Hey everyone I am a recent graduate of a reputable farrier school in the states. I just recently completed my first shoeing job, and upon looking at pictures of it I feel like there is such a long list of things I could have done better with. I guess I was just looking for some advice, constructive critizium, or good points of this job. I really want to better myself and I know some of the things I found wrong but would like to know others thoughts.
Hi Lori, I m no master but if I were you I might consider more aggressive removal of the outer wall, basically, get rid of the flares and stress rings and consider being less aggressive on your clenching, by that I mean lessor smaller clenches with less pulling down. Difficult to comment on the bottom hoof picture. I would ask how Dobbin liked your work, did he/she show some improvement ? Good luck ,you ll get there, keep working at it. Regards and welcome to the world of farriery, Ray Steele
Thank you for your input Ray, I agree with you on both accounts. The client and the horse both seemed to be happy with the work. The horse moved well walking off and the client was happy with the fit due to the horse being a chronic shoe puller and her main complaint with other farriers were that there was too much overhang of the shoe on the horse. This job has been at about 4 weeks and I haven't gotten a call about a lost shoe which is a good thing too. I feel like it could have been a little cleaner and I wish my clenches would have been more even also. I guess I will know for the next time. Thank you again. Lori Eick
One thing I've noticed is when I'm done with a job I think is really good and take some pics, later at home, reviewing the pics I always see things I could have done better. Take pics of your work and review later. It's like having fresh eyes on the job. It helps to see where you're at. Enjoy your job and welcome.
Gary, Yes I agree, the feet were in terrible shape. When I arrived a farrier had already shod them about 2 weeks ago and both front shoes had been ripped off leaving a pretty torn up hoof, on top of the right front in my opinion being a little clubby, they were extremely dry due to the weather conditions here at the time. I guess in these situations we can only do the best with what we are presented with. I I just would have liked my work to have been overall better i guess, I'm still at that place where figuring out how to get it where I know it should be is difficult.
It takes time but with more experience you will become more confident however you'll never stop learning and you'll probably never be 100 percent satisfied with what you do! Good luck.
Hi Ray, Thanks for having me as a forum member. Have you looked at Lori's more recent post and pics? Your advice that I've highlighted above may have been taken a little over-zealously... Love to hear your thoughts on Lori's other post here or maybe better on her thread. Regards gullyforge (Andrew)
