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Got stood up by the farrier!

3K views 27 replies 21 participants last post by  demonwolfmoon 
#1 ·
This is my first time calling a farrier, and my first time getting stood up by one! I drove 20 minutes to the barn in the snow, uphill and up a dirt road in the DARK to stand in Kiera's stall freezing for 45 minutes before I packed up and left.

Is this like a Rite of Passage or something? =P
 
#2 ·
I would perhaps give them the benefit of the doubt the first time and ring up and ask about it. I do find it rude that they didnt ring or something to let you know for whatever reason that they could not make it. If it happened more then once though I would be upset and if this is the first time with this farrier I may second guess using them again.
 
#3 ·
Did you try calling them? They do run late sometimes and don't have time to call. I've had to wait up to 2 hours because our farrier ran behind. Sometimes they run into problems or get a new client that needs more time than they alot. I at least would give them the benefit of doubt.
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#4 ·
Did you try calling them? They do run late sometimes and don't have time to call. I've had to wait up to 2 hours because our farrier ran behind. Sometimes they run into problems or get a new client that needs more time than they alot. I at least would give them the benefit of doubt.
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Well here's the thing. The first time I talked to him on a Tuesday and he said he'd call back later or Wednesday to schedule for Friday. He seemed friendly...

Thursday I called him, and as soon as he figured out I wanted farrier stuff, he handed the phone to his wife abruptly to have her figure out scheduling. (and I mean ABRUPTLY). She scheduled it and I told them I'd text the address, which I did. He had my phone number and my husband's phone number as well...I find it odd that if you're going to be late, you don't call or text or something?

Anyway, the BO's farrier is coming next week, so I guess Kiera can wait another few days needing a trim. The only reason I was going to get a different farrier was scheduling issues, but as it turns out, I'm free this next week, and I'd rather deal with someone who hasn't stood me up!
 
#7 ·
i have a life as well, I dont take very kindly to appointments not being kept. I under stand things happen so I would expect a call or test as soon as they realized they wern't gonna make it in time.
I dropped my last vet because not keeping appointments was routine. They did always call, but it was every single apointment, they would call and be late or call and reschedule, after a few years of putting up with it I canned them and found a better organized business.
 
#24 ·
I dropped my last vet because not keeping appointments was routine. They did always call, but it was every single apointment, they would call and be late or call and reschedule, after a few years of putting up with it I canned them and found a better organized business.
Exactly the same situation and same decision here. Vet was always 2-3 (!) hours late even if my appointment was first in morning (I used him for several years, so wasn't one-time thing). I don't care as much about the personal life, but taking the whole day off work just because of that is unacceptable IMHO. Now I DO understand when it's an emergency, and I have no problem with it and very willing to wait or reschedule. But not when it's a norm.

OP, it sounds like the guy just didn't care. I was very lucky never get into such a situation with the farrier, but I know it happens (sorry you had such an unpleasant experience). If you can use the barn farrier routinely and you are happy with his job, just do it.
 
#8 ·
My farrier has a habit of being late. She says shes going to do it one day- and then ends up getting busy with something else!! I mean Indie's feet aren't in horrible disarray, just need a trim, but really? When the date is set they should be there!!

....wait... I am my own farrier.... should probably do things when I tell myself I'm going too, I tend to get irritated.

:rofl:
 
#12 ·

....wait... I am my own farrier....

:rofl:
All jokes aside, I'd love to learn this. Then again, I'm a new horse owner and still learning THAT.

And I've been meaning to learn how to cut my husband's hair (reg) for the six years we've been together and still haven't gotten around to THAT =D
 
#9 ·
My farrier - bless him - just got an iPad to schedule on and since has been both 2 and half hours early and 2 hours late to my appointments. I don't care because it takes him 2-3 hours to do a trim and re-set on my horse so I've usually just booked a whole day off. He does call though!!

Most horse people are on "horse people time" you'll find. I've waited 3 hours for a farrier without him calling before and the vet is ALWAYS late hahaha... Good luck!
 
#10 ·
Tianimalz, ****!!!!!!!!!! I am taking a trimming course this spring so I can do our own horses, as much as I love our farrier he can only come every 2-3months (ours are barefoot) and he travels 12hrs to get here ( we aren't his only client) and with 10 horses,one course is equal to one farrier visit :D
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#11 ·
Well here's the thing:

I'm a milwife with 2 kids and a full time college schedule. I am taking CALCULUS, Genetics + lab and Ethics this term. My every day schedule includes getting up, studying, going to school and being there until four. At four I go home, pass out and then head back to school to study until something like midnight.
During December , the Marines work weekends along with their regular workdays until Christmas, because of Toys for Tots...so I have my kids all weekend. I can't drag a 2 year old into the snow to deal with a young horse, and I can't trust my 9 year old to keep him away from the horse.
SO:
If I make an appointment and juggle all my commitments during this semester, I don't want to be waiting 45 minutes in the snow to just waste my time. I totally get horse time (I'm from California LOL), but I also think that there's speaker phone and text messages for a reason. I mean...call?

