When often asked by my clients if I ever have to work on bad horses I always seem to answer along the lines of "I don't mind working on young/nervous horses because with correct handling and patience they will improve over time but out and out bastards I simply refuse. You can get severely smashed up for the sake of £65". I have heard of two newly qualified farriers get very severely injured from working bad horses. Totally not worth it, if you need the money that bad then weld some old horse shoes together and make wine racks etc. and fill the time you would have spent working on el bastardo until you build your round up.
hey gary I once saw a set of table and chairs for the garden made from old horseshoes for sale for £500!
A scotch hobble isn't anything new. The slickest contraption I've seen/used is Bruce Matthews update/interpretation of the scotch hobble. Once you start tying a leg up, if something goes wrong, there's a really good chance that you just bought yourself a horse.........
I found that about the time I got good at handling the bad ones I didn't have to any more. There are still times when I have to do a new horse that an old client gets or a young getting it's first set. I don't want to tell them to get some other Farrier (from up north) to work on that one and I'll do the others. I'll do inconvenience, but not danger. Many times you wont get hurt on the bad ones because you're ready for trouble. It's the old gentle ones who get stung by a bee or something that get ya.
for the folks at home, I think, Tejun, should post a pic of the position he has to be in in order to nail up a shoe on a horse wearing a foot rope. How about it,Tejun?
I have convinced my clients that if they want one of those types done ... I want their head hangin and suckin air....not that bad unless they want to be bad..I have the owners ride them while I work on their other horses and when I see a good change they come in and we work...if they don't want to stand I tell the owners to go lope some more..it is true a tired horse learns quicker...owners bitch at first but the next time the horses start standing better..
After the horse kicked me I was hoping, after foot roping him, he would flip out and fall down fighting... but she knew the foot rope and just stood there so I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing the horse learn anything new. Falling down is one of the most educational experiences a horse can go through. Once you let them up, their whole world view changes. I have seen it too many times to count. The fight is what it is all about, you have to tie them up well enough that they have minimal chance of hurting themselves. Also I touch them everywhere when they are tied up or laying down. Pat their belly touch them where they hate to be touched but in a nice way so they learn it really isn't that bad. The biggest mistake in footroping is not making the loop around the neck small enough and not pulling up the back leg high enough. If you take out all the play in the rope the struggling is against a tight rope and there is little jerking. It is when the rope has too much slack they start kicking and making the rope pop and snap. Allowing them a mobility that encourages injury and rope burns.
Spot on Gary, The way to a man's hart is through his stomach, the way to a horse's brain is through his lungs.
Yes John but I referred to when I was "Hungry". "Hungry, Bills to pay and a New Bride". One has to do what they have to do. Everyone has to start somewhere. I am not 'Hungry' anymore and I am not married anymore either. So I can compose stuff that helps people or pisses them off. Tenure. It starts somewhere! One has to be a good horseman first before they are a good Ferrous!
wow Marc. I kinda thought shoeing would be more than £65 in the Old Dart... Especially for an ACWF. Is that including VAT?
we have the same here............on the tracks, I'm a journeyman; but can't get more than $120 = 70 english pounds.....and some are even cheaper than that. you get more for the show horses here ....$140-$225 depends. cheap ones get around $25 for 4 new shoes to about $85 for 4 new.
