Do you tip your farrier/trimmer at every visit?

[2DogsFarm]

:no: Not in 20+yrs with current shoer, not in the past with others.
As @danacat said: they are self-employed business owners, not tip-dependent service employees.

My farrier comes to my barn to trim my 3 every 6-8wks.
His son comes along & they are finished within less than an hour.
He finds horses in, clean & well-behaved.
I gift at Christmas, gas cards, food items, nothing over the cost of a trim ($30).

Also agree that if this trimmer is repeatedly leaving your horse lame, time to look elsewhere.

[Mulligan314]

Our guy just refused to take payment on a clean up job he did before our last show. He had just been out a couple weeks before, but came back to smooth out edges. We tried calling it ‘gas money’…‘here please take this’…nope. He just wants his horses to be represented the best they possibly can. I know we have been spoiled with him, and his nephew, for more than 2 decades, but every time I hear stuff like this it makes me thank my lucky stars again.

He charges $35 for trims.

[Simkie]

Holy shit, no, I do not tip my farrier. Now I worry that this is a thing, although reading through the comments here is comforting that it is probably not. Yikes.
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[Mango20]

Nope, he charges whatever he wants for his services, so that’s what he gets. I do try to stay on his good side by paying in cash and occasionally giving him a dozen eggs or something from my garden.

[stb]

I’m glad I’m not in the minority regarding tipping. I was worried this was a thing. Although, I do think that from what I have seen on Facebook that my trimmer probably wishes I would.

To clarify about the laming of the horse, this was a horse that I had here previously - not either of my current horses. That horse was previously foundered, had terrible foot quality, was insulin resistant, and had a club. Clearly a complicated case, but she did lame him repeatedly. My two current horses have decent feet and are pretty straight forward, so no problems with trimming for either of them.

The problem with finding another trimmer is that there aren’t many good ones around here. I have my two horses at home, so some farriers don’t even want to be bothered with such a small account. If I could find a reasonable alternative I would certainly be interested, but I’ve looked and don’t really see any other options at this time. I guess I’m just going to have to pretend I don’t know what I know. I will keep my eyes open for other possibilities, though. It is concerning that if I leave it will have to be a permanent change, since she has so clearly stated that she won’t take back prior clients.

I appreciate all of the responses.

[cnd8]

I never have. They set their own rates.

[Bugs_s_Mom]

@Simkie

Holy shit, no, I do not tip my farrier. Now I worry that this is a thing, although reading through the comments here is comforting that it is probably not. Yikes.
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It is most likely NOT a thing. Although I think one of the other ladies at my barn tips her farrier. We all use different people and they come out for just our single horses with exception of the one who has 3 horses. I always assumed it was a thing based on a facebook post (NOT made by my farrier) so I just started doing it. Oh well, he does a good job accommodates my schedule and is always calm and respectful. Rates in my area are far higher than most on here as well, $130 for a full set. My previous horse did not get special shoes (well unless clip shoes in the back count) and it was $130 without tip. No clue what a basic trim is as I have never had that done, we will see what the next horse requires.

[Janet]

I don’t tip the self employed. They can adjust their fees to account for inconvenience.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

At times in the past I have tipped farriers. My retired horse can be quite difficult to work on, and when I was using a farrier who was on the low end of the cost spectrum compared to others I have used, I tended to just add 10-15% when I was writing the check due to the “pita” factor of the horse. I don’t tip the current farrier I have doing this horse as I feel his rates are a little above market for the services provided.

[ChocoMare]

@stb

I’m glad I’m not in the minority regarding tipping. I was worried this was a thing. Although, I do think that from what I have seen on Facebook that my trimmer probably wishes I would.

To clarify about the laming of the horse, this was a horse that I had here previously - not either of my current horses. That horse was previously foundered, had terrible foot quality, was insulin resistant, and had a club. Clearly a complicated case, but she did lame him repeatedly. My two current horses have decent feet and are pretty straight forward, so no problems with trimming for either of them.

The problem with finding another trimmer is that there aren’t many good ones around here. I have my two horses at home, so some farriers don’t even want to be bothered with such a small account. If I could find a reasonable alternative I would certainly be interested, but I’ve looked and don’t really see any other options at this time. I guess I’m just going to have to pretend I don’t know what I know. I will keep my eyes open for other possibilities, though. It is concerning that if I leave it will have to be a permanent change, since she has so clearly stated that she won’t take back prior clients.

I appreciate all of the responses.

