Farrier who thinks she is a vet.... (mini rant)

[Vegashorselady]

We have a farrier here in town that thinks she is a vet. I don't use this farrier and here is a good example of why.

My friend's mare is about to have a foal (a stud broke out of his pen at her old barn and bred her mare so this wasn't a planned pregnancy) and this farrier called her up yesterday and told her that the foal was going to die. The farrier said that she had "examined the horse from top to bottom".:rolleyes:. Funny thing is, the vet was just out earlier this week and said the mare looks great and the foal will probably be born in a week.

Now, this is my friend's first horse. She has had the horse for a few years and loves her to death. She never planned on breeding her and is excited and nervous about the foal coming. I talked to my friend for 40 minutes last night telling her that the farrier isn't qualified to give an opinion like that and that if she is worried then call the vet out again.

Last year this same farrier told a guy at my barn that his mares' leg was broken because it was swollen and that his mare was going to have to be put down. The vet came out, gave the mare a shot, wrapped the leg and 3 days later the horse was all better.

I just want to know what this woman is thinking? Why the heck would you go around giving out opinions like this when you are not qualified to give them? Does she realize that she is scaring the crap out of these horse owners for no reason? I know a lot of people that just love her as a farrier but because of this crap I would never let her touch my horses.

Oh yeah! And she made fun of my friend for wanting to camp out at the barn when we think the foal is about to be born. Um, besides being excited and wanting to see her foal being born it is a good idea for my friend to be there in case anything goes wrong, have the vet on speed dial (you know, since the foal is going to die and all:rolleyes:). Why would she discourage my friend from doing that?:doh:

*rant over*

[WashingtonBay]

Farriers, like a lot of horse people, may tend to be pretty opinionated folks. :D Careful how things get misquoted and misunderstood when repeated.

"The horse has a broken leg" might very well have been "It needs to be seen by a vet, for all we know it's broken" to a client who was not wanting to call a vet when the farrier thought she should.

"Your foal is going to die" doesn't sound like it was the start of a conversation. What led up to that? What exactly is her concern?

[Remali]

Wow, she sounds like a nut-job! Hopefully people find out about her and she doesn't ruin any horses or scare any more people. And geez, lots of people camp out at the barn when their mare is going to foal....almost everyone I know does that. Sounds like she likes to talk and thinks she is important and knows it all......

[vicklynn]

Oh I want her, really I do, to come to see my horses, so I can...as Grace, in Will and Grace puts it,,,,"kick your @ss" Heheheheee. I wouldnt really, but Id scare the crapola out of her...hehehe, bet she would quit giving advice.

[Vegashorselady]

Farriers, like a lot of horse people, may tend to be pretty opinionated folks. :D Careful how things get misquoted and misunderstood when repeated.

"The horse has a broken leg" might very well have been "It needs to be seen by a vet, for all we know it's broken" to a client who was not wanting to call a vet when the farrier thought she should.

"Your foal is going to die" doesn't sound like it was the start of a conversation. What led up to that? What exactly is her concern?

Well in the case of the "broken" leg. The farrier was out to shoe the horse. Horse had a swollen leg, vet had been called and was coming out the next day, and the farrier told my cousin and the owner of the horse that she couldn't shoe the horse, she'd never seen a leg that swollen and it had to be broken, the vet wasn't going to be able to do anything, most humane thing would be to put it down.

In the case of the doomed foal she called my friend up and said: I have something to tell you, your foal is going to die, the mare is broken out in hives and it is too cold outside so the foal will die.

Now, don't you think the vet would have said something in both of these cases if they were that concerned. When told the symptoms of the horse with the injured leg, don't you think the vet would have rushed out to the barn if he though the leg might be broken? (by the way, when the vet was told the farriers opinion he laughed...I was there for that) Don't you think that the vet would have said something on Monday if he was worried that the mares hives and the weather meant that the foal would die?

I don't know, I admit that I didn't hear her say these things first hand. However, my friend was pretty upset last night by what this farrier said to her so regardless if it was slightly misquoted or misunderstood it was sitll a doom and gloom, unqualified prognosis she has no business giving. An experienced horse owner would just roll their eyes and call their vet if they had any concerns. However, in these two cases the owners weren't that experienced and it got them all worked up over nothing. We horse people are an opinionated group of people. I guess I feel that the less experienced look to the more experienced for adivice and guidance and that this farrier is abusing these people in a way.

[FoxFireEMT]

Yay sounds like a "different" breed of farrier they have. My farrier always helps & give suggestions but (mainly) because I ask and he's doing just that suggesting. He never comes out & says you need to do this or need to do that. Or your horse is going to be ruined if you do that... I think I wouldnt' ask for that lady back. But that's just my opinion.

[WashingtonBay]

Heh.... okay, I understand. :)

[menagerie]

Hey Vegas... give her one of these! :trout:

[Vegashorselady]

Hey Vegas... give her one of these! :trout:

Lol, I'd like too! Luckily, she's not my farrier. If she was and spouted off crap like that to me I might just have to pack a fish in my pocket.;)

[jeezitsjacki]

ohh I love Will and Grace!! haha sorry random..

on to the point! I find that very annoying as well. Hopefully your friend realizes that the farrier is way out of line here.. and she should stick to listening to her vet :)

[Horserider]

I think she just tries to pretend that she knows more than she does. I bet she doesn't do things like that to more experienced horse owners who probably know more than she does.

She strikes me as very odd though. Why would she say things like that to her customers? If she did that to me I would never have hired her again and I would've referred all my friends to a different farrier. Especially in this economy no one should offend their customers like that since they are her primary source of income most likely.

[OwnedByOurHorses]

Wonder if she is related to the owner of our local feed store.She sounds just like the lady that owns it. Drives us all nuts.You go in there to buy medical supplies for a wound and better only say your just stocking up your first aid kit. other wise she is going to tell you that you are treating it wrong and as a result your horse will end you lame or worse die from you ignorance. When I went in to buy some beta dine to clean a wound my mare received from a bite by another horse, she told me that I need to make a paste of salt and alcohol and apply it to the wound 3x a day to keep her from getting gangrene.

[Vegashorselady]

She strikes me as very odd though. Why would she say things like that to her customers? If she did that to me I would never have hired her again and I would've referred all my friends to a different farrier. Especially in this economy no one should offend their customers like that since they are her primary source of income most likely.

Yeah well, one time she told me that one of her customers was doing crack so... I don't think she really cares what her customers think, just likes to run her mouth.

Anyway, the crack thing is a whole other story I'm not going to get into, lol.

[Vegashorselady]

she told me that I need to make a paste of salt and alcohol and apply it to the wound 3x a day to keep her from getting gangrene.

:hysterical:

Sounds like she's getting this stuff from a book of home remedies published in 1886. You could have some fun with that. I think I'd make up injuries to tell her about just to see what she recommends, would be good for a laugh!

[westmanfarrier]

Whoa, there is a very clear line crossed here. It is a vets job to diagnose by law in most states. Even when a problem is pretty obvious I defer to the vet for a diagnosis, then it is my job as a hoof care professional to help fix the problem.

Same goes for the equine massage, chiropractors, herbalists, whatever. When I was at equine massage school it was pounded to us not to diagnose, that is not our job.

[mouse]

Oh Gosh that farrier is a (pardon me) moron! Can someone stop her? Or just drive her away by not using her! She is even worse than my last farrier who would come and not leave for two hours, talked my ear off about how right she was when the vets were all wrong about horses and how bad such and such a farrier was. Gossip, gossip, gossip.

[Sparrk]

Hey, you're just lucky that it's only the farrier.

Here, everyone thinks they are a vet! :hysterical: