trimming courses?

[shesellsshesellsbytheseashore]

I was wondering if there are any decent barefoot trimming courses?

Farrier is an absolute arse and never ever turns up on the day he says he will - then i have to constantly harrass and ring for 2 weeks before he will eventually answer - slot me in, then not turn up again, this cycle continues until he eventually does turn up and then I have to repeat the whole cycle next time he's due.

I wouldn't mind so much if 1) i lived near to where I keep the horses and 2) i wasn't working 3 jobs and having to take time off to wait around and then having to take more time off the next time he says hes going to turn up and doesn't and then taking more time off again!

I've tried asking around for another farrier but either they don't want to come out and trim 2 horses because shoeing is more worth their time, or they genuinely have too many clients on their books.

I did have an EP for a while but just could no longer afford the £120 (2 horses) every time they came out.

So i'm thinking of going on a course so that i can at least address the overgrowth in between him not bothering to turn up

I'm not really interested in becoming qualified or anything like that I would just like to be able to trim them decently in between visits that should be 5 weeks but end up being 10-12 weeks!

I did a course years ago, it was with Les Sparks who did it over two days and we practised invite of wood before trimming horses under supervision. It is useful for uncomplicated horses with no issues and basic blog trimming isn't rocket science, you essentially balance the hoof, and providing it is trimmed without hacking at bars and sole the horses natural movement will help. I've no idea of Les still does the courses though.

cant find anything on google for Les Sparks sadly

There used to be several 'hoof trimming for owner' type courses in the UK, usually over a two day period involving trimming swedes and then moving on to cadaver legs. I think the various schools have stopped offering these now in a bid to present themselves as more professional, eg they are not encouraging horse owners to give it a go themselves. Many trimmers however will happily give you some pointers particularly if you were going to use something like the radius rasp to keep a bevel applied between trims, rather than full out trimming.

I did find this UK based course however which could be interesting:

barefoothorsemag.com/product/3-day-horse-hoofcare-workshops/?v=79cba1185463

I think you need hands-on training. I was lucky, I was trained by a professional trimmer from the KC La Pierre method. Lara Sportelli has an excellent reputation holistichorseshoofcare.weebly.com/barefoot-hoof-care-and-trimming-courses.html

Keep asking and find a better farrier, there will be one out there for you. Doing a two or three day course to learn to trim is ridiculous unless your equines are field ornaments. Can you meet with a neighbour and make it a more worthwhile job?

Look up Pete Ramey and/or Peter Laidley. They both have good articles on their website.
I have Pete's book Making Natural Hoof Care Work for You which is very good.
I had a lovely farrier who taught me to do in between trim tidy ups, but sadly he's retired.

I wouldn't want to do them myself. We did have a similar problem with getting a farrier to come and do 3 trims and 1 shoes on the old yard. I solved it by paying 25% more and now have a very loyal farrier who happily comes to my new yard for 1 fronts and 1 trim.

Have you tried other farriers, or newly qualified ones or a semi retired one who just wants to do a few a day rather than a jam packed diary. I am sure there is a database somewhere of registered farriers and the area they work in.

Also, always book the first appointment of the day. Applies to vets, saddle fitters, clippers and basically anyone who is an equine professional. They might be a bit late if they get an emergency call first thing but the later in the day, the later they are I find.

Whereabouts are you OP, someone might be able to recommend a farrier local to you.

Diy barefoot trimming falls into the same category as diy gynaecology for me - why on Earth would you have a go at it yourself? The likely issue you have is that you don’t want to pay what good hoofcare from a reliable professional costs. I pay more for my farrier than the average farrier costs in my area, and he is 100% punctual, reliable and available at emergency notice. I could pay less and get a poorer service, but I subscribe to the ‘no foot, no horse’ attitude and am happy to have my horses maintained so I can continue to ride them and keep them healthy. He has shod mine, trimmed those that don’t wear shoes, and carried out remedial work on both shod and unshod horses. It doesn’t matter to him whether he is putting a shoe on or not, shoeing is not worth more to him, he is there to keep the horse healthy and functioning. In your shoes (pun intended) I would keep looking for a reputable trimmer or farrier, and accept that hoofcare is a specialised skill that specialists can charge a pretty sum for.