What does it cost you to shoe a horse? The obvious answer includes the price of shoes and nails. Maybe some additional supplies are required, like adhesives or hoof pads. The truth is, many farriers fail to reflect on how the prices that they charge are actually determined. 

Since farriers are paid for the real value they bring to the marketplace, it is useful to assess that value to determine a price structure that is representative of what the services are really worth.

Value In The Marketplace

What is “value” and how do you determine it? A dictionary definition is: “The measure of how strongly something is desired for its usefulness, expressed in terms of the effort or money one is willing to expend in acquiring it.”

This means people value something in relation to how much they desire it and how useful it is to them. The definition of the word valued is: “Highly regarded, much esteemed.” From this we can see people tend to value things that they hold in high regard.

Every job has a certain value in the marketplace. While we know it takes time to bring value to the marketplace, however, we don’t get paid for time. We are paid for the value we put into the hour, not the hour itself.

This leads to the ultimate question: How was this value established? Who determines the dollar value or worth of horseshoeing in the marketplace?

Who Sets The Price?

Clients don’t tell us what they will pay for horseshoeing services. We set the prices for our customers. On what basis do we set this price? Some farriers think we charge whatever the market will bear. When we raise our prices, we hope we don’t lose customers as a result.

We tend to set our prices for the wrong reasons because our pricing structure is limited by our own narrow-minded thinking. We don’t think highly enough of ourselves or the service and expertise we provide. Our limited thinking gets in the way of establishing the true value of horseshoeing.

Our customers would like to hold us in high regard and esteem, but we won’t let them. Instead, I find many farriers charge rates that produce the impression that our shoeing skills are of little value.

Value And Worth

Forget about your pre-conceived notions of what you earn or what you think your customers can afford. Instead, look at this issue objectively to assess the true value of horseshoeing in the marketplace.

This is a difficult exercise because we often forget about the skills and expertise we bring to the marketplace. We take ourselves for granted and are our own worst enemy in this regard.  Here are some things to consider when viewing your career.

Job Requirements

Suppose a corporate employer wanted to hire qualified professional horseshoers. This company would look for individuals that meet a certain level of education and experience. These hiring specifications are based on these factors (among others):

• Extensive training in theory and the practical aspects of horseshoeing.
• High degree of manual dexterity.
• High mechanical aptitude.
• Ability to withstand prolonged periods of physical strain.
• Thorough knowledge of equine anatomy, equine locomotion, pathology and metallurgy.
• Must be an experienced horse person.
• Possess good customer service skills.
• Be comfortable with the element of high risk for personal injury.
• Capable of financially tracking the business — revenues and expenses.
• Schedules and keeps appointments.
• Can handle emergency calls.

Occupational Hazards

There is one way that the farrier profession is similar to that of professional athletes. Athletes are compensated richly because they are good at what they do, but also because the required physical endurance means they can usually only perform professionally for a relatively short period of life. Their bodies break down prematurely due to the hazards of their business. The same goes for farriers.

How do we put a price tag on our health, which is being compromised in the job we perform? Why shouldn’t health be considered in determining the value of horseshoeing in the marketplace? From this perspective, the value the service farriers provide should command a higher cost: the price of health and well-being.

Horseshoers regularly receive treatment from the following professionals:

• Medical doctors.
• Chiropractors.
• Physiotherapists.
• Massage therapists.

Some even have surgery as a result of their work. All of these work-related injuries and strains are going to affect our health and the quality of our life as we get older.

Farrier Finances

Our business, like any other, has two major components that dictate how profitable we are: income and expenses.

Expenses in this business are very high. Subtract them from your gross income and you are left with a much smaller net income. Your gross profit is your total sales minus the cost of goods sold. In our business, this would be all the materials and supplies we buy. 

Too many farriers fail to recognize all the factors that add to the cost of shoeing a single horse. Here are factors that are critical, yet often overlooked in determining true shoeing costs. The figures used here are example, so your charges will be different.

Relate these numbers to a “per horse” sum, which is how many horses you do in a day multiplied by how many days you will work in a week, which is then multiplied by how weeks you will work per year. “X” represents this in these examples. You should be sure that these charges are included in your shoeing price, as explained on Page 36, along with more obvious charges like supplies and fuel cost.

Rig: If you buy a truck for $25,000 and the rig lasts for 3 years and has a trade-in value of $10,000. That works out to a cost of $5,000 per year or X per horse.

Continuing Education: If you spend $2,500 to attend a couple of workshops, meetings and clinics during the year to stay up on the latest educational developments, you will spend X per horse.

Office:  This includes your costs for an office in your home: computer, phone, office equipment supplies, replacement and repair. Total cost of $7,700 work out to X per horse.

Marketing: If you spend $2,000 per year on business cards, newspaper ads, flyers, postage and appointment reminders, this works out to X per horse.

Replacing Lost, Damaged And Worn-Out Equipment and Tools: 

If this totals $2,000 per year, it’s X per horse.

Publications: If you subscribe to $300 of farrier and equine-related publications, that’s X per horse.

Membership Dues: If you join several farrier and equine groups at a total cost of $350 per year, this represents X per horse.

Ask Yourself These Questions

In a few years, when you debate whether to raise your prices by $2, $5 or  more per reset, ask yourself these questions:

• Who should pay for the deterioration of my muscular-skeletal system and that this work is compromising my health?
• Who should pay for upgrading my shoeing skills and education?
• Who should pay for the fact it took me a minimum of 5 years of practice in this business before I became fully competent in the profession?
• Who should be paying for my insurance?
• Who should be paying for my retirement plan?
• Who should pay for all the expenses I incur as a result of operating my business?

If you answer all these questions honestly, I’m sure you will see the value of horseshoeing in the marketplace is a lot higher than currently recognized by many of those in our profession.

Ultimately, the only way our customers are going to consider our work valuable and hold us in high regard is if we first recognize the true value of the services we provide. An outward and highly visible expression of that true value is how much we charge for the service we deliver.