confused!!!! Barefoot Farriery!!!!!

[oops a daisy]

Please someone enlighten me on going barefoot!!!! Choosing a farrier!!!!! Why should i be encouraged to go with a barefoot farrier as apposed to a normal farrier???
A normal farrier is qualified to trim and diagnose the horses foot and has to have a long time training to do so, as well as fitting shoes correctly, as well as fitting surgical shoes etc.
Is it better to go with a registered farrier who has had to cover all aspects of the foot and shoeing or should i go with someone who only deals with barefoot, and if so, why????

[MelanieD]

If you can find a farrier who does shoeing well and can do barefoot properly then you are very lucky. Quite a lot of farriers either don't do an ideal trim for working barefoot horses or go straight to 'needs shoes' when someone specialising in barefoot would know a few ways to make barefoot more likely to work rather than go straight back to shoes. Really depends on whether you have good farriers/trimmers working in your area because how good the individual is at trimming etc is often more important than what they call themselves.

[Yann]

Agree, there is a difference in the trim, sometimes not a lot, sometimes massive, depending on the farrier. Long term this often does make a difference. The trimmer can also advise about diet, routine, hoof boots, workload and infection control amongst other things which can also make a huge difference, things farriers rarely concern themselves with and which can be just as important if not more so than the trim. In a lot of cases it is horses for courses - farriers may train for longer but a big part of that is metalwork.

[Bay Mare]

A normal farrier is qualified to trim and diagnose the horses foot and has to have a long time training to do so, as well as fitting shoes correctly, as well as fitting surgical shoes etc.

Is it better to go with a registered farrier who has had to cover all aspects of the foot and shoeing or should i go with someone who only deals with barefoot, and if so, why????


Most of the barefoot trimmers train and take exams too and the majority of them are professionals in their own right so are intelligent, educated people who have also trained in barefoot trimming.

With regards to barefoot I'm not bothered about whether my trimmer can fit or make shoes as that's not the way that I want to go. I'd prefer them to concentrate on the trim which is something that a lot of farriers don't do ... their focus is mainly on the shoes.

Personally I would go with a properly qualified trimmer every time as I haven't seen a farrier that does as good a job on the trimming as my trimmers have. I'm sure that there are some farriers out there who do a good trim but you need to know what you're looking at to know whether their trim is good or not!

The best thing to do is to do some research on the different schools of trimming and get yourself educated on what constitutes a good, balanced foot.

My personal opinion is that if I'd have used a farrier in my area to do the barefoot trim I'd have put shoes back on Saffy a long time ago. I'm not convinced that it would have been successful. Trimmers tend to spend more time with you explaining about controlling infection, conditioning, transitioning and nutrition. Something that I've never had a farrier even mention to me. They have all been of the opinion of 'I'm the professional, let me get on with it'.

[shandy84]

Agree, there is a difference in the trim, sometimes not a lot, sometimes massive, depending on the farrier. Long term this often does make a difference. The trimmer can also advise about diet, routine, hoof boots, workload and infection control amongst other things which can also make a huge difference, things farriers rarely concern themselves with and which can be just as important if not more so than the trim. In a lot of cases it is horses for courses - farriers may train for longer but a big part of that is metalwork.

My OH is an apprentice farrier and I just wanted to point out that it is generally the older farriers that don't get involved in the aspects mentioned above, the recently qualified ones I know are much more proactive in their advice and have even been to barefoot seminars and do respect the work they do. IMHO I would go with a farrier as they can do both trimming and shoeing as required, none I know would apply a shoe if it wasn't 100% necessary most I know would prefer all horses unshod :) as it is cleaner easier and cheaper for them :)

In addition the exams that are sat nowadays are actually more based on knowledge of the horse overall ailments, foot balance, excellent trimming etc. The metalwork is now the lesser aspect of the course

[Yann]

That's good :) I know the FRC has been having discussions with representatives of the main trimming schools which bodes well for the future. It does appear there's still some way to go though, there was a pony on our yard owned by an apprentice farrier, you'd have hoped his would have been the best trimmed feet on the yard but that wasn't the case:confused:

[Bay Mare]

If I ever move I think that I need to move to Essex because, unfortunately, that hasn't been my experience at all, even with the younger ones :(

It's really good that BEVA and the FRC are talking to the main schools of barefoot trimming as there really is a place for qualified trimmers in the scheme of things.

