The price of farriers services here on the front range of the Rockies is getting to the point of ridiculous. An old rancher friend of mine who lives up the road convinced me I should have seen it coming & convinced me to shoe my own horses.
For the benefit of those who choose this route, may I offer the following words;
Start early, you'll need all day.
Buy a 6 pack of Gatorade before you start.
Start Slooowww, once your back warms up, you can pick up your pace.
Prayer is a powerful thing.
Try not to throw your tools when you get mad, it just makes more work for yourself, especially if they land in a snow
bank.
Shoe your big horse first.
Keep in mind all the money your saving, think of the DG rifle you want.

My farrier even supplies me with rasps ; guess I should have known better than to accept such gifts!!
I don't shoe my two horses anymore but trimming and shaping the dinner plate feet of shires tends to make one sweat and cuss. Fortunately they're patient gentle giants.

Leif, what are you paing out there for four treads? What about just a trim?

$90 for hot shoes, 45 for a trim.

I found out a few hours ago that there is a farrier at the race track about 20 miles from here that hot shoes for $65!

Not a problem, do one foot a day or two if your feeling frisky....

The price is cheap if one ever lays down on you, good place to really injure a back among other things, then you can't work and lose a lot of your earning ability, think about it. I learned that the hard way..

I trim my own when they are bare footed, but I leave the shoeing to the experts.

We used to always trim and shoe our own, at least until my brothers and I left home, then my dad always called the farrier. I still have 3 sets of unused shoeing tools, have no desire to do any of them, damn hard work, all of the farriers have bad backs, etc., so like Ray leave it to pros.

I want to know just enough so I can replace a shoe if I loose it backcountry. I also usually pull my shoes in late fall and trim. But I always pay the farrier to put shoe on. He is so much faster and I know they are on right.

I pay $50 a horse for cold shoes. Have not seen the need for Hot Shoes yet. My farier likes to come visit me. because he say I'm one of the few he shoes for that really wears out the shoes between visits.

I know some guys who like to heat the shoes up as they say it is easy to form and less hard on them. Don't know which way is best but I still like hot shoes. I'm real fussy on the rope horses when I have them done and the guy I use now does only hot shoes. I can tack a shoe on trim if I have to but shoeing is not my cup of tea. Tom

Custom treads are the best... Hot shoes rule!

Hello;
I decided long ago, my horses have enough problems without me trying to shoe them. Our farrier charges about 90. and damn well earns it. This guy knows what he is doing and if a shoe comes off, as is unavoidable, he is here in good time to replace it at no charge. We, mostly my wife, trim our own, but there have been too many good horses ruined by some guy trying to save a buck. You screw up and your horse is out of action for months, so I'd just as soon pay.
Grizz

Here is a tip if you don't already know it. If your horse loses a shoe, wrap the ground surface of the hoof with duct tape to prevent chipping. Your farrier will appreciate it.

Mike

It's a whole lot easier to pack in a roll of Duct tape than all the tools to replace a lost shoe.

But it doesn't stay on too wel if you are crossing a lot a creeks or boggy area.

Hello;
Ah, good old duct tape. Actually, if you put it on properly, it stays on surprisingly well. Is also good for keeping medication in an abscessed hoof. As for losing a shoe, it's better to carry an Easi-boot. In fact, I know one guy that's all he puts on his trail horses. No wear between trips, he says, and it's easy to tell if you're following him down the trail. Claims they last him a season. While we are on the subject of shoeing horses, I should point out that in this field the verically challenged have one on us tall fellas. And if you ain't deaf when you start, you soon will be, based on watching our farrier.

Grizz