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Insurance Provides Farriers Stability When the Unexpected Happens

Alleviate the financial burden of a potentially bankrupting event


Pictured Above: There’s only so much a farrier can do to reduce their chances of getting injured. The tools are sharp and the forging fire poses risks of its own — either through burns or the liability of flammability in dry barns. On top of those dangers, travel from one barn to another increases a farrier’s chances of experiencing an accident. Insurance can provide a safety net.

Jimmy Petty had the reputation of being able to shoe any horse brought to him. He shod 7 days a week, for 12-14 hours a day and was proud of the status — until he got hurt. In 1997, a Quarter Horse mare flipped over on him, crushing his lower lumbar.

“I went from being a full-time farrier shoeing 100 horses a week to shoeing 12 horses a month,” says the Concord, N.C., farrier. “I bought my own truck and trailer for hauling cattle to make a living.”

He worked as a part-time farrier for 14 years. In 2011, he resumed his full-time business. Just 7 years later, he needed surgery to alleviate numbness in his right arm, a condition known as an ulnar nerve entrapment. Two neurosurgeons warned him that without surgery, his arm would be dead by spring 2019. He didn’t have insurance and arranged a payment plan. Realizing he needed a safety net, Petty asked a client who is also a financial planner to offer advice about insurance and retirement.

Farrier Takeaways

  • 1 in 4 Americans will experience a physically…
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Katie navarra

Katie Navarra

Katie Navarra is a freelance writer who draws from her experiences owning and showing horses, and inter­viewing the industry’s leading pro­fessionals.

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