A little irritated...horse got trimmed without my knowledge.

I'm a little irritated right now.

After Amber's last trim, I decided it was time to find someone else to do Amber's feet. I posted pictures of her feet on here actually, and from the feedback and great knowledge I received, I discovered the white line separation she has developed is more than likely mechanical and the trim they have been putting on her is just not good.

I found a highly recommended barefoot trimmer. She is located pretty far away, but she has a client near me and we decided to try to get me on the same schedule as that client to save me some $$ on the travel fee. She was going to have to go a week overdue to do it, which was fine.

I spoke with my barn owner about it on the phone. Not just a passing by mentioning, actual conversation about how I felt about Amber's trims, and that I did not want her done by the current farrier the next time.

Last night my friend texted me and said the farrier that has been doing Amber was coming the next day. I told her Amber wasn't getting done, and she told me to call another boarder. The boarder in question has a total of five that all get done by this farrier, so she usually schedules the appointments with them, and usually is the one who goes out and holds horses. I gave her a call, but couldn't get up with her, so I left a voicemail.

Apparently, she didn't get it, and Amber was trimmed today...but apparently I was supposed to call the barn owner, because apparently, she was holding horses today.

It's not THAT serious I suppose. Not being a foot expert, I can see her feet are all really unbalanced and she was moving wonky today because of it (she wasn't sore). I'm just a little peeved because now I have to reschedule my appointment with the barefoot trimmer, and deal with another craptastic trim for 5 weeks. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I feel like, A) while I realize my barn owner does have a good size barn and a lot of horses to remember things for, a lot of owner preferences to remember things for, when someone tells her something as serious as they don't want their horse trimmed by a specific farrier anymore, you'd think they'd remember not to have that done, and B) nobody even attempted to try to contact me to see if it was okay to have her trimmed. I don't care if she's due and would miss her appointment, it just doesn't feel right for someone to make such a decision for my horse without my authorization...let alone spend my money without my authorization!

At least the next trim the new trimmer comes BEFORE the farrier.

Well I would be peeved too.
I would recommend you still have the new farrier out...she may be able to balance your horse out for you.
It seems barns these days are not operated like the one I worked at for years.
We had over 40 boarders and every time the farrier/vet was do out we called each one of them and asked what they wanted a week ahead of time so either a.) They could be there and pay then or b.) We would make sure their horse was taken care of and they could pay before hand, I think that is how it should be anyways when your dealing with other peoples horses.

I would be having a face to face talk with the BO and I would polity call and cancel services with the old farrier for your horse. Just make it clear to them both they you no longer wish for the farriers services and that you hope they respect your wishes.

I hope this does not happen again, if it was me I would have done strangled someone :) haha

Who pays for the trim? I wouldn't pay for the service that you didn't agree to beforehand.

I wouldnt pay for it either unless I had a prior agreement that they could do it without informing me
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Verbal agreements are, well, not very recordable. So it's easy for people to blow them off.
I would write a letter, clearly documenting the dates and contents of the conversations had with the BO, the boarder you talked to, and the message you left on the other boarders phone. Then I would state that because you clearly expressed your wishes not to have the horse trimmed by said farrier on said date you will be seeking re-embursment from the person responsible (in this situation, the BO) for having the horse trimmed against your clearly stated wishes. I would also state in the letter (again) that you do not wish for the horse to be trimmed by this farrier again and any subsequent unauthorized visits will not be paid for by you.

Then, next week I would still have the other farrier look at the horse. Even if you are paying for both appointments, the barefoot farrier can at least have a look, rasp some of the really funny stuff off and talk to you about a game plan for things that you should start doing now in preparation for your next appointment.

Luckily, my BO isn't a donkey-hat and writes everything down on a big white board. There are 4 farriers... maybe 5?? That come to our barn and while some people (like me) schedule our own appointments and hold our own horses, most of the 40 or so horses on the property are dealt with my the BO for the farrier and not once since I've been there has a horse been missed or done un-necessarily. However, if I was at a less amazing place, and my horse was trimmed by the wrong guy, you bet your bottom I would not be paying for that trim, the subsequent trim the next week to fix it by my farrier, or the vet visits to ensure the horse's soundness was not compromised.

I would be po'ed and clearly explain how your not going to pay for it since you said you did not want it done in the first place

I would be ticked off too! That's saying it lightly! Granted at my barn we have about 25 horses, not including the BO's, on the white board she notes when the farrier will be out, if you do not put your name on the board, and/or if you are not there to hold your horse, your horse does NOT get done!

I would not be paying for a service you did not want. You talked to the BO, AND told others that it was something you did not want. I would go with what anebel said about writing a letter.

I'd be ticked too, but also slightly impressed that they managed to catch my mare in the first place to trim her.

I like how my barn does things. They have a farrier that comes out every 3 weeks. If you want your horse done, you write their name and the service you want on a specific whiteboard. There's no crossed wires, no missed calls -- if youo don't put your horse's name on the board, the farrier doesn't do them on that rotation. The dates of each visit are written on the board, so you can choose to be there and hold your own horse, or you can pay extra to have someone else do it. If you're not there to hold your horse, she leaves the invoice in the designated folder in the office and the fee is tacked onto your monthly boarding invoice. Very convenient.

It's a good lesson for next time though, and the next time and the next time, until they get the hint.

What I might do next time I know that the farrier is coming out is to somehow attach a note to the horses stall stating that she doesn't need to be trimmed. In addition to telling the BO. That way at least if the farrier or whoever is holding the horses doesn't get the message they will at least visually see that and call you if they have any questions.