Talked with a horse owner at the ranch that made me rethink my approach to balancing

I was trimming a mare last Thursday in Austin and the owner kept asking why I was taking so much off the toe. She mentioned her last farrier always left more length. It got me thinking about how I just assume owners don't know anything about hoof mechanics. That chat made me realize I should explain my reasoning more instead of just doing the work and moving on. Has anyone else had a client call you out on something that actually made you adjust your method?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaelw266h ago

My neighbor Bill has been shoeing horses for over 30 years and he always says the owners will teach you more than the other farriers if you let them. That mare's owner sounds like she knew what she was looking at even if she couldn't explain it the way we do. I've had a few times where a client pointed out something that made me re-think my whole approach on that particular horse. It's humbling but it usually makes me a better farrier in the long run.

lucas_carr244h ago

Ran across a guy at a gas stop in New Mexico who was talking about his old truck and how he'd been tuning it for years based on what his dad taught him. Said his dad would always tell him to listen to the engine first before touching anything. Made me think about how sometimes we get so used to our routine we forget the animal or the person in front of us might have a different story. That mare's owner probably saw something in her horse's movement that didn't match what you were doing. My buddy had a client who was a dressage rider and called him out on a tight heel that ended up fixing the horse's whole gait. Sometimes the owners just know their horse better than we give them credit for.