Dark Horse Farrier Service & Blacksmithing

Dark Horse Farrier Service & Blacksmithing Mobile farrier serving Bryan/College Station and surrounding areas. Hot and corrective shoeing, han Promoting my farrier business.
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I am a former United States Marine turned farrier. I am a graduate of Heartland Horseshoeing School, which is run by Chris, Kelly and Cody Gregory. I specialize in hot shoeing, handmades, as well as a variety of corrective specialty and therapeutic shoes. I am fully mobile, however if you have an equine or animal that needs more treatment, I have stalls, and a fully fenced pasture.

08/15/2024

More theragun. It does not replace your hands for feeling tension, it just helps get the job done a little faster on stubborn spots.

08/15/2024

Little bit of theragun action for my personal horse. I had to get a new one to help with my pain issues, I'll be bringing it with me most days. She has a lot of stiffness in her neck and shoulders that we work on.

Cool designs on wedge pads today!
05/30/2024

Cool designs on wedge pads today!

Goat trims earlier this week and I must say the goat sling is the superior trimming method, although they look quite pit...
03/08/2024

Goat trims earlier this week and I must say the goat sling is the superior trimming method, although they look quite pitiful in the process 🤣

Pony got the fan, darn flies were giving him hell even with fly spray. Folks it's fly season, to really tackle them you ...
03/08/2024

Pony got the fan, darn flies were giving him hell even with fly spray. Folks it's fly season, to really tackle them you need a fully integrated approach. Collecting manure and either burning, composting or spreading, spread lime in stalling areas, hang fly bags, set out fly predators, spray your premises and animals and or course feed through fly control!

03/05/2024

Who has round bales locally? Can be a mix of grasses or native grass, must be safe for horses.

03/04/2024

Guys guys guys
THE BLUEBONNETS ARE COMING UP!!!

How it started vs how it's going....This old gelding has had a rough trip as far as hoof care is concerned, he has stack...
02/15/2024

How it started vs how it's going....

This old gelding has had a rough trip as far as hoof care is concerned, he has stacked heels, one high foot and one low foot with a toe crack that he's had for years, and he managed to pull off his right front himself. He had on aluminum wedges that weren't fit, so I hot fit Kahn Certifiers. I'll tackle the quarter crack in stages, once his new owners get him on some NSAIDs to manage the arthritic knee, and they'll keep bell boots on him at all times plus treat the cracks with thrush buster. Copper nails don't do a damn thing for shoes that don't fit. Aluminum has it's place but it wasn't doing this horse any good.

11/10/2023

Howdy all, a post here regarding policies, safety and procedures. This is a general post covering a few issues I've encountered over the last year or so. I first want to say to my regular clients how unbelievably thankful I am for you, and your horses. I love what I do, I love helping horses, and this is not directed towards anyone. Many of you know I have no qualms about bringing up an issue I see and I appreciate all of you taking my recommendations directions and experience to heart. I understand horse care and hoof care is a process for some people and horses and I am happy to be a part of that process and to help horses recover from being stuck in a bad situation, auction, or illness, old age, etc.

I understand there are a lot of unscrupulous people in this trade, or people that see this as a hobby and won't schedule and the horses go weeks and weeks overdue. Or God forbid someone gets hurt and is out of commission for weeks or months. This is not for those folks to read so just ignore this completely.

Things I need to address for incoming clients:

Safety is important. Not just for me but for you. I've worked on a lot of older crippled horses, horses with sketchy backgrounds, horses who were mistreated abused and neglected. I will absolutely help train a horse how to stand properly and give you instructions for how to continue between trimming and shoeing. I will absolutely be patient with your elderly horses, or horses with injuries. If you the owner cannot easily pick up feet, I need to know that BEFORE I arrive. In some cases I will recommend Dormosedan, to be mildly sedated to help the animal relax during the trimming or shoeing process, and that is on YOU the owner to acquire via a vet. If a horse cannot pick up their feet with mild sedation, or is striking, rearing, biting, kicking and nothing can be accomplished I will NOT fight with a dangerous animal. I. Will. Not. If we need to fully sedate an animal via vet so a proper trim can be done, so you the owner can establish a good training routine I am absolutely ok with that. It always seems to be a story about how so and so came from hours away, drugged the animal and worked on it just fine. If that's the case they would have continued to do said animal instead of refusing to return your calls. If your animal is dangerous I will discuss this at length with you how to rectify the situation. If you some how feel offended with my recommendations then oh well, but do not risk anyone else's safety.

Keep your facility in reasonable order and clean your animals. I will not work on animals standing up to their fetlocks or higher in f***s and urine. I'm not talking about walking through some p**p, or you know random piles that's part of the job. Horses that are forced to stand and lay down in f***s and urine are miserable, it's no different for me as a farrier to try and pick up feet on an animal that's completely miserable, with rotten feet. It's unsanitary and not appropriate for animals to be kept in that manner.

