To find balance between your professional and personal lives, Randy Luikart of Ashland, Ohio, says you must make a commitment to not overextend himself by working with too many horses.
Mismanagement of your schedule doesn’t only affect your balance, but can prove disastrous for the horse.
“I know I don’t want to shoe a horse at 10 at night,” he says. “After I’ve worked all day, I know I’m not up to snuff. I think your work starts to suffer from that. If you think that the quality of work will go down due to fatigue, then it is time to quit for the day.
“Likely after 10 hours of shoeing, someone will tend to hurry through the last couple of horses so they can get home. They next thing you know, they stick a horse or the horse won’t be quite right. You owe it to the horse and the client that you quit when your work starts to shoe signs of deteriorating.”
Make sure you explain your departure to the client if you need to return the next day. Luikart finds that a client doesn’t want the horse to suffer if you make a mistake while fatigued and will be more understanding if you explain the situation.
