Farrier Jam Sessions

A farrier "Jam Session" at Dr. Bibi Freer's Farm in Tryon, NC

All too often there is a disconnect between veterinarians and farriers, while the soundness of the horse really relies on open communication and a partnership between these two important people in the horse’s life. Dr. Bibi Freer, DVM of Tryon, NC has started an ongoing program at her farm with vets and farriers coming together to discuss specific horses and their soundness issues, and to work together to solve them. 

A group of farriers

 Dr. Freer first got the idea from Dr. Jim Meeker, of Mocksville, NC, a vet that she has known for a while and sometimes trades clients with. Dr.  Meeker has held meetings for about five years, and one day while Dr. Freer was working on some donkeys with a farrier who had been to one of Dr. Meeker’s meetings, he  started telling her about it. She thought it sounded like fun, so she tagged along to the next session.

“It was 2010 I think, March or April, and I jumped in the truck with a group of farriers and went to Dr. Meeker’s meeting; on the way home we decided we wanted to do that too,” she says. “In my humble opinion I think we’ve improved on the idea. He charges the horse owner $50 and they buy fried chicken or something. I talked to the guys here and they didn’t really care about dinner; we charge the owner $200, which is still a great deal. For a consultation like this they’d usually spend more like $500.”

So the horse owner pays $200 and brings their horse to Dr. Freer’s barn, where a group of vets and farriers assesses the horse’s legs and feet, they do a series of radiographs, and discuss different ways to shoe the horse to improve soundness.

My dad Hank Heintzberger, who is a local farrier and has worked with Dr. Freer on occasion, has sponsored, or recommended, a couple of horses with soundness issues for the sessions and has been attending the meetings regularly for a few years now. 

Hank Heintzberger looks on as Luke Proulx discusses a horse

“For $200 the horse owner gets the horse shod, as many x-rays as they want, and the opinions of a large group of experts. You can’t get a better deal than that. Also, Bibi follows up with the horse’s owner later, and it’s always nice to know the long-term outcome for each horse,” he says.

Dr. Freer says, “I’ll reimburse the farrier for the supplies he used that night. Sometimes they use a special pad or a pour and it’s more like $20 or $30 out of their pocket. But nobody makes and money on the night – it’s all about exchanging ideas and seeing what the feet look radiographically.”.

They have also been able to afford clinics with several world-class farriers: Grant Moon and Luke Proulx have already conducted clinics and Craig Trnka is coming May 9-11. He’ll do a day of Powerpoint presentations, then two days of hands-on work with a limited group of farriers and vets. 

Hank says, “Grant Moon is probably the number one farrier in the world, and the clinic with him was insane, it was so good. You can’t just call these guys up; you have to book them in advance, so having this group has given us some really exciting opportunities.”

A finished shoeing job

 Dr. Freer set up an online group to communicate with everyone and says they have about 15 veterinarians on the list. “Usually there are 3-5 veterinarians – the most we ever had was 8 – and farriers range from 8-20. There are probably 50 on the list, but they can’t all come every time.”

While Dr. Meeker invites the horse-owning public to his meetings, Dr. Freer decided to limit their sessions to vets and farriers, partly due to limited space in Dr. Freer’s barn, and partly so the conversations between the vets and farriers will be more frank.

It is interesting to note that the local Isothermal Community College is starting an equestrian program in the fall.  “This coming Saturday myself and five of the core guys who come to the meetings the most often are going to recreate a farrier jam session,” says Dr. Freer, who also has a passion for Bluegrass music. “We’re just going to do one horse and we’re going to have about 15 people come. That’s a pretty good sign there’s a more interest in what we’re doing.”

 Photos courtesy Bibi Freer