Rio had a visit from one of his favorite people this week! Vince the farrier. I have to say I never fully appreciated my good experiences with farriers until I moved to Central Florida. In over 20 years of horse experience and ownership I think I've used maybe 5 farriers all of which have been absolutely wonderful. Every time I changed farriers it was almost always due to a move, never a farrier problem. And, I can't even count the number of times my farrier has saved a horse from bigger problems. My mare Katie would not have remained as sound or ridable as she did up to the very end of her life if it had not been for good farriers.
I never knew just how lucky I was until I moved from Tallahassee to the central Florida area 2 years ago. In our first year I think I went through 4 farriers in the course of a year and my "never lame" horse had more issues in one year with his feet then he has in his entire life... see previous blogs for just a few examples of our trials and tribulations. I thought maybe it was just me and my bad luck, but after talking to several other people in the area I realized not so much! Apparently its hard to find a decent farrier in this area.
Even my non horsey friends probably have heard the saying your horse is only as good as his feet, If you stop to think about it you have to question God's design of this beautiful animal. Horses weigh easily 1000 plus pounds on average and they carry all that weight on four relatively small feet... its the equivalent of you or I walking around on our fingers... I kid you not... check out dressage Trainer Jane Savoie's awesome comparison of the horse and human skeletal system.
Not only do you have a problem with their feet if they aren't being trimmed correctly, or if the horse develops some sort of foot issue, but how they move and stand with foot issues can translate up the body to bigger muscle skeletal issues causing difficulties when being ridden, and potential soreness or injury to the horse in other areas.
For the last 10 months Rio has been trimmed by Vince our barefoot specialist out of Ocala and I have never been happier with his feet or his performance then in that time frame. Add to that the bonus that Vince is very patient with the horses, and takes the time to explain everything he is doing to the horse and you can't ask for much more. He is always honest with you, only trimming the horse if it truly needs it, and able to explain ins and outs of his job in English as apposed to farrier talk so that even the most beginner person can understand the concepts.
I love my farrier for all those reasons, but Rio just loves him because Vince always offers a good scratch before and after he finishes trimming him...
If you're looking for an awesome barefoot farrier Vince travels from Florida up the coast to Virginia on a regular basis! I highly recommend him!
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