedule in advance, those who missed appointments or were hours late to arrive, and those who see veterinarians not as a team member but as a threat to their decision-making. Those guys seemed to view farrier work not as a profession but simply a job. They had delicate egos, marriage problems (at least one), and found it difficult to work with a female horse owner who was a participant in the whole horse care process and not just a bystander.

I know what you're describing with the "slipper foot" growth, but have thankfully never had to deal with that. If a veterinarian isn't already in on the program, might be worth getting some input on trim/shoeing for such a growth pattern.

My farrier makes the next appointment when he is done with Miss A. and is packing his truck. The next or so he sends an invoice that has the next appointment. Don't know why he sends an invoice when I pay him on the spot. Anyway, anyone who runs a successful business will make appointments in advance. IMHO.

My farrier doesn't keep an appointment book. I text him when I need him.

as for a slipper foot, has the horse had laminitis in the past? does it have a thickened or separating white wall? is the hoof angle different from the fetlock angle?

most horses do not have enough hoof wall after 4 weeks of growth to support reshoeing. the hoof walls become too perforated

Chisamba wrote:My farrier doesn't keep an appointment book. I text him when I need him.

How long does it take for him to respond to you, and to get out to see your horses?

Chisamba wrote:My farrier doesn't keep an appointment book. I text him when I need him.

Mom's farrier has a similar practice. But he's partially retired and has referred most of his book elsewhere, so it's easy to fit her in whenever.

My old farrier used to say "just call me when you need me." And I'd have to call him repeatedly to get an answer, and then when I finally did get an appointment, I'd take the morning off work and he wouldn't show up... And this was for at least 3 horses, so worth the trip. Drove me BANANAS. It got worse and worse, and then he finally just ghosted me and left me high and dry after 10 years. Drinking problem, apparently.

Yes. Love love my farrier! Plus he comes when we lose a shoe or need tightening up or have a suspected abscess.

PaulaO wrote:

Chisamba wrote:My farrier doesn't keep an appointment book. I text him when I need him.

How long does it take for him to respond to you, and to get out to see your horses?

if it's an emergency, usually same day, for non emergencies, I usually text him the week before and say, I need you next week for two sets of shoes and five trims ( for example)

My farrier sends me a text to let me know he's done, what the charge is, and when the next appointment is. It's very nice.

khall, my farrier also comes out if a shoe needs to be put back on or something needs tweaked in between regular appointments. Fortunately though in the 15/16 years we've know each other that has only happened 4 times. Grateful to have horses with good feet and a diligent farrier.

I LOVE that mine will text me the day before to make sure that 'we're still on for the next day.' He'll let me know if he thinks he'll be a little earlier or later, etc. He's a fantastic guy and though we're both quite a bit older now, he assures me that he's not retiring any time soon (he's about 8 years younger than I am). I was hoping his son was going to learn the business and take over whenever his father does decide to retire but alas his son is 'too smart' to get beat up by horses.

Normally, yes. I have my mare trimmed every 5 weeks, sometimes 4 weeks in spring and summer.

But my (barefoot) trimmer is someone who doesn't believe in vaccines and does embrace crazy conspiracy theories. So I never really know!?!/ (like today, he was supposed to have trimmed said mare but ??).... no confirmation hence I will see tomorrow. I am constantly open to new realities and options, like the barn farrier.

p.s. I just want the right shit handled. I will pay more (and do when I am not there and even when I am). You can tell that I'm dealing with today's moment!!

p.p.s. To my barn's credit, they have an awesome team of farriers who are also good trimmers. I'm so on the verge of switching to them! Also, barn then handles handling and schedules, which would help a lot.

I text my farrier the week before the girls need him and he comes the following week.

No...and it kind of drives me crazy but I have put up with it for 13 years now . I try to text her at the 4 week mark and she comes within 1-2 weeks.
Kyra is BF. I can grab a rasp and take a couple mm off her heels and tidy up her toes so I can get her boots on so 5-6 weeks works fine.

Susan

mine always makes an appointment for next time. I have had the "call me when you need me" farrier in the past.... and my horse was always overdue by the time he could come.

Mine does not make an appointment for the next time but my farrier is my instructor and my guy is barefoot at the moment. We go 3-4 weeks at this point as his bars grow really fast and affect how he moves. We got on that schedule as we were trying to prevent hoof wall in a specific spot from splitting and breaking and he seems to do best with this schedule.

Farrier Matt was out Friday. He always makes the next appointment before he leaves, but he picked up 3 new clients at my barn (on my recommendation thankyouverymuch) so he is trying to get Miss A and another on the same schedule. Miss A is barefoot and I'm flexible so if we go another week or 2 that's fine.

I went from a "call me when you need me" guy which meant my horse often went a week over, to a guy who shows up and shoes my horses pretty much when it suits him and I only find out when I show up at the barn... he's mostly very good, and seems to have me on the same schedule as my trainer, so it's 6 weeks on the dot (unless it's 5 weeks because he changes it to fit her horses...) but for the most part if I had to choose, having him go do the needful without me holding the horse is worth a bit of malarkey to me.