When it comes to their attitudes about farriers, survey data indicates horse owners have made major gains over the past 3 decades. It’s apparently because farriers are placing more emphasis on developing their hoof-care skills, acting more professional, becoming better business managers and adopting the latest technology to make farrier-to-client communication much easier.

Data from a recent website-based survey on why 1,475 horse owners switched farriers was highlighted in the January/February 2021 issue of American Farriers Journal. Some 53% of owners had changed farriers within the past 3 years, with the majority of the reasons having nothing to do with the quality of footcare. These owners cover various income levels, breeds and disciplines.

These 2020 results ranged from 32% of owners who made a change in farriers because appointments weren’t kept to only 1% of owners who indicated their veterinarian preferred to do the footwork.

Data from the earlier survey conducted 27 years ago was published in the December 1993 issue of American Farriers Journal. Written by Bob Smith of the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, Calif., it cited data from 318 backyard horse owners who had brought horses to the school to take advantage of lower hoof-care prices with student…