Sorry we missed out last week, I got so busy on the long weekend (our office elected to close for 4 days, wow!) that I completely forgot about the column until Tuesday night. And I was way too tired after four days of being that busy, there was no way I could find it in me to write the column that night!

One of the things I did on the weekend was spend two days at Randy Ophus's place in Vanderhoof. Randy is a breeder and a trainer, a fellow reiner, and
also a student of J.P. Forget. I wanted to go and ride with him a couple of times to see if he felt I was on track with Karisma or not. It is also nice, after being away from the reiners for nearly a year, to be able to
hang out with one and just talk reining!

I also did some serious considering about my planned trip to Sundre this summer to ride with J.P. One of the things I had to do was some realistic
number crunching. OUCH! The trip to Sundre was going to cost me about $1100 - not including lost wages. J.P.'s schedule was busy enough that I
would have been likely to only have 4 lessons, or 5 at the most. That works out to over $200 per lesson, best case scenario! Granted, that cost included travel, meals, board and camping fees, but still - OUCH!

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, one of my most serious goals for this filly is to show her in the Canadian Supreme in Red Deer in October 2004.
In planning for that trip, I am also planning to spend at least 2 weeks with J.P. prior to the show. I know that in 2001, that trip cost me around
$3000. (yeah, BIG ouch!)

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

In order for me to better be able to save the funds for that very important trip, I had to decide not to go to J.P.'s this summer.

Still, I know that I can't do this training alone. I don't have enough experience to bring my filly along completely by myself; although I can do a fair bit of it, I make lots of mistakes and forget simple things I should remember! Riding in lessons or clinics really helps to get the bigger picture moving forward, and sometimes a coach will challenge us to move past
the next step which helps us to advance much more quickly than we may have otherwise.

To that end, I have decided to spend some time at Randy's in Vanderhoof this summer. I'm going to try and take a week off and ride almost every day
while I am there. I think we can really gain some ground with this filly, and I can get more rides in on her with a lot less travel cost than I would have had going to Alberta. Add in the fact that I am close enough to come home for a day if I want to, and, well, my mind was made up!

All for this week - happy riding!
~ Kristi :)

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The following reasons probably should be the lowest on your priority list, but often we make our choice based on them.

A good farrier is usually on time or reasonably close (more about that in the columns coming up, regarding KEEPING that good farrier!). This isn't to say that a farrier who is late some of the time (especially later in his day) is no good, but if you can find one that is fairly punctual, it helps a lot - especially if you are fitting the visit into a busy schedule of your own.

Your horseshoeing choice should be good with your horse. This doesn't mean that he or she has to be a horse trainer (far from it - that is your responsibility as a horse owner, in order to keep that farrier!) but that
they are not afraid of your horse, firm but kind, and fair. A farrier who routinely loses his or her temper with your horse, flying into fits of rage and hitting the horse with whatever tool is at hand, may not be a good choice, no matter how good they are! (as an aside here, it may mean that you need to spend more time disciplining your horse - ask around and see if
other owners have had trouble with him or if it is just your horse before you look for another shoer)

If you really luck out, your farrier will also be personable, someone you can get along with for the hour or so they are shoeing your horse. A morose, closemouthed farrier may be doing a fantastic job, but it's hard to stand there with the silent treatment for that long! However, this is kind of an "icing on the cake", and not one of the more important parts of
choosing a shoer.

Lastly, you should check around with your friends when you are first getting farrier recommendations, and find out what the going rates are in your area.
Remember that you get what you pay for - if you choose the discount farrier down the road, it may be because he hasn't gone to school, or that he doesn't put the time in required to do a good job. Likewise, a farrier whose rates are considerably higher than others in the area may not be all that much better, but he may have had to up his rates slightly to cut down
his clientele to a more manageable number.

And all that brings me to the last question on choosing a good farrier - just how do you know when your farrier is doing a good job??

Continued next week...

If you have comments or suggestions along the way, please share with me at kristim@hiway16.com

If you have information to share, please email me at kristim@hiway16.com

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Reimer Ranch
• Ridennoure Paint Horses

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