05/03/2026
"ISO farrier who doesn't charge an arm and a leg"
This essay will be a compilation of thoughts that have been swirling around for awhile..... in which I'll attempt basic math with loose interpretation of some numbers. If you're going to be a nerd about my numbers, you're missing the point.
First, being a farrier is a niche skill in high demand. The United States has the largest horse population in the world with 6-10 million horses. With only 28,000 farriers estimated by the American Farriers Journal, every farrier should have 285 or more horses on their schedule to ensure all horses have hoof care (assuming an average of 8 million horses).
285 horses = 71 horses/week, 10 horses a day, 7 days a week.
Don't want to work every day with no break, forever and ever?
Then it's 15 horses a day, 5 days a week.
Some farriers can handle that workload. I personally cannot.
Assuming all your clients live 0 minutes away from you, everyone stands well, horses are ready for you, and you have no shenanigans, you're looking at 5 - 7 hours/day for barefoot trims on 15 horses. That's the most unrealistic math I've ever done 😂.
If you're doing half sets, full sets, or glue ons, I'm not sure many farriers could/should do 15 of those a day. And you're looking at a 15 hour day minimum without any travel time or interruptions.
Farriers come to you, so add in realistic travel time and their hours spent working get longer, with less horses they can get to in daylight.
Second, you want a GOOD farrier. General standards would be: shows up, communicates, is reasonably skilled and knowledgeable at the craft, is friendly to you and your horse. Rates will vary. You can have fast, good, and cheap but never all three at the same time.
Out of those 28,000 farriers, not all of them are good.
Third, some of you have never run your own business so you don't understand what happens behind the scenes.
When you go buy a new car and you don't like the price, you shop around or negotiate with the sales person. But you know the salesperson ultimately isn't in charge or control of the market rate. When you go grocery shopping and prices have gone up, you may put something back on the shelf, but you don't yell at the cashier on your way out. They have nothing to do with rising costs.
But those are big corporations. Your farrier is a small business. You're looking at the person who sets their rates. When you say things like "I can't believe what I'm being charged for shoes these days...." you're saying you don't think your farrier should be able to pay their bills and run a successful business. You won't find the email address of the Toyota CFO and write them a strongly worded letter about the price of your new car. But you will fuss and complain about your farrier bill to their face or behind their back.
Make that make sense....
There is a difference between saying "that's not in my budget right now" and "I can't believe you charge an arm and a leg for nailing on some shoes."
I don't personally know a single farrier who is overcharging for their business model. Whether they are talented at their craft is up to you to decide. But farriery is a career. Our business must be profitable for it to be sustainable.
Fourth, hoof care is essential and every horse needs it on a regular basis. So we're back to the original dilemma - millions of horses and not enough (good) farriers.
Solutions?
Farriers: insist on safe working conditions, charge whatever you need to, and take care of yourself so you can go the distance.
Owners: get your horses trained to stand better, don't have more horses than you can afford, and consider yourself lucky (considering the aforementioned math) if you have a good farrier.
If you made it this far - the image I chose is of my new composite toe boots to protect my injured foot. Fitting, I think.
PS - if this comes across as unsympathetic to owners....I can see why. Owning horses is becoming more and more expensive, prohibitively so for many people. But that isn't due to farrier prices.
PPS - if you think my little Grinch heart has shrunk too small, don't worry. I'm still kissing pony noses and loving our equine friends. Perhaps this is just the beginning of my seasonal depression 🙃 summer is almost here.......🐎