I'm not a snob about needing a big barn or shoeing area, I'm happy to work under a tree on flat ground weather permitting, in a lean to, a barn, a garage, a car port, wherever, but the working area needs to be organized so I can safely move myself and the horse around. I cannot explain my frustration showing up to work in a complete mess of a barn with stuff piled everywhere, and I've almost gotten killed now a few times to say enough is enough.

Yes, you need to be there to stand with your animals, and catch animals until we establish a rapport. I have plenty of horses I do without the owner present and that is because I know the animals well, I know I can safely retrieve them, tie them and complete my work safely.

Scheduling. I am SO empathetic to scheduling issues. I get it, things happen, weather is bad and not everyone has a decent sized barn, family, doctor trips etc. I will work with you within reason to maintain your horses on a 6 week schedule. I'm not interested in dragging out horses in trims or shoes. I don't care if the last guy did it, in this area horses really need to stay on a 6 week schedule. I have two really small kids that must be in daycare or with a sitter, I have BASICALLY no help with them, no family members to help with them and therefore I work really hard to establish a solid schedule for each week to accommodate current and new clients. I have occasionally set up a Saturday of work, when an issue came up with daycare, and I had a full day of horses lined up. I can do a Saturday to accommodate a pile of horses, it needs to be $600 minimum for me to make that happen.

Respect for Farrier work. I run into this over and over again with folks that say they can't keep a farrier around. It always tends to be the same story of horses that aren't properly cared for, facilities that are a mess, owners that have too many and expect me to basically work for free. The feet are a wreck, the horses won't pick up their feet let alone stand. The owners are totally tuned out to what's going on, and nothing changes. I know there's a lot of drunks, addicts, fly by night types and folks that treat Farriery like a hobby, and won't maintain a consistent schedule, in that case it's not the owners fault. Truthfully as an equine professional have an obligation to bring up any issues I see, wether that be with feeding, how animals are housed, fencing etc. I didn't roll out of bed one day, watch YouTube and decided to start trimming horses. I have a B.S. in Animal Science, with the Equine Certificate, I graduated from a trade school for Farrier work and spent years apprenticing. So when I show up to work, and every time there's a basic husbandry issue that's causing a problem for an animals feet, I will discuss that with an owner. If major issues with behavior and training are not addressed I will not keep those folks on as clients. If a client has an issue with anything I'm saying or doing, you need to voice your concerns so we can discuss that at the time.

Magnetic massage/therapy, stretching and some trigger point massage for my own personal mare today, she benefits from so...
03/30/2023

Magnetic massage/therapy, stretching and some trigger point massage for my own personal mare today, she benefits from some trigger point work in her neck and a solid stretching routine before riding. So, I haven't advertised this as a service yet but I am seeing an uptick in horse owners looking for massage therapy. A quick Google search will lead you to many scholarly articles and studies that show the benefits of magnets. Heck, I get Chiro and massage any chance I can, and I use these exact magnets on my back and body to help reduce pain, and increase healing via increased blood flow. The number one way to heal tissue faster is by increasing blood flow! Following acupuncture meridians is especially beneficial for horses experiencing chronic/acute pain. If nothing else, massage absolutely can help a horse relax and relieve sore muscles especially in heavy training demands. I've personally seen an increase in blood flow in just a few minutes to targeted areas with magnets applied (arthritic hocks, knees etc) via FLIR camera. So stretching, magnetic massage roller, light manual massage, tail decompression, trigger point work and targeted magnets applied, I have no idea how to price it exactly but maybe this process can benefit other horses as well!

Boy howdy this mare is worth her weight in gold. Had the pleasure of trimming sweet Dee last week, this girl will stand ...
03/29/2023

Boy howdy this mare is worth her weight in gold. Had the pleasure of trimming sweet Dee last week, this girl will stand like a statue anywhere, so she got some hoof/coat conditioner too. Farriers will always make the extra effort for good standing horses and clients that care 💕

Today was help the neglected donkey day! This poor thing was abandoned in a pasture for about 5 years, thankfully her ne...
09/30/2022

Today was help the neglected donkey day! This poor thing was abandoned in a pasture for about 5 years, thankfully her new owners found her and decided to help. Between a hand saw, ancient sawzall and a reciprocating saw I think I helped her out. We have a long road to hoof care recovery but this is a solid start, almost a foot of hoof cut off the back feet 🤯 excited to see her recovery process! Thank you for saving Huck and giving her a chance to be loved!!!

Just because the hoof looks decent from the top doesn't make it true from the bottom, the ground is abnormally hard and ...
08/05/2022

Just because the hoof looks decent from the top doesn't make it true from the bottom, the ground is abnormally hard and dry so trimming needs to be approached a little differently but the best thing you can do is stay on schedule! Here you see a before, post propane torch and after. I use a torch on very hard sole to make the trim easier, heating the sole helps the stuff that needs to go detach much faster. By no means is this a "perfect" trim, I like to leave a tad of hoof behind and not wreck my knives in the process for Facebook pictures considering how hard and dry it is right now. I am simply illustrating how the foot can be deceptive from the top side when it's hot and dry! Happy Friday friends!

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Bryan, TX
77808

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