Among the many equine footcare subjects covered in the decades of American Farriers Journal, one we have always emphasized was better business advice for our readers. Simply put, providing strategies for making more money and making sure more of it stays in your pocket.

Each year, our Farrier Supplies and Services Directory has contained insightful business guidance for improving your practices. This year’s edition is no different. In it, you’ll find several articles written to help you grow and maintain your hoof-care practice. Longtime readers are accustomed to finding the Farrier Business Practices Survey in this issue. This one-of-a-kind survey is published every other year with national and regional breakdowns of farrier facts and figures.

As you will see, the survey isn’t featured in this issue. Instead, you will be receiving it as its own special publication, sent with your December issue. In it, you will find the same no-nonsense analysis of the industry, as well as comparisons to previous years. I think you’ll find this new format to be more helpful and beneficial in seeing where your practice is in relation to the rest of the industry.

Tipping The Hand On The Survey

We’ve been pouring over the data for the last several months as your input has come in. As usual, there are rock-solid measurements and some surprising points about the industry. Among these, there are improvements, like the number of farriers preventing economic ruin by carrying health insurance in case of unexpected, insurmountable medical bills…