"A busy couple of weeks with the good weather encouraging owners out and about and increasing the workload of their horses in preparation for upcoming outings.

The raceyard also has the new turf season ahead and that means many of the two-year olds having their first run.

The Health & Safety inspection concluded well and we are now well into catching up with paperwork for our end of year accounts. We are also in the process of reviewing our pricing structure and trying to avoid price increases. Aluminium plates have doubled in price recently and fuel is still relatively high. With VAT returning to 17.5% we have resisted increasing our prices so far but have to admit it is becoming more difficult.

We understand it is difficult for many of our customers and so we are currently trying to increase efficiency in our routes and planning the diary as carefully as possible. We are however likely to put in late cancellation charges (say, at least 24 hours if possible) – it can be quite frustrating when you suddenly find yourself with an hour or two in the middle of the day with nothing to do and unfair to expect other clients to move their day around. Also, with a bit of notice we can fit in a lost shoe or ‘emergency’ set for someone else a bit sooner. Other farriers we know charge one rate for customers paying at the appointment and another for those paying after the appointment which could be a further option.

As shoeing is such a regular activity it is not in anyone’s interest to get behind in paying, six weeks can come around very quickly! Cash flow is very important, particularly when many farrier supply companies operate a 14 day payment period for goods supplied to us.

Last weekend we attended a clinic hosted by farrier supplies company Handmade Shoes (UK) Ltd. Around 250 farriers attended over the weekend to listen to theoretical and practical demonstrations delivered by Craig Trnka. Craig is a working farrier from Edgwood, New Mexico, a previous winner of the World Championships in Calgary and president to the American Farriers Association for four years. He is a great character and hugely entertaining in addition to being very knowledgeable.

The clinic included a few lively debates on a number of ‘topical’ issues – barefoot trimming and shoeing for breakover being just two. ‘Break-over vs purchase point’ is a very interesting area for me and I go with the ‘purchase point’ theory – many of our clients horses are shod with toe-clips behind. This is an area of the industry which has changed greatly in recent years, for my business the use of toe-clipped hind shoes (where appropriate) has proven to be extremely advantageous (despite one client believing I had had a bad day and put the front shoes on the hind feet!). Hind quarters are built for propulsion and horses ‘push-off’ from behind, whilst some worry about an increase in the number of over-reaches through wearing toe-clips we have certainly not experienced this.

This weekend we are travelling to The Forge, Stoneleigh on the Royal Showground for the National Association of Farrier Blacksmiths and Agricultural Engineers annual conference, ‘Farriery Focus’. This is a day of lectures and clinics but also includes the Mustad ‘Champion of Champions’ competition – an invitation only event where past winners of the World Championships in Calgary will compete in a one-off competition in aid of charity. 12 past Champions will take part, from the UK, US and Canada, and each will receive £250 for their nominated charity in addition to the winner taking home £5,000 for his charity. This will be a fantastic spectacle and a great opportunity to see the world’s finest farriers all working alongside each other.

Badminton has just completed and so good to see so many horses finishing well, particularly those in their late teens! Farrier friend Jim Hayter was awarded with the ‘Best Shod Horse’ for Society Spice ridden by Emily Llewellyn. Jim is based in Heathfield, East Sussex. This is an award given by the Worshipful Company of Farriers to recognise those farriers working at such a high standard. As they say ‘no foot no horse’ and it is great farriers are recognised in this way at an event such as Badminton."