http://www.americanfarriers.com/art...suit-after-farrier-dies-while-shoeing-a-horse STAY SAFE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
from my initial read ,i.e., not knowing all the particulars, i would agree with the court that , in my opinion, as stated by the court, are some of the reasons that i maintain that we should not be reluctant to charge higher prices than tradesmen who work with inanimate/nonvolatile objects.... ray
I've learned to say "NO" with customers who don't provide a good place, horse to work on. I tell them I can train their horses, but it will cost the price of 4 shoes as my hourly rate. People won't pay that much for training, so I tell them to get it done or find another farrier.
I was reminded of this yesterday. Only my "catlike reflexes" saved me from a spoiled 3 year old halter filly. The owner was injured. I knew I should refuse to work on the horse, but the owner is a good guy, and the horses mother is great to work on. I had the fronts finished, so I charged him half price on the baby and told him to get some Dermosodan for next time. Regards
Mikel and Rick, As i read the article, i did not see any reference to the horse being unruly, as a 45 year farrier ,saying that he /she started at even 15 years, that would put the farrier at 60 years, lets say the horse was 800 lbs. , enough weight to knock over a 200 lb farrier..................... what if the scenario was in a shoeing ally and the farrier fell over and hit his/her head on a wall, might the family sue because the wall could have been padded? again without knowing all the particulars of this individual incident, the greater story to me is that ,this is /can be ,dangerous work, get paid for the inherent dangers ,even if the owner is a nice guy and be your own safety inspector. When I bought my 1st disability insurance policy, I remember the agent say that according to the actuarial tables, farriers were listed as more dangerous occupation that explosive technicians! As to my family sueing if I get killed doing this work, I ll be back to haunt them(more than I haunt them now), the ones who sue that is, if I get a weekend pass from hell! Regards Ray
It is a as stated an inherantly dangerous job... I can always say no. I once asked a farmer to hang on while ishod his daughters very nervous 17/2 show hunter.. He then proceeded to use a machine that chopped and fired straw into his cow barn and towards the horse I was shoeing... He was negligent and needed sueing if I'd been killed.
Ray, If you read my post, I never made a comment about the article. I stated the fact I've learned when to say no and how to set myself up for the best possible situation. I can't comment on the article as I wasn't there and don't know all the circumstances. All I can say is no matter how we prepare sometimes we loose, like today. I was putting 4 shoes on a shetland pony who'd never been done before. I knew the danger of getting stuck by a nail no these little buggers is very high seeing how you have to hold the leg with one hand and try to get things done. Yea, I got my nails bent over, but some now the little bugger got me anyway. Blood all over my shop floor. I looked at the owner and smiled, "It's ok, it's only my blood, your pony is ok".
I just refuse to shoe ponies with nails, Mikel. If I have to put a shoe on one I use glue or a cast. Regards
