The Winning Edge Farrier

08/16/2023

So this young lady was at her grandma’s house the other day while I was shoeing and trimming when it came time to trim the donkey she wanted to help, so if you blow up the second picture and see what she wants to be when she grows up these are the reasons other then helping horses that make my job so damn amazing ❤️🦄

07/31/2023

The list is endless but thank you 🤎

05/28/2023

05/05/2023

Dragons first sliders, I’ve loved watching this c**t grow can’t wait to see what he does

05/03/2023

Service announcement to all clients PAYMENT is DUE at time of service! If payment is not received within 24hrs there will be a $20 service charge applied and it will increase per day after that. Thank you all for your business and cooperation!

03/18/2023

I’ve done DeeDee’s feet since she was 3yrs old we’ve been through a lot, a little founder due to Cushings syndrome but she has pulled though and her feet have made an incredible recovery 🦄💕

02/04/2023

First go at jump welding and it was a success

01/11/2023

Not the best photos of Dusty’s feet but I certainly was happy with them in person 💕 love me a dustbunny 🦄

11/25/2022

Brego’s feet made a huge improvement in the 2 years I’ve worked on him last week I got to shoe him one more time before he’s on to his new home 💕

11/02/2022

Yesterdays little bit of therapy much thanks to Roscoe for being a good boy

10/05/2022

Couldn’t be more true makes me thankful for the good years good clients and their horses

09/22/2022

Dusty’s feet from the other day gonna miss this guy 💕

09/22/2022

05/11/2022

When your young and naughty about doing your hinds you get to take a nap and make it much easier for me to do my job and do a good job sorry Spartan (not sorry) 😂

05/11/2022

One year later and I’m much happier with how journey turned out

05/06/2022

The key to preventing the "pergolide veil" when starting or increasing pergolide/Prascend is to titrate the dose and, when possible, use APF. More details here: https://bit.ly/2Nm87Zu. Scroll down to the proceedings from Dr. Eleanor Kellon's presentation from the 2015 NO Laminitis! Conference titled ANCILLARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR HORSES WITH LAMINITIS AND METABOLIC SYNDROME. Proceedings may be downloaded free.

05/05/2022

Dee Dee looking good

04/15/2022

Mr. B got some fronts to help out with some toe cracks

04/09/2022

Feels really good to bring one back to where then need to be

03/30/2022

A little white line treatment today more pictures and X-rays to come later

03/15/2022

03/09/2022

Journey shoes from last Friday

02/14/2022

Finally some moisture in feet makes much easier to trim especially when they are drafts

01/07/2022

All clients this is good to know
Love my veterinarians!

Good information from American Association of Equine Practitioners🐴

01/06/2022

Farrier safety

When it comes to safety, a farrier only has control of two things -- who we work for and whether we work on the horse.

Another way to say that, is that our clients have complete control over our safety. All we can do is decide whether or not to work for you.

This is a simplification, of course. We can chat about how to improve working conditions... we can chat about training your horse ... We can talk about how running a w**d-eater isn't a great idea during a shoeing appointment .... Wait; these are all still things that the client controls.

The reality of many (most) horse owners is that they have little to no concern for farrier safety.

"Wait wait, whoa! I don't want my farrier hurt!"
Of course not. But saying it and doing it are two different things.

(lets be super clear on one point; I have a full book of clients that respect my time and safety. I'm not writing this for my current clients. Thank you to all my current clients! I appreciate you!!!)

If you neglect your horse's hooves to the point that their deep thrush is bleeding... you are endangering my life. That poor horse's frog and sole are so thin due to bacterial invasion that the moment my hoof pick touches it; two things happen, the sensitive hoof is damaged, and I get dealt a life-threatening kick.

If you don't feed your horse before an appointment and then walk them out to an unfamiliar tie rail, without their buddy (while their buddy eats!), you're putting my life in danger.

"but wait, my horses' are perfect! I just can't keep a farrier. They never last more than six months." I guarantee you, there is a reason.

