[slanabhaileequine]

my neighbor has a Pioneer forecart and he has a plow that is attached to it. He uses it for everything from snow to dirt to plowing mud. It works pretty slick. It is about 6′.

[slanabhaileequine]

I used to help some farmers up to the County (Aroostock County for those outa statahs) and the old man used to talk about hauling to Patah house. It took me three days I figured out he meant the Potato Barn.

[slanabhaileequine]

Yeah, Mitch, I like Steve too. I have followed the other Steve and he is good as well.

[slanabhaileequine]

There are only three reasons to shoe. Protection, Correction or Traction. If you are logging in craggy ground or going over hard core rocky terrain you might benefit from the Protection. If you founder or have a serious hoof wall crack, then shoeing for Correction might be beneficial. If you drive on asphalt or work on ice then definitely shoes with some traction device, borium or drill tec might be in order. There are a thousand different examples but they all come under these three classifications.
Boots are good. The most important piece of advice is to get some that fit right. You can hurt you guys if they aren’t right. I like Easy Boots myself.
All 7 of my horses are barefoot. They don’t run down the road, well, unless you count the times they break out. We don’t ride them on aggressive terrain. For the most part, they have good feet. Of the 7 there are two that if we were to start aggressive trail riding or pulling a cart down the road or, I don’t know, take to Acadia National Park and ride the stone dust and cobblestone Carriage paths, I will have to shoe. The other 5, I would start without shoes and evaluate closely.

[slanabhaileequine]

Carl, do you have a list of what is still available?
thanks
d

[slanabhaileequine]

Will send you an email directly, Bill

[slanabhaileequine]

I am dave and live in Searsmont, ME. Just around the corner from all of you.

[slanabhaileequine]

Pam or any other cooking spray sprayed on the shoe or sole of the hoof works wonders. just saying

[slanabhaileequine]

I was running thru the older messages trying to get a feel for the site before jumping and I couldn’t resist jumping in here. I am new to the forum. Hi, I am Dave. I am a farrier and was surprised to hear some of the prices givem on both ends of the spectrum. I know that the Amish Farriers are cheaper than I am but I don’t any that are 25 bucks. I have heard 40 or 50 for drafts but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. I believe you. But the simple economics of that equation puzzle me unless they are making the shoes. A standard saddle horse shoe costs between 4 and 12 dollars a pair. A quick check of Horseshoes Plus, the supplier I use in NH, shows a standard unclipped Draft sized Keg shoe costs 10 dollars. A steel toe clipped Workhorse shoe, 16. These are with out toe or heel caulks. Will Lent, a tremendous shoer and shoemaker in Michigan sells shoes nbetween 18 and 35 dollars. These are your Scotch bottoms and heel and toe caulked shoes. I use Borium on my shoes for traction at 4-6 dollars a stick and drill tech runs 12-13. Nails are 2-3 dollars more per 250 count. So, just doing the math, you are looking at a minimum of around 12 dollars in supplies. Minimum. Then add in time.
I am not the cheapest farrier around. And I am far from the most expensive. Being totally honest, most farriers don’t want to do Drafts. Reasoning is simple. Heavy, takes longer and let’s be honest, all of OUR horses are well behaved but there are some out there that aren’t and that is bad enough to deal with in a 1000 Thoroughbred, let alone a 2200 pound Perch. So they will tell you they will shoe your horse but will double their price from their highest priced saddle horse to discourage people from calling them. And that’s how you wind up at 200-400.
So that leaves guys like me who own a draft. I kind of have to trim and shoe drafts. I do charge more than my saddle horses, but not much. I charge 35 for trims, 60 for fronts and 80 for all four as a base line fee on saddle horses. I do charge less for trimming minis. On a draft, depending on how big they are and how well behaved, charge 45-55 for trims and 80 and 100 for shoeing. Now, again, that is base line. Borium, studs, rocker toes all 5 more. Egg bars, heart bars and regular bars are priced accordingly as are clips, toe and heel caulks. Now, I have been trying to get into the race track some and that is an entirely different ball game!
So that is my story on economics of shoeing a draft. Halfies? I would charge you like I do a saddle horse, with an additional little bit for any extra over the standard shoe. Resets, well that depends on how much I like you!
Oh, and the small Amish community here has a farrier who I don’t think wants to be the community farrier let alone going off site. He asked me the other day how much I would charge him for the Belgians. I smiled and said, depends on how good they are!

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