Contact:- Telephone 07802 476 700
I accept Whatsapp messages on this number too
PRICES INCREASE FROM JULY 2022
Protective Shoeing,
The Protective Shoeing Guarantee
(or putting my money where my mouth is)
by Graeme Burt, D.W.C.F, farrier.
ALL OF MY WORK IS GUARANTEED.

All shoes are guaranteed for SIX WEEKS from the shoeing date against loss, and feet guaranteed against cracking, loose nails or shoe related lameness for all horses that keep to a regular shoeing schedule that is NOT GREATER  than eight weeks.

I guarantee shoes will stay firmly on during this time, clenches will not rise and your horse can be ridden free of any defects directly related to foot conditions that are under my control (loose shoes, cracked feet etc).

There is no charge for replacement shoes or work whatsoever inside the guarantee period, with the exception of any extra journey charge for those journeys which are over twenty miles one way from Sevenoaks, and any extra materials used or changes made that were not part of the original shoeing.
(terms apply, see below)

Requested changes to recommended work will INVALIDATE THE WARRANTY at any time.

Any horse regularly booked, trimmed or shod that is lame due to abscess, overtrimming, imbalance or any other farriery related foot problem will be treated and rectified FREE OF CHARGE at the earliest possible opportunity.

Any horse not on a regularly booked and shod schedule or shod infrequently (over eight weeks) will have this warranty limited to three weeks from the shoeing date only.

As far as abscess or infection related conditions are concerned FREE emergency treatment will apply to ANY HORSE ON MY ROUND whether or not connected with farriery work,  24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year including holidays such as Christmas Day. The only exception is if I am unable to work due to illness or cannot attend due to vehicle problems.

The warranty only comes into force once payment for shoeing is made, except by prior arrangement.
For obvious reasons, the guarantee does not apply to shoes that are deemed to have worn out. However, should your horse be heavy on shoes, I will strive to ensure that a minimum period of five weeks is achieved between shoeings. This is because it is necessary for the maintainance of healthy feet that good growth exceeds any damage done by fresh nail holes or bacterial action.



The idea of the guarantee is to ensure that you will be able to ride your horse at any time throughout the shoeing period with peace of mind, and that you will be limited in the amount you will have to pay to the shoeing fee alone, and any extra cost involved with maintaining the shoes and feet will be borne by me.

This ensures I will do the very best for your horse that I can, because any extra work I have to do will be paid for out of my own pocket.


Appointment timings:
I will endeavour to attend as close to appointment timings as I possibly can. However, please ring me on 07802 476700 if I am over half an hour late. I can advise you then of any arrival time, or of any difficulty that has arisen, or if necessary, rebook another appointment free of charge if it is inconvenient for you to wait any longer.

There is no longer any need for horses to be kept in following shoeing AT ANY TIME.  All horses may be worked or turned out immediately following shoeing.
NEW PRICES (From 1st July 2022) due to big rises in materials. Prices last increased in 2013.

NEW SHOEING PRICES FROM 1st July 2022.
SET (4 new shoes) £80, plus journey charge, if applicable (see below)
REFIT (Old shoes off, feet trimmed, re-balanced, cleaned, dried, re-protected and old shoes replaced)  £70 plus journey charge, if applicable (see below)
Natural Balance/Centre Fit same prices
CAPA thermoplastic protection will be charged at £10 per set as the price of this material has more than doubled

PLEASE BE AWARE IF YOUR HORSE NEEDS CAPA THE INCREASE WILL BE CONSIDERABLE

SHOEING ADDITIONS
Flat pads £10 extra per pair. Specialist pads will be charged at cost + £5
Stud Holes £1 each
Road Nails £1 each
Raised plug studs (guaranteed non slip on road, has to be 2 in each shoe for balance) £1.50 each (I will not put these in hinds on kickers for obvious reasons)
Raised heels £50 pair

TRIMS  £30 each, including shoes off and barefoot riding protection. Single journey trims £35 (one on its own).

JOURNEYS (Or travelling charge)
Travelling is my biggest expense especially with the increase of the price of diesel.
Sharing journeys with your friends can easily make journeys FREE and reduce your costs.

Journey is FREE for 3 horses full sets, (4 shoes each) or more, or 2 trims or more.

One horse alone (4 shoes) add £10 journey charge. Add 2 trims at the same time, journey is FREE.

