I never thought about tipping farriers until I got my difficult draft mare, and appreciate most farriers do not want to deal with her. She’s gotten better over the years, but if she acts up, then I tip my farrier (especially my current farrier, who is so darn patient with her), even though he often tries to refuse the tip.
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Not generally. I do give a gift at Christmas, and tipped him once otherwise when I first started using him and he was getting noticeable, much-needed changes in my gelding’s very neglected (not by me) feet with trims every 3-4 weeks because I appreciated all of his patience and attention to detail. I’ll keep giving a Christmas gift because my horse is not easy to work on (he’s well behaved, but his conformation is…challenging), but I don’t tip regularly because, as others have said, he sets his rates to cover costs. He’s also not cheap–I pay $150 for just plain, regular shoes up front, and quite often more for various pads and whatnot.
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Ha, no. I pay $350 about every four weeks for my horse’s shoes. That’s a lot on its own.
Wow! You are so generous @ChocoMare . :yes: Dec 7th I’m available. And while I would love to do a road trip to Georgia, not sure my husband would be too happy about that… leaving him with 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 horses and a pony to care for. :lol: He works every Saturday. But will run it past him. And while I don’t have a guest room, I do have the cutest pony on earth! 
And @caryledee, I’m an hour or so south of Nashville. I’m not near Bristol. That’s a lovely area, near the Blue Ridge mountains though. Passed through it many times on my way to Hollins or to Virginia Beach.
You’d be about 4 hours, give or take, from me so that’d be an easy Friday evening’s drive up and home Sunday.
Anyone else nearby want to join us for a mini clinic?
My farrier charges a pretty penny. He deserves it - he does excellent work and he is very very patient with challenging horses.When my mare was shod, I happily paid him his fee. I knew I could get similar quality work from other local farriers - but I also knew that those folks would be less willing to work with my neurotic mare, so I ponied up the cash - but no tip.
Now that mare is retired and barefoot. Farrier was charging a pretty good chunk for a trim even though mare is much easier now simply because of more travel time. So he offered to teach me how to do her feet. You can bet that after THOSE sessions I tipped him - he was going above and beyond for me.
But in general? No. He presumably sets his rates to give himself a livable income.
Nashville is an easy drive for me…and still a nice getaway! 
I’d be up for it if y’all decide to do it!
I tip my farrier every time. His rates are more than reasonable and he is the most dependable farrier I’ve ever found (and will come out at the last minute to tack a shoe back on for no charge).
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My farrier sets a rate that he thinks is fair for the job and the inconvenience of coming to my barn (it is out of the way and he doesn’t have a full day there). Some other clients pay more. Some pay less. I don’t tip, although I have on occasion brought a 6 pack (for the farrier to enjoy at home) or sedatives (for the horse) to keep him happy. :lol:
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I do not tip. My farrier has a barn-full here to do and it’s a good day’s work. He includes his travel time and other expenses in the fee. When the holiday season comes around we do up a gift for him and his apprentice.
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Like some others have said, I do a tip at the holidays. Usually the cost of a shoeing ($110) although this year it’s going to be probably double that because my farrier has really gone above and beyond for us lately.
I don’t tip at regular appointments though. I will occasionally bring the farrier a coffee or smoothie if it’s an especially hot/cold day.
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So what are great Christmas gifts for farriers?
I tip at Christmas and if he comes out at short notice to do me a favor like replace a lost shoe or something, but otherwise, no.
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I tip if the horses are handfuls. I typically have at least five for them to do each time so they get a chunk of change from trimming at $50 each. My RID mare can be a PITA (a lip chain just resting has been shown to keep her attention and from throwing her weight around we’ve found) and the TBs weren’t the best at first. Now that horses have settled down and just let it get done, I don’t usually tip. I tipped more because of difficulty of misbehaving horses. I’ll probably throw a tip in when we start to trim my foal as well.
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Gas cards
Cash
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I don’t tip either. As for a Christmas gift, I send him a great box from Omaha Steaks.
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Love @bingbingbing 's idea - Steaks
As a trimmer, I’d love a gift card to Tractor Supply or Well-Shod.com, gas cards but best of all: Cash. One size fits all!
I tip if there were some unusually unpleasant circumstances the farrier deserved a little something extra for dealing with (extreme weather, rescheduling, “intruders” etc) and around the holidays. I do always try to have a beverage and snack to offer them, pay in cash and HAVE AS SAFE A HORSE AND WORKING AREA AS POSSIBLE READY ON TIME…those mean more to them than a little extra money. Your trimmer sounds like an egotistical psycho…RUN away don’t walk and be glad she won’t take you back. Seriously a “i already know it all think i’m a legend on facebook follow me exclusively” attitude is not one that is helpful to the horse…someone willing to listen to opinions, learn and graciously or at least quietly let what is best for the horse be done is what a horse needs.
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coffee cards, gas cards, massager seat cushions that plug into the truck dash
Money in a nice thank you or seasonal card.
Money is a size fits all, truly.
Any other along with the money is fine too, but money to spend as the giftee choses is king as a gift today.
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