Thursday, June 3, 2010

Would YOU Ever HIre This Farrier?

At least I think this guy is a Farrier. I can't think of any other reason anyone would build this...



So, I ask the question. Would you ever hire a man that feels the need to build one of these above, so he could shoe horses in relative safety and 'comfort'? 
The ad explains why he built this contraption, and its the contraption that is up for sale here, not the horse for once. 

Rock solid horseshoeing stock I built out of heavy channel iron and pipe when I had some hard to shoe horses. Pressure treated 2x8 floor. Big enough and strong enough to handle the bronciest draft horses or saddle stock for trimming shoeing or doctoring. That's a 14.5 arabian in the pictures for scale. (The dog isn't for sale) $700 OBO Serious inquiries only please. Please put Bronc in your title so I know you aren't some nigerian scammer.

I suppose out in Wyoming there might actually be a need for this contraption as there are still ranches that run herds of horses that aren't handled all that often. 

Right? 

Ok, I'm done trying to convince myself that this is a good idea. 


Not only is there straps around this horse's barrel like a front and back cinch, this horse also has his foot tied to the metal bar, with what looks to be NON-Breakable Nylon Webbing? 

You know...You have to have some semblance of control over your horse to even get him into this thing to begin with. A 'broncy draft' won't even get into it unless you either force him (a draft? good luck...) or he willingly follows you in. 

I don't buy this at all. 

This guy just figured out a way to shortcut the process. 

Stocks have their place in the equine world. I'm not against using them for veterinary situations. But to confine a horse just to shoe him? That screams a farrier that decided he didn't want to learn how to handle horses the right way, and built this mess to do the work for him. 

That tied foot scares me the most, I think. All I can see is a broken, twisted leg coming out of that...

Thanks Sue! Love what you send me!

5 comments:

  1. I'm with you on the part about trying to get the 'bronciest' horse INTO the contraption. That's the part that most people seem to miss. If the horse is so hard to control in the first place- how are you supposed to get them into something like this or the sooper dooper strange & fancy things on their head, etc. to begin with?

    What makes people think the horse will willingly jump right in again the next time? And why do I have this strange feeling the dog is not getting his head kicked off, only because the horses leg is tied up? Not all horses like dogs...

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  2. "I suppose out in Wyoming there might actually be a need for this contraption as there are still ranches that run herds of horses that aren't handled all that often. Right?"

    Yes, actually. At least in western Nebraska, where I lived.

    I have seen something like this used by caring, smart horse people who shoe/trim their own horses. They can really be a lifesaver if you have a good horse and a bad back. :)

    I don't know that I would try it with a "bronc," but shoeing stocks are not that uncommon.

    Imagine if you had a BLM/range horse that you recently got, or a horse that had had a traumatic shoeing experience in its past. If it is in desperate need of a trim or an abscess cleaning or whatever, but just can't be trusted to stand for the farrier, why not ace it and put it in the stocks? Better than letting a sore (but hard-to-handle) horse suffer through weeks of training, IMO.

    I'd replace that nylon strap with leather or twine, though. :)

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  3. I trim horses and I wouldn't be against using a stock ( not this one though). Not everyone feels the need to train their horses to pick up and hold their feet - which is too bad. A stock would be nice for many drafts that like to lean on the farrier. And yeah, I know horses that don't want to stand still comes with the territory, but OWNERS need to get in the habit of picking up their horse's feet daily and handling them. I clean out hooves that probably haven't seen a hoof pick since the last time I trimmed them.

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  4. I don't know if I'd use twine to tie up a foot - I suddenly have visions of that twine slicing through tendons and fetlocks... The nylon isn't much better, but its at least softer and wider. If one must use a tie, what about a rubber bike tire insert? Soft, flexible, and not going to do much damage if the horse fights?

    I've been the head holder of many horses for the farrier that just would not cooperate for whatever reason. Usually, for the worst of them, We pick up the opposite hoof... so if they are touchy about a right hind, we'll also pick up the left fore. They still have the two to balance on, but are just off balance enough to have trouble fighting. We never tied up that hoof though, and if the horse looked like it was in trouble of falling, the other leg got put down immediately.

    I'm sure there were better solutions out there, but the farrier we had, we used because he was very anti violence. He didn't believe in a lot of the old farrier ways of kicking in the belly, and whatnot. If he couldn't work with a horse, he'd make extra visits (at the owners charge of course) to come out and just work with the horse.

    He was one of a kind though, and no longer shoes in the same area I'm in.

    I guess its just a matter of personal preference, but I just can't see using one of these myself.

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  5. For those of you who fully don't understand and actually have any knowledge of what you're referring to or talking about. I have to comment on this. The reason why stocks are used is because physically when you're working on draft horses it is physically impossible to hold up a draft horse's foot for the length of time needed. That's why 90% of horses that are drafts go without farrier care because of the fact that most stocks are not portable. So all y'all's ignorance and lack of proper education actually suggest that a horse should go without care completely because of the physical inability for 99% of farriers to be able to hold up a 2,000 lb horses foot!!!!
    not to mention they cannot support themselves for that time having something like this allows their feet to be picked up and secured in a place that is comfortable for them - the chains that are actually put in place to prevent any serious accidents like the horse moving and tipping the stock over and causing fatal injury.. second of all
    the other option is is most stocks that are used on regular horses is for the safety of horses that can't bear weight by themselves like horses with muscular diseases that can't bear the weight of lifting up their foot. Or horses that are seriously abused and neglected and deathly afraid of the can cause serious damage and harm to not only the handler and the farrier- ignorance is bliss... And all of you commenting on this with absolutely no knowledge or brains- stop breeding!!! Please

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