If you cover my hotel, I’ll come up for a weekend and teach you to trim on your own I love a good road trip

[PNWjumper]

I’m with the majority. I do not tip. I went through a period of time where I did (usually 20-40 on top of the cost for my group of 4-9 horses), but I agree with everyone here who has stated that a farrier in charge of his or her own business can set rates where they want and do not “need” to be tipped. I was always a little cranky about tipping on top of a $700-1000 bill, so finally just quit doing it. I asked my farrier about it and he said he was perfectly happy with his rate where it was and while he totally appreciated any tips, they were unnecessary. Given his direct and undramatic self, I take him at his word.

As for the other issue - I’ve known farriers who operate on a “one and done” type mentality towards clients, and I guess if they’re busy enough that’s well within their rights to do. But I prefer to work with someone who is a bit less emotional about changes that they themselves cannot manage, and likely would not get along with someone who operated that way. My farrier is happy to only trim my horses who aren’t shod and shoe the ones who need it and has no particular preference beyond what’s best for the horse. I brought in a secondary person to do the trims for a short period of time (I was trying to find someone who lived closer who could put shoes back on for him since he lived a fair distance away at the time), and he very happily helped her figure out the horses. Ultimately I stuck with only him for other reasons, but always appreciated the fact that he was willing to work with someone else for a few of my horses.

[mmeqcenter]

@Janet

I don’t tip the self employed. They can adjust their fees to account for inconvenience.

This

[stb]

@ChocoMare

If you cover my hotel, I’ll come up for a weekend and teach you to trim on your own I love a good road trip

That is a very nice offer, but at the age of 61 trimming feet ranks right up there with stacking hay, which I also avoid if at all possible;)

[horsepoor]

I don’t tip. In order to get a super good, super busy farrier to come to my out of the way home barn for my three horses, I did offer to pay mileage. So he is charging me a set rate for the extra driving time, which I find totally reasonable. I usually do something special around the holidays as well like a gift card or basket.

[stargzng386]

I wouldn’t tip for regular service but would tip if my farrier did something extra. My farrier is very dependable, has followed me through different horses, from barn to barn. I have flat out told him to charge me the price that you’re happy with to come shoe/trim my single horse at whatever location we’re at. If I end up moving, I ask him what price again to make sure he doesn’t need to adjust it. I’d much rather just know the set amount, budget for it and he knows what he’s getting and is happy. I do give him a tip at Christmas time and I did tip the first time he trimmed my yearling because it took a longer period of time with him being patient to teach him what was going on.

Your farrier sounds like she thrives on more of a “cult” type client where no one else can be as good as her so you can’t leave which I would steer far away from.

[Scribbler]

@stb

This is what I thought, as well.

As far as the shoes went - part of the reason that I tried that horse in shoes was that this trimmer kept trimming him too short and laming him. Repeatedly. Turns out the shoes didn’t work because overall hoof quality was poor and had trouble holding a shoe on his club foot. Anyway, I ended up returning to her after a while and made sure I was at every visit to reiterate that the club foot had to be left longer than what she thought was optimal. She is a good trimmer for average feet, but doesn’t have a lot of experience with feet with chronic issues.

I am glad to here a trimmer’s perspective. I was worried I was in the wrong here.

I think you need a better trimmer, one who is more professional and can manage your horse’s specific issues.

And no I would not tip my trainer farrier vet or equine bodyworker. I do sometimes give gifts.

[ChocoMare]

@stb

That is a very nice offer, but at the age of 61 trimming feet ranks right up there with stacking hay, which I also avoid if at all possible;)

I hear that!

[trubandloki]

@stb

It is concerning that if I leave it will have to be a permanent change, since she has so clearly stated that she won’t take back prior clients.

It sounds like she likes to say things she does not mean because you say you have left before and come back.

[aknightstale]

Farriers charge what they expect to get. I’ve never in my life heard of tipping the farrier and I’m certainly not going to start…I struggle to afford my horses as it is. Are we supposed to start tipping the vet now too? And riding instructors? I honestly don’t get it.

That said, she seems to have a high opinion of herself. It’s her decision to not take clients back, but I think it’s pretty poor of her to not understand if someone tries shoes but then decides to go back (sounds like she’s a barefoot trimmer from what you said). I would assume that a tip would be 20%, so you’d be paying $60 for a trim every 3-4 weeks? Heck no.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

@trubandloki

It sounds like she likes to say things she does not mean because you say you have left before and come back.

In my experience, a lot of farriers/trimmers are a lot more flexible in their, um, policies when they are building their business up, less so when their books are full.