Re: RC: RE: Re: Horseshoes???

[BMcCrary27@aol.com]

In a message dated 03/19/2000 6:29:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
eyler@mindspring.com writes:

<< A FORMER farrier of mine was sooo patronizing when I tried to ask his
 opinion of something I'd read.  "Oh, geez.  She's been reading.  We're in
 trouble now."  Like I said, former farrier.
  >>

I don't think I have ever had experiences with a group of workmen who are 
more opinioinated and difficult to work with than farriers.  I KNOW there 
must be good ones out there. My experience have been that they start out 
being understanding, do good work, and are communicative, and then they 
backslide on quality of work after a few shoeings, become uncommunicative, 
and simply will not listen to the horse owner. Their attitude is often, "Look 
lady, who knows more about shoeing a horse, me or you?"  I admit, I can't 
shoe a horse, but I've been watching farriers for 55 years and the first one 
I had was an older gentleman who was a master at his craft.  I learned a lot 
from him, just by watching.  Some of the subsequent ones have been good, some 
OK, some..disasters. Some could handle an uncooperative horse, some would 
rough them up or fight with them.  Some were horsemen, some just horseshoers. 
Some of them would stand you up...simply just not show up on the appointed 
day.  Some moved away.  All my problems are now solved...our eldest daughter 
shoes ours. She is SOOOO good!  She learned as a student at CAL POLY, San 
Luis Obispo, CA, apprenticed with an excellent shoer in that area, and 
started out just shoeing her own. Gradually, as our previous farrier was 
declining in quality of work, reliablility and availability, she began 
shoeing ours, then her sisters' horses, then a few neighbors' horses.  She's 
a full-time mother and a part-time farrier.  She does one to two horses max 
on any given day, but she rotates around until all horses are done on 
schedule. And she charges a little less than most farriers currently charge. 
The main thing is she is simply the most consistently good farrier we have 
ever had. She is always learning, she is always willing to discuss a problem 
with the horse owner, and doesn't have a big ego to maintain.  Lucky us!
Again, I KNOW there are good farriers out there, but we've never been able to 
find them, or if they are found, they are unwilling to come this far away 
from wherever the live.


Barbara