We conducted a survey with the readers of American Farriers Journal’s weekly e-newsletter in which we asked farriers what are the most frequent questions that they receive from novice backyard horse owners. The 103 farriers who contributed to this survey have a combined average of 66% of backyard horses on their books. Here are all of the questions by novice horse owners, ranked in order of frequency in the survey.

1. How often do you need to trim/shoe my horse?; How much do you charge?; Why does this cost so much?

2. Should my horse wear shoes/go barefoot?; Can we use boots?; Can we just use shoes on the fronts?

3. Does it hurt when you nail on the shoe/hot fit?

4. Can you recommend good feed/supplements/tack?; Where should I buy them?

5. What do you think about the feet/overall health of my horse?

6. I read an article on the Internet, what do you think about…?

7. Why do my horse’s feet look so bad?

8. How soon can I go riding after you are done trimming/shoeing?

9. Should I put any dressing/coating on the hooves?

10. Do I need to worry about thrush?; How do I treat thrush?; What’s that white, flaky stuff?

11. What can I do to get this horse trained better/train it quicker?

12. Do you have horse handling experience?; Are you a good horseman?; Do own/ride horses?

13. Do you think this horse has ever been handled?

14. Why do you burn on the shoes?

15. Do I need to worry about laminitis?; What are the signs of laminitis?; Does my horse have any signs of laminitis?

16. Does trimming/shoeing hurt your back?

17. How many times have you been kicked?

18. Why is there a crack?; Do I need to be concerned about that crack?

19. Can you recommend a trainer/veterinarian?

20. Why won’t my horse stand well?

21. Where should I buy my feed, tack, supplements, etc.

22. Wild horses aren’t trimmed, why do I need you?

23. How often should I pick out the feet?

24. What can you tell me about this “type” of horse?

25. What do we need to do for the horse’s feet before (season)?

26. Why’s my horse limping?

27. How soon can you get here?

28. Can you give horses shots?

29. Do you own/ride horses?

30. Do you have another job?; Can you earn a living only shoeing horses?

31. Can I schedule my next appointment?

32. Do you take checks?; Can I postdate my check?

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