Friendship Trumps Dominance

Beyond the straightforward work of shaping the hoof, the farrier’s job, and the job of any professional that works with horses, includes taking responsibility for the care for the entire horse; body and mind.  If you outwit or overpower a horse to get his hooves in order, he may be sound on his feet but will not be sound in the mind.  Trickery destroys trust which sets the horse up for trouble with you, the next farrier or people in general.

It is easy to see how tricking or mechanically overpowering a horse sets it on the wrong path, but there are other less obvious things you can do to perpetuate distrust in humans and trouble a horses mind.  In fact, there are many training techniques that are widely used and accepted that force a horse to perform tasks for human masters.  Luckily, there is growing interest in and value placed upon the mental well-being of horses.  The value and innate goodness of building relationships and willing cooperation with horses, versus exercising dominance over their minds and bodies, is today more readily accepted.

For a farrier, building a relationship with clients’ horses is the only way to go.  A horse will most likely be respectful and willing to allow you to care for it, and increasingly so, if you are consistently respectful, willing to be patient, willing to learn the horse’s language, and if you perform sound work that improves the comfort of the horse.  Be a horse’s friend.