The barn's farrier is coming out on Thursday possibly, so I'll just go through him and try to work my or my husband's schedule around the farrier....it's going to be hard if he's coming in the middle of calc or ethics, but I'll do my best. At least he shows up, right? X.X
 
#13 · (Edited)
Demonwolfmoon - I completely understand where you are coming from. As a new horse mom (I have owned my girls for a little over a year), I have had to search for a farrier. The first farrier I worked with was very professional and never late for an appt. Since moving to a new barn, I have tried other farriers per other boarders advice (3 total). 3 out of the 3 were over an hour late with no call (I had to call them) and 1 of those farriers actually forgot about our appointment, but was able to come out. He acted like he was doing me a favor!

I learned my lesson. If you find a good farrier who keeps appointments and does a good job, you stick with him or her because apparently...they are a rare find.

As a professional who works full time, I also have to re-arrange my schedule to make these appointments. I do not understand why this level of customer service seems to run rampant in the farrier industry. I have heard people at my own barn say "he kinda runs own his own time, but he does a really great job". If I didn't show up on time or cancelled my appointments with clients on a regular basis, I would be fired...even if I did a good job with other tasks.

I don't understand.

I hope you find a great farrier who treats you with the respect you deserve, by showing up for appointments on time. Good luck!
 
#14 ·
All I ever read about farriers on this forum is that they're always late- it seems my area is the exception to the rule! No matter which farrier I've used they've always been on time, as scheduled. I'm scared to move! :)
 
#15 ·
Common complaint I hear about farriers,hard to get a hold of ,don't return calls,are late or don't show.I have had my share of less than stellar farriers:-( but like my current one:). Had my horses done today actually.Farrier was running late,but he at least calls to say he would be late about 15min.:D
 
#17 ·
It was pedi day at my place today too! Mine is always on time. I figure that as many as I have, he makes a good amt of cash when he comes here and he should be on time. I'm always his first & generally only client of the day because of the amt of horses and booked every 6 weeks a year out so that helps too :wink:

When our farrier of 20 years retired, I spent 3 years finding a suitable replacement. There were some that were late, some who didn't show, others who just didn't even come close to doing acceptable work. Finding and keeping a good farrier is priceless in my book.
 
#16 ·
My farrier is always at least 30-45min late. Every time. Without a doubt. It drives me crazy! When I was in WV my vet was a good 2hrs late, but when they finally did call, it was to tell me that they were just about there.

My new vet here in NC has shown up to give my horse shots without my knowledge until after everything was done!! Drives me crazy!
 
#18 ·
Yes it hard enough trying to find one reliable enough to show up,answer phone calls,call back or let you know they are running late.To get that & have them actually do a good job on their feet,those farriers seem hard to find & are worth every penny to hold on to them:D
 
#19 ·
Haha my farrier was usually late but now Hunter lives with her and trims are included in the board. You know what? It is actually harder to get her to do his feet than when I was living half hour away from her. Took her weeks to take his shoes off. Oh well she does a great job and has helped me train Hunter so I will put up with it.
 
#20 ·
i have a GREAT farrier, reasonable prices, AND hes nearly always a few minutes early ! took me years to find him though !
 
#23 ·
So the good news is, Kiera is going to see a farrier tomorrow...the bad news is, that this farrier is apparently the older type, and if a horse does anything wrong, he's likely to throw up his hands and say find another guy...at least according to the BO.

And since we have to work around HIS schedule, and she told me he'd be Thursday and is coming FRIDAY when I'm going to be 2.5 hours away, she wants me to pay her 10 bucks to have someone hold my horse...
I know it's petty but I'm kind of annoyed at that for two reasons: Firstly because she didn't mention that when we first talked about it, so when I told her I wouldn't make it, she just said "no problem!" in a positive tone like it was a favor with no mention of money...and secondly because I'm worried that between this and one other even that small little "fees" are getting racked up. I already pay her a hundred dollars more than most of the barns in the area...
Meh.
Since I literally have no other option for tomorrow I'm just going to try not to let it bother me and hope that they can handle Kiera. =(
But if her farrier is continually being scheduled during times that I literally *can't* be there...then I guess the search continues. =/
 
#26 ·
When I lived in Florida, both my vet and farrier were routinely late- at least an hour. I have found that living in NC, even though the vet and farrier are further from me,they are usually prompt. I did have to hint to my farrier last time "Our apt was 20 minutes ago, should I go wait inside the warm house?" But she showed up within 5 minutes. It does appear to be a right of passage of sorts...
 
#27 ·
When working with horses you never fully know how long it will take. For the most part I believe that vets and farriers do their best to stick to their schedule but sometimes it just does not happen.

I have found that if time is hard to come by, try to schedule for the first appointment of the day. This way they should not have any issues being late due to another appointment going longer then planned. I have saved up vacation time to allow myself the days needed to get my mare her care needed or I arrange and pay the barn staff to have her ready for the said appointment.

It is hard finding a farrier that you like and that your horse doesn't mind. Sometimes farriers will not take the time to come out for one horse if they can go to a barn with more horses and be busy for a few hours. Time is money for them. Also with the regards to the farrier not wanting to work on a horse that does not take trims well- I do not blame them. If farrier work is their only source of income and they are self employeed, One kick could put them out for months (no income coming in) let alone the medical bills if needed.

Good luck finding a farrier that will do what you and your horse needs. Welcome to horse ownership :)
 
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