What is the biggest challenge you face in your shoeing business:

pricing

scheduling

getting paid

stocking your truck

finding time to learn new things

dealing with irrational client behaviour

something else?

Is Your Horse Balanced?

Blue Mountain Centre's website offers you a guide to answer this question yourself.

equine hoof care & rehabilitation centre

 

The Centre had it's official launch day on the 13th of November. The official flyer about the launch and also the Centre can be found at Google Docs (you might have to sign in).

Farriers Online is planning regular updates about the activities of this new facility. Your comments are most welcome if you were one of the lucky ones who attended the launch event.

Hoof abscesses - a New Zealand winter/spring evergreen

For some reason hoof abscesses are one of the major causes of lameness in the New Zealand horse population. The variety of concepts in the public about this issue, some of them being quite misguided, is astonishing. People seem to forget, that if there is pus in a foot, it has to be dealt with effectively before the horse can expect healing.
One excellent reading on the subject is David Hankin's abscess article from Horse & Pony.

An evergreen question answered by David Hankin DipWCF

It is often a hard call to decide to call the vet straight away if the horse goes lame and it happens to be after shoeing or trimming, which will result in a hefty bill, or try the farrier as first point of call.
Read about it in this article (originally appeared in Horse & Pony in 2007, but still completely up to date)