Female Farriers?

[ChocoMare]

While I’m a barefoot trimmer on the side (evenings & weekends), you do have to consider the toll it takes on the body. The back is the most obvious, of course, but also consider shoulder. Many folks wind up with torn rotator cuffs and general arthritis. I’m only 48, but have obvious arthritis in my left shoulder (saw the films last week). I get by on Aleve or Ibuprofen However, I have now stopped taking new clients and have even let 3 go by the wayside to bring me down to 27 horses.

The key to standing out from the average trimmer/farrier, whether male or female, is to be super “White Collar” professional in scheduling, being on time and communicating promptly & politely when things come up (if you’re gonna be late or need to reschedule). How many rants have we read right here on COTH “My farrier won’t call me back! or Why won’t they arrive on time?!”

Also, if you can increase your knowledge of how diet, environment & exercise affects the hoof, you can bring to your clients a more Holistic approach to hoof care (whether bare or shod) – something most farriers do not do.

As a trimmer, I see the effects that high sugar/starch diets have on the hooves and can draw on my personal research & education to guide (gently ;)) the owner towards a more beneficial diet for their horse to improve the hoof that is put out. I also discuss the environment the horse lives in with the owner: are they stalled many hours a day, what is their turnout situation (lotsa grass, dirt, rocks, etc.) and how they can make improvements that benefit the hoof.

Anything you can do to broaden the offerings you provide to the client, do it. I’ll use my farrier/trimmer as an example (she trained me): She started out as a traditional farrier, went thru school, etc. etc. BUT then she added to her knowledge base by studying Barefoot trimming (Ramey, Bowker, Jackson, Welz, etc.) - This way she can offer the best service to the horse & owner that meets the needs of both. This sets her apart in the industry and gets her more clients than she can sometimes handle.

[red_mares]

If a woman’s competent, no problem. Personally, I haven’t found any that I’d use regularly. I generally had a hard time finding a farrier anyway; I didn’t want h/j or QH feet on my ASB.

[merrygoround]

You sound as though you are a good size, and have the physical conditioning necessary.

The next thing to do is pick a good school of farriery and then apprentice with a good farrier. The latter may be hard. The really good ones have people waiting to be taken on, and some really good ones just like working alone.

Then when you’ve done that do some specialty work shops with recognized people in the field.

[walktrot]

My farrier is female and I think one of the best around, man or woman. She’s one of those soaking-wet 100 pounders and is all muscle. We’ve been using her for around 14 years, from when she was just getting started. She’s in her mid-50’s and had a hip replaced a couple of summers ago. She got us in right before the surgery (on schedule at 6 weeks) and we were the first customer 6 weeks later when she went back to work.

She’s done a lot of work for local vets, and also is really great about answering questions and educating her clients. She also has a Ph.D. in entomology (bug behavior) although that didn’t do much to prepare her for shoeing.

[RMJacobs]

As with other professions, I find that farriers are individuals, and I don’t draw any conclusions about gender. I’ve had both male and female farriers. The only one I really disliked was a man; the relationship was very short-lived. I had another male farrier whom I liked a lot, but was flakey about showing up. The one female farrier I had was great with my Hackney, fine with my larger pony, but just did not get along with my mare. In terms of skill, she always did an excellent job.

My current farrier (male) is the most patient person I have ever known. My horses love him, and he sits on the ground to trim my elderly mare because she has trouble picking up her feet long enough to be trimmed (the poor girl tries hard but just can’t do it). She worships him. He’s an excellent farrier to boot, so I live in fear of him being injured and unable to work.

Rebecca

[Ceylon_Star]

My vet and farrier are both female. My pony is more comfortable with women, so it works out.

Honestly, the only reason I ended up with the farrier I have now is she was the only one in the area willing to come try working on my pony. He came to me with a history of being bad for farriers (stemming from his first ever trim where a farrier tied his leg up to prevent him putting it down, he panicked and flipped himself and couldn’t get up, so he had feet issues for a good year after I got him), and L was the only one willing to even come take a look at him. I gave pony some light sedation the first time, and she told me not to sedate the next time. Every single time she comes out, he’s better and better, and she says she looks forward to doing him a lot more than the gelding she does (my friend used to lease him, which is how I met and got to talking with L).

She doesn’t seem to have any issues finding clients due to her gender, in fact she seems to have problems fitting everyone in! She’s relatively new to the area, but I like her work a lot better than some of the men in the industry around here. She’s also INFINITELY better than the two other female farriers in the area (one is a self taught barefoot trimmer, the other went to farrier school but how she passed the exam is beyond me).

[goodhors]

Farriers don’t HAVE to quit working or go to meds, body issues CAN BE FIXED if you go to the Dr. With any physical job, parts may get more used, worn, but with modern medicine, there are lots of options unavailable in the past.

Rotator Cuff surgery CAN make it work like new again, IF you get in and get the work done. Waiting? Very bad idea because those parts may break, tear, snap, and chances of healing well are greatly reduced. Couple people I know waited, now has much less range of motion because their ligament/tendon across the shoulder just frayed and snapped. Having shortened tendon to put together, doesn’t heal like one never snapped and still full length. Bone remodeling is possible, to remove the sharp edge cutting into tendon.

Elbow surgeries ARE possible too, so living with pain, quitting a job you love, is not required in daily life.

Health Insurance on you, WILL help pay for these repairs! But as a Farrier, you must BUY the policy, pay the payments to get yourself fixed up when needed. Taking care of YOURSELF is a legitimate business expense, so you need to invest in a Health Policy that will cover injuries as well as wear-and-tear issues of working. I would recommend finding a Sports Orthopedic Dr. to get checked by. They seem to expect a higher level of activity, recovery, than most other Orthopedic folks. You really get tired of hearing “Well you ARE xx years old, things don’t work like when you were 20.” Especially hard when only one arm or shoulder works fine, other is damaged. Dr.s SHOULD be able to get both working well, not give up on you. Sports Therapy centers do a lot better, with higher expectations of you in good recovery, than average Rehab places after helpful surgeries. We only use Sports Therapy places now, they are much more positive in all aspects of your Therapy sessions and final goals.

[TWH_Girl]

I really don’t care what gender, color, religion, etc. my farrier is, as long as I can count on him/her and it’s a competent person. I had a female farrier once, and did not care for her work, but it had nothing to do with being a female. I’ve had male farriers whose work I did not like either.

[candyappy]

To me gender wouldn’t be the issue. Doing it right is. As long as you are physically able to do all that a client needs done, then give it a try. One thing that seems to be equal among all farriers who have been at it a long time/ full time is back issues. Might want to think about something to " fall back on" for the future.

[Trakehner]

Couldn’t give a damn what my farrier’s plumbling is. I’ve never had a female farrier, lots of female vets though (some wonderful ones).

The female farriers I’ve mostly been around seemed to do the barefoot stuff etc. I had no interest in.

[jules57]

Female here, who went to farrier school five years ago. I don’t shoe/trim for a living; I just do my own right now. Maybe someday I’ll build up a small practice. The most difficult thing for me was learning the forging part, as it was a completely alien set of skills I had to learn. I’m still not great with anvil and forge. We did learn in school how to work to make it less wearing on the body. We used Hoofjacks, and I use one now. I am developing a good eye for a trim, and have not lamed my horses yet!