2 horses (4 shoes each) add £5 each horse, for the journey.  If you add 2 trims at the same time, journey is FREE, nothing to add.
Journeys of more than 20 miles from Vigo (10 miles each way by road) are £20 extra
Journeys of more than 50 miles from Vigo (25 miles each way by road) are £50 extra


Prices (as of 1st May 2013) current until July 2022

Prices, regular clients only (6-10 week periods) I strongly discourage longer periods. I do not shoe for those who leave shoes on until they come off, this is neglect in my opinion. Please also read the terms & conditions - they are important and do influence what you pay


NEW SHOEING PRICES FROM 1st MAY 2013.
SET (4 new shoes) £70, plus journey charge, if applicable (see below)
REFIT (Old shoes off, feet trimmed, re-balanced, cleaned, dried, re-protected and old shoes replaced)  £60 plus journey charge, if applicable (see below)
Natural Balance/Centre Fit same prices
CAPA thermoplastic protection inclusive of the price

SHOEING ADDITIONS
Flat pads £5 extra per pair. Specialist pads will be charged at cost + £5
Stud Holes £1 each
Road Nails £1 each
Raised plug studs (guaranteed non slip on road, has to be 2 in each shoe for balance) £1.50 each (I will not put these in hinds on kickers for obvious reasons)
Raised heels £40 pair

TRIMS  £25 each, including shoes off and barefoot riding protection. Single journey trims £30 (one on its own).

JOURNEYS (Or travelling charge)
Travelling is my biggest expense especially with the increase of the price of diesel.
Sharing journeys with your friends can easily make journeys FREE and reduce your costs.

Journey is FREE for 3 horses full sets, (4 shoes each) or more, or 2 trims or more.

One horse alone (4 shoes) add £10 journey charge. Add 2 trims at the same time, journey is FREE.

2 horses (4 shoes each) add £5 each horse, for the journey.  If you add 2 trims at the same time, journey is FREE, nothing to add.
Journeys of more than 20 miles from Sevenoaks (10 miles each way by road) are £20 extra
Journeys of more than 50 miles from Sevenoaks (25 miles each way by road) are £50 extra


NEW CHARGE

FROM SEPTEMBER  2013, CLIENTS WHO BRING HORSES TO ME WITH FEET COATED WITH AND FULL OF MUD WILL BE CHARGED A FOOT CLEANING CHARGE.
As part of the terms and conditions horses NEED to have clean and dry feet for shoeing.
This has always been a requirement, but I am STILL being presented for shoeing or trimming feet so covered in sticky wet mud that I cannot even see the feet, and have to spend the first ten minutes cleaning mud from them and picking out the feet in order that I can see proper balances, and even unfasten the clenches to remove the shoes! This adds considerably to the time taken over a number of horses. It also weakens and infects the horn.

You wouldn't expect the dentist to do a good job while your mouth was full of toffee, would you?

THE CHARGE FOR CLEANING FEET PRIOR TO SHOEING OR PICKING OUT WILL ADD £5 TO YOUR SHOEING BILL FROM SEPTEMBER 2013.
TO AVOID BEING CHARGED, CLEAN YOUR HORSES FEET THOROUGHLY PRIOR TO SHOEING OR TRIMMING.

