Farrier hitting horse?!?!?

[manybirds]

i would have given him a piece of my mind demanded my money back to sent him off my property 'or else' and told locals he was not a good farrier. horses have very sensetive stomachs to. firmness is one thing beating a horse is another. A good slap on the butt is ok if the horse is being very bad, normally nothing else should be required, except in extreme cases where the ferrier is in danger, especially on a good horse.

 

[spunkey daisy]

ya that is animal abuse i got a horse that that had happend to before i got him out of that fear he is the best horse for trimming feet now and i hope that your horse will not fear its feat being trimmed i am really sorry that happend

 

[southernstardowns]

I have asked my farrier what he does when he has to trim an unwieldy horse. His two word response was "Have Patience". Anyone that has horses knows that they are smart enough to act on their own accord. This is what makes them trainable, lovable, and downright frustrating at times. That guy was looking for a fight, which the horse could sense, and was abusive to your animal.

 

[treeclimber233]

I once had a farrier shoe my mare. When he bent over to pick her foot up he did not even touch her leg to let her know what he wanted. He just hit her on her coronet band with the rasp and grabbed her foot when she yanked it up. Thinking I missed something I did not say anything. I was watching carefully when he moved to her next foot. Again.. whack on the coronet band. She yanked her foot up so fast she almost fell on him. I told him if he hit her again I was going to hit him. He finished the shooing but I never called him again. My mare did not like men but she was so good for shooing that when he put her foot up on the thingy to file the top edges she just stood there with her foot up even when he walked away to get something. Some people.......

 

[Arabiansnob]

If it was me, I would have come unleashed!! That is one thing I cant stand is when a farrier hits horses, for little reason such as that wont stand still or they pull there foot away. I have Arabains and I know some people claim Arabains are "crazy" but my Arabs are just as normal horses as anyothers, they may pull there foot away from the farrier, I have even had a couple that have gotten scared and back up 100 miles an hour. But never one has my farrier hit or kick my horses!! I remember when I was younger my grandmother had gotten a new farrier due the previous farriers retirement and a situation such as yours happened with my grandmother show mare and he hit her with the tool very hard a couple time and Keziah flew back words so fast braking the cross ties, My grandmother flew off the rocket!!! Told that man to get his a$$ out of her barn and not to come back. She also told him that if he dident get his "anger" under control with horses (such as hitting them) that she knows alot of people and that she has a very big mouth. That might have been alittle harsh. But i really cant stand farriers that hit horses!

 

[Joker_Gal’72]

I had a farrier come out to trim our horses hooves and he seems kinda cocky when he got out of the truck which I didn't like so much but just ignored it, my sisters horse went first becuase she is the most calm and she picks up her hooves very easily, well the first thing this guy did was walk over and jerk on moonshines lead and make her jump, this upset me but I gave him another chance he then proceeded to pick up her hoof, which she did no problem but when he started to trim her hoof it scared her and she went backwards and he turned around with the tool and hit her very hard in the stomach with the nippers which absolutely floored me! I was walking towards him when he picked her hoof up again and started again, she did the same thing and he hit her a few more times with the tool and then kicked her hoof where she had a small sore and made it bleed really bad and made it worse. I told him he was done because now she is bleeding and panicking. My sister got her back to the pen and got her calmed down, he told me I needed to be more firm with her so she would stop that. I wasn't mad that he was firm with her just that he didnt need to hit her with the tool, open handed I may not have freaked out as bad but with the tool that was totally uncalled for! It just seemed to me like he had a very bad attitide and now everytime you go to touch my sisters horse she freaks a little bit. Has anyone else had this problem???

Thank you!

I almost tackled a farrier and all he did was kick her belly (barely made contact) and smacked her face repeatedly with lead rope... I threw his tackle box down over the hill and chased him to the truck!!!
You deserve a halo and consider yourself an angel for NOT going apes$$t on that fella.

 

[KBauza]

You were definitely right to send him on his way! I would have been tempted to give him a good smack with a tool too, but that would probably been even more traumatic to poor Moonshine. Our little guy has yet to be delivered but I have watched our farrier work several time already at the rescue I work with. He and his wife are wonderful with the horses at the rescue, so patient and gentle with them, even the difficult ones. Mine is a mini and will be a baby so he will be learning from a very young age and I want to make sure he is in the very best hands.

 

[KayL]

I know this thread has been pretty much beat to death. I’m hoping I can chime in with a few personal thoughts and not be stepping too out of place here.

Yes, there are a lot of bad farriers out there. It doesn’t take much effort to watch a few YouTube videos, pick up a Diamond rasp / nippers, and start handing out business cards. But, as some have mentioned, there are also a lot of exceptional and qualified professionals.

Horse owners; if you want to keep your GOOD farrier... take care of them.

A good farrier has put a lot of money, time, and real blood / sweat / tears into the science and craft of equine podiatry. They spend their “days off” attending expensive clinics held by world-class professionals, building complex shoes, entering the next step in their certification- bettering themselves and their industry for the sake of the horse. They work alongside excellent equine veterinarians who know a farriers expertise is invaluable. One farrier is often responsible for the happiness and long-term comfort / success of more than 200 horses at any given time.

And one ill-placed injury can end their entire career.

Most farriers are more than willing to work with a horse requiring additional caution, finesse and time. If you keep an open line of communication with your farrier and do your best to provide them with a safe working environment, you quickly become a very valuable client. It doesn’t matter if you have one horse or forty. To your farrier, there is no paycheck big enough that’s worth losing their passion and their livelihood.