31/10/2026
I lost a client this week.
Not because I havent done a good job shoeing the clients horse. Not because I didnt show up on time. Not because i didnt handle the horse correctly.
I actually dont know why.
I got a cryptic message about them using another farrier, and that's the last I heard.
The horse industry seems to be abundant in people who change farriers without notice or reason - and honestly, It sucks! The farrier puts their body on the line every time they get under a horse. They show up, they do their best. We take a huge amount of pride in our work - it is tied to our sense of self worth.
Imagine the situation in reverse. Sally goes to work on a Monday morning, and finds a new person sitting at her desk. No explanation . Sally has been replaced. When she asks management "why?" She isnt given a reason. She now has no job, no income, and no idea why. Unacceptable, right?
In the contracting world, and certainly in the farrier world, this happens too often. Ive had long term clients, and people I've considered friends, ignore texts, and then actively avoid me at shows, seemingly to avoid the chance of the "Hey, we must be due to see your horses soon" chat.
Oddly enough, within the last week, I also read a negative review comment on a post, about a farrier not getting back to people in a timely manner.... Interesting, right? If we dont get back to you, its a disaster. But if you dont want to use the farrier anymore, simply ignoring texts and avoiding contact is a perfectly acceptable way to handle it.
When my mentor retired, I doubled my workload, pulling late nights and weekends, to accommodate his clients, who knew me in my former life as his understudy. It put a huge strain on both myself, physically and my time with my family. Fortunately, lots of these people have gone on to become valued clients and more importantly, friends of mine in the last few years.
Sadly, a number of them chose to move on to other farriers - and this happens. A couple had the decency to offer an explanation, one even thanked me for 'filling in' . Most, however, never said a word . After a lot of talk about being "loyal clients, of 20 plus years" they disappeared. Happy to call on me when they found themselves without their farrier - radio silence when no longer needed.
When I am contacted by a new client, one of my first questions is always about who is currently shoeing their horse for them . It's usually answered with an explanation about how they dont like something that farrier has done. At this point, I ask about whether they have discussed this with their farrier . I respect my colleagues. I firmly believe that we should all be given the chance to address, or explain, or 'put right' something that the client isn't happy about, before being fired and replaced.
We dont "own" clients - people are free to use whichever farrier they like. That is, perhaps, one of the hardest parts of this job. We show up for years, shoe the horses, and become invested in our clients journeys. The clients become our friends. We push through the naughty horses and the slow-to-pay , ride the waves of downturns, and social media, and weather and all the other obstacles that this job entails , and at the end of it all, each time we shoe the horse, could be the last. We have no contract that guarantees our client, our income, and therefore, our livelihood is secure. It's all reliant on a good relationship where communication is open.
I'm not sure exactly what it is that I hope this post achieves. Maybe people will think about how they handle their relationship with their farrier. Could be that it will encourage someone to speak up about something they're not currently satisfied with to their own farrier. It would be great to think that it might make someone stop and think before they ghost their farrier.
..or maybe, they'll laugh, and think I am just having another rant 🙃
