Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 am to 6 pm. No one should be calling or texting after 9pm or before 9 am, and if it is an emergency, please leave a text or message. Loss of a shoe is not an emergency and can always wait until the following morning. If there is blood or the horse cannot stand on all four legs, then you need to call a Veterinarian. I am absolutely not available on the weekends. Please respect my family time and obligations.
I need a safe, clean, level, well-lit area to work in all seasons, preferably a barn, but definitely covered shelter. I require an owner or handler present at all times. I do not want to be injured and laying somewhere to be found dead or close to death. It only takes a moment for even the best horse to become frightened or stung by an insect. Peace and quiet are necessary for me to do my best work. The more relaxed the horse is, the easier it is to work. These precautions will ensure a good job with your horse's safety and mine.
Prepare for Our Appointment: Prior to my arrival, please make sure your equine is haltered, groomed, hooves picked, FLY SPRAYED and ready to be worked on when I get there. I do not catch horses as I am not their human and it is a liability issue. I will not get injured by another horse kicking out as it runs by or tries to run over me at the gate, etc.
01.) Please do NOT mindlessly shed, fly spray or groom your equine while they're being worked on by your farrier! I have other clients we need to see and prefer me not to be covered in hair; or have it get in my eyes while we work. Also the horse needs to pay attention to me while I am working on it.
02.) Please do NOT get your equine wet prior to your appointment! (Wet legs cause wet gloves. Wet gloves cause painful blisters and ice-cold hands in the winter!) If you have to wash them, make sure they are completely dry by the time I arrive. Wet makes my gloves, tools and chaps ruined and I have other appointments where I don't have time to get dry or all the mud off of myself and my tools.
03.) Do NOT lock your equine up for days in a small enclosure and expect them to stand still to be worked on! Please lunge or ride them at least a half hour before your appointment!
04.) Do NOT make excuses for your equine's poor behavior! Nor is it appropriate to blame THEIR ill-manners (or refusal to stand still) on your farrier!!!!
05.) Do NOT expect your farrier to work in a chaotic or unsafe environment. Remove all distractions to set the stage for your appointment. (Kids, cellphones, dogs, trash or feeding up other horses during appointments, etc...)
06.) Do NOT discipline your equine while your farrier is under them! You can get me seriously injured or killed. Please allow me to discipline while I am working.
07.) Do NOT be under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the time your farrier appointment! This energy can transfer to the equine and is a recipe for the perfect storm!
08.) Please remember to notify your farrier IMMEDIATELY if you no longer have your equine. (If you rehome them, remember to pass your farrier's contact information on to the new family to prevent their hoof-care from being interrupted.)
09.) Please do NOT reschedule your appointment UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! I try to keep people in the same area scheduled on the same day. It is difficult to make this work if I have to move people around. I also schedule the maximum horses I can safely work on in a day and it is hard to make more work on myself on any given day. Imagine doubling your workload on any given day. Please do not expect me to rush to your horse on a day that an appointment is not scheduled. Your lack of planning is not an emergency for me.
Acceptable reasons for rescheduling would be: Foul or unsafe weather, Barn's burning down, horses sick or dead or injured, You're sick or dead, Farrier is in traction, sick or dead, immediate family emergency or accident.
10.) Please allow a reasonable amount of time for your farrier to work on your equine/s. It takes TIME to do a GOOD job! If you have a pressing engagement following your appointment, please let me know so I can have a helper to come help me.
11.) Please do NOT lie to your farrier during your phone interview about your equine's level of training! (Just because you can pick up their hoof for five seconds does NOT mean they are properly trained to be safely worked on by a professional farrier!
Tips on How to Save Money on your Farrier Bill
The next time you think your horse can go past their shoeing or trimming schedule, and that it won't hurt them, here's some sobering facts to consider: "1 cm of toe length can add 50 kilos (110 POUNDS!!!) of force on the tendons of the lower leg during the gallop. Tendons can FAIL as soon as 10,000 cycles and horses undergo *228 cycles per mile." (*That's less than 42 miles for those of you reaching for your calculators!)
~ Quote by Dr. Renate Weller (International Hoof Care Summit)
1. KEEP THEM ON SCHEDULE! Excessive growth is COMPLETELY avoidable by KEEPING your equine ON SCHEDULE! You are NOT saving money by skipping appointments! In fact, you are only costing yourself MORE money in excessive growth fees, corrective shoeing, and VET BILLS! The DAMAGE (*See above quote!) caused by hoof-care neglect can sometimes be irreversible and in extreme cases, life-threatening! When it gets to that point, it's not just neglect, it's ANIMAL CRUELTY and ABUSE!
Lack of proper hoof care can cause painful degenerative bone disease (arthritis), FOUNDER, LAMINITIS, side-bone, ring-bone, navicular, toe and quarter cracks, flares, imbalances, tripping (possibly falling and breaking a leg or killing the rider and/or your horse!), deformities, under run heels, suspensory problems, blown knees and tendons; which can make it impossible for them to lay down or get up, etc. If you can't afford regularly scheduled proper hoof-care by a PROFESSIONAL farrier , you CAN'T afford a horse!
2. TRAIN YOUR HORSE TO STAND STILL! I do not train horses for the farrier. That is a job for a trainer. To ensure your horse's safety and yours, I do NOT work on dangerous, untrained equines! If it takes me longer to work on your horse because they're dancing around, snatching their hooves off the stand, kicking, rearing, etc. and you refuse to make them stand still, I will pack up and leave. My time is valuable! My body is the only one I get in this lifetime! Both are irreplaceable! My other clients and their horses need me and deserve to have me whole and intact.
I look forward to helping you and your horse achieve a great level of hoof care and health!
Happy Trails,
Shannon Cole Veloz APF I, ESMT
945-333-0963 happycarriage@yahoo.com