When do you know you're a good Farrier?

The 'Who's a Farrier' thread got me thinking; when did you figure you were a good Farrier?

I thought I was a good farrier when I started getting phone calls from new clients a few days after working on their horses thanking me for "giving them back their horse." OTOH, I've never thought of myself as a bad farrier.

What were you doing with their horses, holding them ransom so people would let you work on them!!!!-

We are all legends in our own mind!!

Whoever said I did? I'm still aspiring to be a "good enough" farrier. Every time I start to thinking I'm there, "good enough" moves further down the road.

Regards

If you're making a living(not being supported by spouse or parents) and you still have the same address after 5 yrs; I can't say good but you're not half bad at that point

Hell I heard you ain't even close to a decent farrier until kill at least two horses..... Man Justin is spot on.. anyone who thinks they have reached greatness by fixing all horses and getting thank you calls..lmao .is a legend in they on mind..

Since this industry is client driven; if you have returning clients, you must be good enough. The job at hand might not be the way, you or I or somebody else would have done it. That doesn't really matter; some horse owner paid for it/allowed it to be done. End of story.

I've done pretty work that did not suit the horse's needs at all and I've barely managed to half way hang iron on some, as they flew by, that made all the difference in the world to that horse at that particular point in time.

If you ask around, I've probably "ruined" more western pleasure horses than anybody in Michigan. I heard that, after I shoe those WP things, "they go too fast, lift their tails, don't drop their heads, lose their jog, run, buck, play too hard, lengthen their stride, use their ears, look around too much, no longer kick sand in front of them and use their knees." So in their minds I'm a very bad man. They only come to see me when even the owner knows the horse is too lame to ride....

I hadn't thought of myself as a good farrier yet but if all it takes is thank you calls from clients then I've been good for bout four years now unbeknownst to myself . When I have forging and shoeing skills as good as Smitty and as much knowledge as Pat Reily I will consider myself good.

I figured I made it when I'd be working on some old plug that no one would ever pick up a foot to look at, let alone pick out. I'd have a pair of shoes tacked on ready to nail up, and they looked fine, good for the horse, way better than the last guy, but I pull one off and through it back in the fire. It could be just a little bit better.

If you have been maintaining the a majority of clientele for a period of 5 or more years then you "might be a good farrier" or you "might have a questionable clientele".

.....When I could sleep at night because I knew I did everything I could do to help my ponies of the day's work.

If I was arf as smart or good as I thought I was Id still be a fargone idiot
Having said that it was told to Me by my mentor that Horses are a great leveler of men
Ive found that Golf is too
It doesent matter how you look or even act so much
it doesnt matter how flash your gear is although we all know and appreaciate how good tools n modern tecknowlagy help
If you have good attitude and powers of thought n consentration and good manual skills youll do as well as any n sometimes better than most
and you will use the gift of the better mans example n teachings and if your smart the example of the man you consider the pleb
haveing left his dignaty intact
Everytime Ive thought me flash n pranced n crowed like n bantam rooster Ive had my attitude adjusted particularly but the horse
the owners or when lucky a friend I sometimes didnt realise was
We often have the owners ability or willingness to pay or not for what may be needed to be the governor of quality put to floor or is this the excuse ? the KISS system smartly used is a good thing as well , it up to US to do the best we can for the beast with what rules were given, by nature , the owners and our ego
There are many I admire on these boards and several Ive met and a couple I grown to know n love n respect
Do I consider myself a good Farrier?
I believe Im a good man and that alone gives Me hope and a chance to be


mind how ya go yeah

I kinda relate to what Jaye said. If I don't have second thoughts about what I did that keep me up , then I figure I did more good than bad in the deal? And RED where have you been oleson? Was wonderin bout ya the otter day!!

I heard a pretty smart fella say once or twice..."I'd rather be lucky than good"...I'm inclined to agree with him.

Chronic lameness can turn a horse from a valuable source of enjoyment and recreation to a financial and emotional burden. As such, a good farrier may be able to restore the lost value of a horse, returning it to the owner. When this happens, usually the owner shows a lot of gratitude.

Conversely, it is not so obvious to many owners that a good farrier MAINTAINS the value of a horse.

Sounds like all y'all has multiple personalities disorders.

That is without a doubt a big one there. Also owners can prevent you from doing a good job and then lay it on you. Guy calls, I go out there, horses haven't been trimmed in months and months, one has huge crack up the toe, I fix em up. The crack can't be trimmed all the way out but close, the guy asks about the crack, I said, "With another regular trimming or two this crack will grow out." I leave, he calls me six months later. I go back, horses feet are f$%ked again, crack is of course much worse, and he literally says to me as I am trimming, "Hey you said that crack would grow out."

It was a bad day and as I flung my tools into the truck, I yelled, "With Regular TRIMMING!" It was that day I realized I was more like my grandpa than ever before.

Perhaps you should have scheduled the next appointment before you left the farm. Then, if the owner says s/he doesn't want to schedule said appointment, you can say, 'then all bets are off as regards the condition of the hooves and especially the one that has the crack.' That might also be a good time to inform the owner that if the hooves are in the same or similar condition as you found them that day, your fee for trimming them will be much more. If the owner asks 'how much more?, you can reply "at least double and maybe more, depending.' I realize that especially when one is first starting out, we take on clients that are like that. I made/make it a policy to get rid of them as soon as a better client comes along

There was a farrier that worked with me
he had a saying
i use to be good now im brilliant

IIRC, someone on the other site had a saying - the older I get, the better I used to be.

LOL I liked that one. Who was that, Bill maybe?