08/31/2026
📣 A Friendly Appointment & Booking Update 🐷🐐🐑
With our routes continuing to grow, we wanted to give everyone a friendly reminder about a few appointment procedures and make you aware of a couple of changes going forward.
Mobile hoof care is a little different from walking into a traditional appointment-based business. We're traveling between homes, farms, and animals across some pretty large areas, and every animal we work with is an individual!
Our goal is always to give each animal the time and care they need while keeping the rest of the day's route moving as smoothly as possible. 🩵
🐷 PLEASE HAVE YOUR ANIMALS CONTAINED
Your pig must be contained and accessible before we arrive.
We understand pigs occasionally have other plans! If your pig gets loose and you'd like our help catching or retrieving them, we're happy to make a reasonable attempt when it is safe to do so.
However, additional time spent locating, catching, moving, or retrieving an uncontained animal will now incur an Animal Retrieval Fee.
If we cannot complete the scheduled trim because an animal was not appropriately contained or prepared for our arrival, the full scheduled appointment cost is still due.
📸 WE NEED ACCURATE HOOF PHOTOS
When booking, please send us clear, current photos that allow us to accurately evaluate your pig's hooves.
In addition to close-up hoof photos, we now require at least one full-body side-view photo of your pig standing naturally on a level surface, with all four feet visible whenever possible.
Hooves can look considerably shorter in close-up photos, photos taken from above, or photos of a pig lying down. Seeing your pig standing helps us better evaluate actual hoof length, angles, weight-bearing, and overall condition.
We've recently arrived for several appointments where the submitted photos appeared to show routine maintenance, only to find significantly more overgrowth in person.
Corrective hoof care doesn't just affect the final price. It requires substantially more appointment time.
Accurate photos allow us to schedule enough time for your pig without unexpectedly taking that time away from the clients scheduled afterward.
⏰ ABOUT YOUR ESTIMATED ARRIVAL WINDOW
We know everyone has lives, jobs, families, animals, and plans outside of their appointment, so we completely understand why timing matters!
When we offer an arrival window, we use the route, travel time, number of animals, submitted photos, and anticipated level of hoof care to make the best estimate we can.
However, arrival windows are estimates and may need to be adjusted as the route progresses.
Animals are animals. 💚
A pig we expected to finish in 20 minutes may require 45. An animal may be more nervous than expected, need additional handling time, have more overgrowth than photos showed, or simply need us to slow down and work at their pace. Traffic, weather, road conditions, and other unexpected circumstances can also affect a mobile route.
We will never rush an animal's hoof care simply because the clock says we should be somewhere else.
That occasionally means your original estimated window may move earlier or later as we get a clearer picture of how the day's route is progressing.
Communication remains one of our priorities. We'll continue providing ETA updates as appropriate so you aren't left wondering when we're going to appear in your driveway.
We greatly appreciate everyone's flexibility when the animals ahead of you need a little more time. And when it's your animal who needs that extra time, we'll give them the same consideration. 🐷🩶
💳 TRAVEL FEES & BOOKING
Travel fees are due at booking and secure your place on our route.
Discussing a date, being a recurring client, or having a usual/"standing" appointment does not reserve an appointment without the required travel fee.
No travel fee = no confirmed appointment.
📅 RECURRING APPOINTMENTS
We absolutely want to see your animals regularly, but ultimately, maintaining their hoof-care schedule is the owner's responsibility.
Our system already sends appointment emails approximately 2 weeks and 2 days before your scheduled appointment.
We do not factor repeated calls/texts or individually tracking down clients into our standard hoof-care pricing.
If you would prefer for us to personally keep track of when your animal is coming due and reach out to manage their recurring schedule, we will be offering that as an optional paid service.
💰 PAYMENT AT APPOINTMENTS
All remaining balances are due at the time services are rendered and before we leave the property.
We've unfortunately had an increasing number of completed appointments remain unpaid after we leave.
Going forward, we cannot extend payment beyond the appointment unless an arrangement has been discussed and approved before services are performed.
🤍 WHY THE CHANGES & REMINDERS?
Mobile hoof care only works when both sides are prepared.
We will arrive with the equipment, experience, and appropriate amount of time reserved specifically for the needs you've shown us. In return, we need accurate photos, animals ready and accessible, appointments properly secured, and payment handled when due.
And sometimes, despite everyone doing absolutely everything right, an animal simply needs more time.
That's part of working with animals, and we'd rather adjust a timeframe than compromise the quality or safety of their care.
These changes aren't meant to make booking harder. They're meant to keep our routes sustainable, our appointments running smoothly, and our attention where it belongs: providing quality hoof care to your animals.
And to everyone who already sends great photos, has their animals waiting for us, pays their travel fee when booking, handles their balance before we leave, and gives us a little grace when a route doesn't run precisely according to plan: thank you.
Those seemingly small things make an enormous difference on long route days! 🐷🐐🐑
♡ Tori & Michael
Her Animals Hoof Care