Terms and conditions of shoeing


  • A METHOD OF PAYMENT SHOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE DAY OF SHOEING or TRIMMING.
     I accept cash, cheques and Gocardless payments.
     Please leave cash with somebody who can be responsible for it, like a yard owner or yard manager.
     To sign up to Gocardless, please click THIS SECURE LINK and fill in the form.
     I DO NOT ACCEPT BANK TRANSFERS.
  • All horses should be available, in, and ready at the time of appointment.  A headcollar and lead rope must be available. I will normally not require clients to always be present but I would urge it, especially if you have a young, inexperienced or nervous horse. I reserve the right NOT to shoe if I make the assessment that to do so, or even to continue to do so, would be a safety risk to either the horse, to myself, or to others. To directly quote the Farriers Registration Council website, "Farriers are advised not to commence working with an animal if it is felt that the conditions (ie. present temperament of the horse or present condition the horse is kept in) are unfavourable to a successful outcome."  Link
  • Horses on overnight or permanent turnout will be restricted to two weeks warranty only. I cannot be responsible for heavy saturation damage done by dewy grass. It has been clearly explained on this site that overnight turnout is detrimental to shod feet and while Protective Shoeing is very effective at combatting the problems caused by mud and bacteria, it is not waterproof and cannot stop saturated horn from softening,  or the resulting bacterial problems.
  • All horses feet should be presented in a clean dry condition. Feet presented in muddy condition will incur a charge for cleaning and/or picking out.
  • All horses shod need to be on a flat, level, clean, dry surface for Protective Shoeing to be completely effective. In the event of inclement weather a covered area such as a free stable should be available free of obstructions and bedding. This is to ensure the safety of your horse.  If bedding is left, there is a risk of fire, and nails or tools can disappear into bedding un-noticed, with obvious serious consequences.
  • Recommendations for your horses treatment and environment should be treated as professional advice. You can of course choose to ignore such advice but I only give such recommendations (e.g. "dont turn out overnight in summer") for the good of your horse's foot health, and if I feel it could be adversely affected by ignoring it. Ignoring such advice will invalidate the warranty. I NEVER RECOMMEND OVERNIGHT TURNOUT IN SUMMER as heavy overnight dew and warm daytime temperatures encourage wet and warm conditions, causing severe bacterial damage and horn infection which can make your horse lame and unrideable.
  • If a covered area is not available during bad weather appointments will be re-scheduled to the earliest suitable date free of charge.
  • Changes to any booked appointments should be notified with more than 24 hours notice.
  • WASTED journeys undertaken by me without notice of cancellation are charged at DOUBLE journey rates.
  • I do not shoe horses in fields, except by very special consent or under special circumstances. Trimming or barefoot trimming can be done in the field but only where the weather permits and only under adult supervision.   I do not catch horses, but will turn out after shoeing in reasonable circumstances.
  • All shoeing is payable on the day, except by prior arrangement which will be declined in the case of new clients. 
  • Warranty/guarantee does not apply until payment is made.

  • Strictly 30 days for payment to ensure continuation of any shoeing service, or any connected service.

  • I reserve the right to add interest of 10% per MONTH on payments later than 30 days.

  • Any returned cheques will invalidate the warranty. Notice will be served of fourteen days for monies to be reimbursed to my home address by building society counter cheque or bankers draft. Further shoeings or appointments will be suspended until payment is made or cheques are cleared IN FULL. Unpaid debts following 30 days will be referred to the courts and applications for debt recovery including court costs will be made and referred to debt collection agencies who may well impose their own charges as well. I ALWAYS PURSUE DEBTORS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Finally, and this is not really a condition of shoeing, but, please try to make the shoeing as stress free to your horse as possible. I will always strive to make the shoeing as easy on the horses as I can, by allowing them to settle and being as kind and easy going to them at what can be a very stressful experience.
Based on my experience, and to try to prevent any damage to their feet while the shoes are off,  here are some do's and don'ts when your horse is having their feet done:-

DO'S
  •  DO give them the company of another horse close by that they can see, or time the shoeing appointment to coincide with a time when they will all be in together. Company is the single most important thing to horses, and some just cannot cope without it. This cannot be trained out as it is instinctive to the equine species, although the dependency does vary from one horse to another.
  • DO give the horse a distraction like a haynet or food, especially if it is time to be fed, and the others are getting theirs. Horses do not see the reason why the normal activity of being fed is being denied them, and they will complain accordingly.  A haynet and company together will usually alleviate the boredom factor of having to stand still for an hour, and 95% of all horses will stay calm if both food and company are present.
  • DO keep your horse company yourself if they are young or nervous, but treat them as you normally would.
  • DO Find an area of the yard that is flat, dry, level and hard surfaced. Once the shoes are off, the feet are very vulnerable to damage and bruising if the surface your horse stands on is uneven, and pieces of wall can easily be broken off in seconds making nailing difficult or even dangerous.   Horses will be uncomfortable standing on uneven ground without the shoes.  I will try to get the new shoes on as quickly as possible to protect against damage, but I wont cut corners to do so.

DONT'S
  • DONT turn out or take away their company and friends just before or during the shoeing. Horses have a natural response to want to be together, and it will always be the one that is left behind  that will get stressed.  That is usually the one that is being shod, and the only way likely to distract them from this is domination.  That in turn makes the shoeing a doubly stressful experience; they have the twofold concern that their friends have gone, and that someone is dominating them into doing something that they dont want to do and they find scary or irrelavent.   It is quite frankly an accident waiting to happen.
  • DONT React in a way that is not normal, especially with a young or nervous horse. Patting, stroking and telling him he's a good boy might seem calming to you, but the chances are, the last time you did it, the vet stuck a needle in him, and if you do it again, he will be expecting something horrible like that to happen again.  Treat shoeing as a normal experience, and eventually, so will your horse.




© Graeme Burt DWCF