
Why Horse Owners Change Farriers | How Many Hours Per Week Do Farriers Work
Why Horse Owners Decide to Change Farriers
Data compared from two horse owner surveys conducted in 1993 and 2020 indicate several differences as reasons for switching horseshoers.
Reasons | % Owners* | % Owners** |
Routinely showed up 2 or more hours late | 92% | 12% |
Failure to keep footcare appointments | 100% | 32% |
Did not return messages | 91% | 24% |
Farrier was often rude, confrontational with veterinarian or abusive with horses | 60% | 10% |
Horses often lame after hoof-care work | 49% | 17% |
Farrier showed up smelling of alcohol | 19% | 1% |
Farrier lacked certification or credentials | 0% | 6% |
Veterinarian recommended another farrier | 12% | 7% |
Farrier moved out of area, or quit trimming, shoeing | 18% | 15% |
Owner didn’t like the farrier | 9% | 7% |
* 1993 survey of 318 backyard horse owners who had changed farriers.
** 2020 survey of 1,475 horse owners who had changed farriers in past 3 years.
— Data from 1993 Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School and 2020 American Farriers Journal surveys on why horse owners change farrier
How Many Hours Per Week do Farriers do Hoof-Care Work?
The typical full-time farrier averages 40 hours of footcare work per week while dealing with 38 horses.
— 2020 American Farriers Journal Business Practices survey
Friday's Farrier Facts & Figures is brought to you by the International Hoof-Care Summit.
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