Steve Kraus was inducted as an honorary member of the Society of Phi Zeta on April 18, 2018.

Most members of the society are veterinary students or veterinarians. Chapters are able to elect as many as two honorary members per year who are “not in possession of the veterinary medical degree,” but “have rendered distinguished service in the advancement of the science relating to the animal industry and particularly of animal diseases.”

Kraus’s induction recognizes his contribution to and participation in the affairs of the veterinary college at Cornell University, where Phi Zeta was founded.

He holds strong ties to Cornell, where he is a senior lecturer and the head of farrier services at the College of Veterinary Medicine. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and has served as the farrier for all of their equine athletic programs since 1968.

A member of the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame, Kraus has been involved in numerous other aspects of the hoof-care industry throughout his 54 years of farriery, including working as a farrier consultant and innovator for Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center since 1976.

He has served a member of the board of directors for region 5 of the AFA and as president of the Western New York Farriers Association. He also regularly contributes to American Farriers Journal and speaks at the International Hoof-Care Summit.