Here's the FRC bulletin that has a bit about barefoot trimming in:

http://frc.gotadsl.co.uk:7000/frc/Bulletins/Bulletin%2095%20-%20March%202007.pdf


Exciting times ahead :D

[Wally]

Won't be long before you need to register with the farriers registry to be able to trim any horse's feet. Whether it be a grass trim or a working trim!

Just watch out. it's coming!...................

[mu0ljk]

My farrier is great. He asks and cares about the horses he deals with to find out what sort of work they are doing and will offer advice in nutrition and exercise. He also had one of the yard ponies barefoot and Dylan is half and half.

He has already pointed out that Dylan has put on weight since he saw him last :o - last time being when I asked him to have a quick look at his feet when I first got him. I was surprised he even remembered him 4 weeks later!

I guess it's a case of finding a good farrier/trimmer.

I knowI looked into the barefoot trimmers but it seemed as though there wasn't much training involved in comparison - there were exams and a course but it seemed like you were quite on your own? Unless I was looking in the wrong places!

Please don't shoot me down all at once!! :o

[Yann]

It takes a long time and a lot of money to qualify as a trimmer either via the EP or UKNHCP route in this country, although at present there's nothing from stopping anyone setting themselves up with a rasp and going into business, or trimming their own horse. The other thing is that the training of trimmers focusses exclusively on the structure and function of the hoof, there's no time spent learning how to make shoes etc.

The plain fact is that if all farriers did great trims then barefoot trimmers would never have had a market, it seems there is a skills or knowledge gap for whatever reason.

[mu0ljk]

It seems to only take a year to become an EP though according to their website? I'm not sure if they apprentice in the 200 hours of hands on experiance or not but it includes 25 days doing a course and 10 online modules which doesn't sound like you have a lot of support? Whereas the farriers have to do a 4 year apprenticeship which is hands on, and then several courses.

http://www.epauk.org/become.php

http://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/

It still, to me, just doesn't seem like the EP's get that much in the way of hands on experiance.

[shandy84]

mu0ljk that is my opinion too I would much rather have someone with more experience deal with my horse, also if ever a vet is called in then you are not normally allowed a barefoot trimmer by the vet. Also check with your insurance if it has any affect on claims to do with feet etc?

[Yann]

I personally think you have a point there and I don't know why the 12 month limit is in place, it seems potentially counterproductive to me, as does the apparent lack of formal mentorship out on the job. The onus is still on the owner to make sure they're happy with the work the trimmer or farrier is doing, whoever they are.

The UKNHCP is the other main style of non invasive trimming, the training schedule is at http://www.uknhcp.org/trainingprogramme.html for comparison.

[Yann]

if ever a vet is called in then you are not normally allowed a barefoot trimmer by the vet

Not something I'm aware of or have come across to be honest. Doesn't seem to be an issue for the vet I use.

Also check with your insurance if it has any affect on claims to do with feet etc?

Considering the millions that must be paid out every year on lameness problems with shod horses that would be a bit steep IMHO :D

[Bebe]

also if ever a vet is called in then you are not normally allowed a barefoot trimmer by the vet.

Not so, I know several EPs who work with vets and have been called in to remedial cases by them. My vet never asks who trims my horses hooves, just says that they're done well! The other vet practice who visits the yard has had vets out when I've had EPs trimming my horses and they only ever showed interest, never horror at me not using a farrier.

Also check with your insurance if it has any affect on claims to do with feet etc?

This might be a bit different but given that there are no laws being broken I'm not sure how the Ins co could use it to escape a claim, though they'd definitely try. I suspect that it would be a case of getting your vet to ok the use of that particular trimmer and vouch for their work. It's not an issue for me as I wouldn't use a vet who refused to work with an EP or UKNHCP trimmer, or myself for that matter, unless they produced an incredibly good farrier which in this neck of the woods is highly unlikely.

[shandy84]

That's fair enough, as I said I wasn't sure. Maybe it would be worth having seminars for barefoot trimmers and farriers to both attend at the farrier colleges especially where trimming is being discussed.

[Bebe]

Shandy, a day of lectures & talks of the sort you describe is due to take place shortly, hopefully it will be the first of many.