Proper Shoe Usage More Important Than Shoe Price

Karen Trebitz doesn’t tell clients which brand of shoe she’s using on their horse or whether it costs more or less than any other brand. In fact, the East Stroudsburg, Pa., farrier intentionally doesn’t look at the exact price of the shoes when ordering supplies. “This way I can use the shoe best suited for the individual animal and not worry about the price,” she says. “Exceptions are using specialized shoes such as bar shoes, or the difference in price between aluminum and steel shoes, which are billed differently. The horse is the winner this way, so ultimately I am too.”

Let Owners Tackle The Job Of Tranquilizing Horses

With Dormosedan now available in gel form as a prescription, owners and trainers can sedate troublesome horses prior to your trimming and shoeing without having to invest in a veterinarian visit. The gel is placed beneath the horse’s tongue with a dosing syringe and is not meant to be swallowed. A standing horse will normally show sedative effects for 90 to 180 minutes, plenty of time to handle most footcare work.

Think Outside The Box When It Comes to Hiring Apprentices

Mitch Taylor maintains apprentices are an important part of the industry. Data from the 2010 Farrier Business Practices Survey conducted by American Farriers Journal supports this, indicating 58% of today’s full-time farriers serviced an apprenticeship with one or more shoers that lasted 24 months. (See Pages 18 to 26.)

The operator of…