farriers

["Scott & Dede Johnson" <scottj@cyberlynk.com>]

    I think some of the "issues" I have experienced with the farriers I have
dealt with have to do with my own ignorance.  I really don't know enough to
question what he is doing, and that sometimes has led to problems with my
horses' feet.  One example is when my Standardbred mare had a vertical crack
in her hoof (she was barefoot at the time) and all the farrier did each time
was rasp it down, which made it look okay for a while but was not helping
the hoof, and the crack just became visible again after a short time.  I did
not know better at the time (I've only had horses for 6 years).  Luckily a
friend was working with this horse and noticed she was off a bit due to this
crack.  We had another farrier come out and fill in the crack until it grew
out and put shoes on to help support the hoof.
    It's frustrating not knowing if the farrier really knows what he is
talking about.  A few months ago I switched farriers after the last one
decided not to show up any more.  The new one said many things that were
contradictory to the other one.  I realize there are many opinions and
philosophies on shoeing and probably not one right way to do things, but for
a person with not much knowledge in this area, I'm not always sure my horses
are getting the best foot care.  I am certainly not knocking any farrier-
there are good ones out there.
    What I would really like is to take a class that would give me at least
basic knowledge of shoeing and trimming a horse, so that I could ask
intelligent questions and feel like I have some say in what's going on with
my horses' feet.  Our local junior college has classes but they are all
during the day when I work.  Any one in the central CA area know of
anything?

Dede

Justice-When you get what you deserve
Mercy- When you don't get what you deserve
Grace-When you get what you don't deserve