No show from farrier

[Sploodge]

Love my farrier and he's really good with dhorse but his communication is pretty pants. He's 3 weeks late for a trim (worst ever delay) and now just not responding to messages.

How long do I give it before I find someone else? What's reasonable? How does everyone else's farrier manage things when they're behind due to holidays/illness etc?

Find another farrier now. Yours couldn't care less about the welfare of your horse, or his responsibility to customers.

He's been pretty brilliant to be fair and never let me down like this before. I'm inclined to give benefit of the doubt but agree it really doesn't look good.

3 weeks with no Comms, I'd find someone else to cover but if he came back having been taken ill and got behind on his admin or had mixed up his holidays I'd reinstate him as he's been good for so long. Plus you'd might as well find out if the next guy is any good/ has availability at this stage rather than waiting.

You start looking now, you've been dropped. Are you on a yard where other farriers attend? I'd try one of them first.
One trim is probably not worth his while coming for unless there's other work to do in the same place whilst he's there.
I've had my lovely farrier for about 15 years now, I always book the next appointment before he leaves, pay him on the day and make him a coffee in a clean mug. Ponies are stood ready for him and legs as clean and dry as possible if it's wet or winter. It doesn't sound like much but it keeps him happy. If the weathers awful, we'll shoe in a clean stable so we're out of the worst of the weather. I don't have a covered area as such. He turns up more or less on time, lets me know if he's running more than 15 minutes late. I am very lucky in that regard.
There are some shockers out there and apparently there's also a shortage of farriers, so find a decent one and keep them on side. Mine tells me he can't be doing with clients who mess him around and has had a few culls in recent years. Like all of us he really struggled last winter with the awful weather and seriously considered giving up. He was rushed off his feet with extra work from abscesses, including ours. I gave him an extra £20 beer money which he was very reluctant to accept because he really was going above and beyond for us and we were so grateful to him. He does have clients whose horses live in a field and he trims/shoes in the gateway which of course is miserable when it's cold/wet.
Definitely start looking for another one asap and I hope you find a good one.

We were kind of lucky with him when it started, his father was shoeing the other horses on the yard I was on, he was in his last year of the apprenticeship then. I was being messed around by my then farrier, so asked if they might take us on. Now of course the fathers retired and I'm one of his oldest clients. It turns out my field landlord who is also a farrier, trained up the father in the 1970's so it's a small world!
I hope you can find someone better, but it's so important if you want to keep them to treat them well.

Thanks all, I shan't feel bad about approaching others now. I like to think I've always treated him well and that it's been a good relationship so a bit sad really as dhorse really likes him. I'll make enquiries and listen to what he has to say if he reaches out.

You can give the benefit of the doubt if he gets in touch; for next time. Right now your horse is the priority, not the farrier, find someone to trim those tootsies