This is the key to keeping a farrier: Be the best client you can be. A farrier is always looking to w**d out bad clients, bad horses, and bad working conditions. We want a full book of A+ clients. If you're a C client with a C horse and C conditions... guess what, the clock is ticking. If you last six months with a farrier, that means he/she gave you three chances.

Let's be fair; there is another side to this. New farriers that are new to the trade. A new farrier is building their business, they may be young; they're hungry and trying to pay the bills. New farriers are more willing to work on a bad horse. They haven't learned the hard way yet. They haven't had a time loss injury yet.

Don't take advantage of the new farrier. Don't say things like "Well, I'll just get someone else." I guarantee, there is another farrier down the road, that will work on your ill-mannered horse. That poor guy/gal is hungry and they'll do the work. Don't take advantage of them. Please train your horse.

And farriers... call or text the last farrier when you take on a client that says "the last guy wouldn't show up". Find out why they decided the account wasn't worth it for them.
.. and don't be like Ivan Drago in Rocky 4.
"If he dies, he dies"

01/04/2022

A little funny to start your week.

12/31/2021

Happy New Years to my fellow farriers and to all my clients 🎉🎉

12/24/2021

Merry Christmas 🎄

12/17/2021

Thank you and Merry Christmas little things like this makes a farrier feel truly appreciated

12/05/2021

Cool picture a client took

12/05/2021

Deedee feet looking healthier after her founder episode

11/29/2021

When a farrier asks if your horse stands, these are some of the reasons why.

Every close call I have had with a horse has been with one that someone has said something like “I promise he stands” or “He’s an angel to pick up his feet” or “She loves farrier day”. Shortly after agreeing to work on these horses I usually end up flying through the air, or rolling down an aisle way, or worse, under said horse getting stomped on.

When your horse(s) do not stand to have their feet worked on, this is not a farriers problem. It is yours as an owner. Teaching horses to stand is a process, and while I (and most farriers) will help with the process when a horse is young and truly learning it. But when your 15 yr old half breed kill pen rescue doesn’t stand because you are to scared to pick up its feet and train it, please do not expect us to “cowboy up” or “do it because that’s what i pay you for”. You pay your farriers for a professional service of maintaining your horses feet.

We are not trainers.

We are not there to train your horses to stand.

We are there as a farrier, and personally I will walk away before jeopardizing my career and ability to provide for my family.

Protect your farriers by being honest about your horses, by training your horses, and by providing a safe work environment.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

11/25/2021

To all my clients I’m very thankful for and a prosperous business happy thanksgiving 🦃

11/20/2021

My help while trimming puff today

11/16/2021

10/01/2021

Really starting to love fitting toe clips

09/19/2021

Sometimes these little notes are all you need

09/18/2021

Pennys new shoes

08/24/2021

*because this story is always worth a repost*
The Legend of The Smith and The Devil
Once there was a wise old Smith working at the anvil on shoes for a standing horse. The Devil happened to be strolling by and heard the ring of the anvil as The Smith worked. The Devil was curious about the sound and so he hid behind a huge tree and watched as The Smith forged the shoes for the horse. When the shoes were ready The Smith nailed them on the horse and the owner of the horse happily paid The Smith and trotted the horse down the road and back. The horse seemed happy to have his new shoes and The Devil thought they made the horses feet look nice. The Devil began to think that he must have these amazing shoes himself. He came out from his hiding place and walked toward The Smith. The Devil held out some money and asked The Smith to forge him some new shoes. The wise Smith agreed to the deal and took The Devil’s money, but The Smith was no fool. Knowing that any money given by The Devil would always be cursed The Smith turned and threw the money into the forge Fire and began working on The Devil’s shoes. When it came time to fit the first of the shoes The Smith took the shoe to The Devil, still red hot and drove the first nail straight to the center of The Devils hoof. The Devil screamed in agony. He demanded that The Smith remove the shoe and relieve his pain. The Smith agreed, but on one condition; that from this day forward The Devil must respect the ring of an anvil and he must respect horse shoes. This is why Smiths tap the anvils between hammer blows, to make sure The Devil hears us and knows to stay away. And it’s the reason that horseshoes protect your home. The Devil must respect the protection they hold.

06/24/2021