The weeks and months following a footcare student’s graduation from shoeing school can be both exhilarating and intimidating.

New farriers are met with the exciting challenge of establishing their own practice and putting everything they’ve learned to use. However, they have to deal with the details of running a business, an experience unique to each farrier.

Many new farriers return to their former instructors for advice on how to run a small business. In this article, three shoeing school instructors answer the questions their former students ask them most often.

Money Matters

One of the biggest issues new farriers run into when they are starting their own practice is money. Many don’t know how much they should charge based on their area, their expertise or their particular shoeing niche.

“We talk about pricing in school,” says Bob Smith, founder and head instructor of Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, Calif., “but once they get out there, they have all kinds of questions on how much to charge for what types of services.”

To determine pricing, Smith advises that new farriers look at what others in their area charge. What other farriers charge will differ from region to region. Smith advises that new farriers must be aware of what pricing range is appropriate for the area they live in. For instance, he says, farriers in the San Francisco area will charge more than farriers in rural Nevada.

“Just call around and find out what the prices are from farriers and put yourself in the middle,” he says. “Don’t be the cheapest, but don’t be the most expensive, because you haven’t earned that.”

For farriers who decide they would like to expand their practice by shoeing in a new discipline, Troy Price, founder of Troy Price Horseshoeing School in Uniondale, Ind., advises that they apply the same principle for determining their regular pricing.

“Check into what other farriers are charging for that area and decide on an amount that can make you price-competitive, but still make it worth your time to do the work,” he says.

John Crothers, an instructor at Meredith Manor Horseshoeing School in Waverly, W.Va., says that many students return to him with the same questions about pricing.

“One of the questions my students frequently ask me is, ‘How much should I charge?’ What I normally suggest is that they figure out how much income they expect or would like to make, and then break down their expenses.”

Once you’ve determined what you would like your income to be, Crothers advises that you aim to make three times that amount.

“Basically, you roughly can expect to keep about one-third of your gross income, making that one-third your net income,” he says. “I’ll say, ‘Break out how many horses you want to do in a day. How many trims, how many shoe jobs? What can you reasonably expect to do and still provide quality work?’ Then they’ll argue it this way, saying, ‘In my area, farriers may only get $35 to trim a horse.’ Well, what somebody else gets for doing a service doesn’t matter. You have to educate your client about expectations. You have to give a perceived value of quality of service.”

Discounting Your Work

Besides figuring out what to charge, many new farriers wrestle with whether they should offer a discount to clients.

“I’ll get a phone call and they’ll say, ‘I just got a message from somebody that has 20-head of horses. Should I give them a discount?’” says Crothers. “The answer is no.”

Offering a discount to a client who owns a lot of horses might seem like a logical thing to do in our “buy one, get one free” culture, but Crothers stresses that offering a discount as a one-time courtesy can quickly turn into an expectation.

“If you don’t charge everybody the same rate, and somebody finds out about it, somebody’s going to be upset,” he says.

Smith also says that new farriers should not offer discounts because it can affect how clients perceive their work.

“I advise my students not to offer discounts,” he says. “The problem with that is that you’re telling the client that you’re cheap. You’re inexpensive. Once you establish a clientele and you want to raise your prices, they’re going to drop you. You’re not telling the clients that you’re a professional farrier. You’re just telling them that you’re cheap, and that’s the kind of clientele you’ll draw.”

After graduating from shoeing school, many farriers are faced with business questions about pricing, dealing with clients and more.

Client Relations

Many new farriers find that one of the biggest post-graduation challenges can be finding and interacting with clients. If a new farrier isn’t able to find an apprenticeship or doesn’t pursue one, finding new clients can quickly become their main concern.

“When you get out of school, all of a sudden, you’re sitting around wondering, ‘How do I get clients?’ We cover that somewhat in class, but the reality of it really kicks in when you get out of school. You’re going to be competing with farriers that are already out there, and of course, your skill level is not similar. You’re not set to compete,” says Smith.

The biggest advantage new farriers have, he adds, is time. Smith advises that new farriers advertise themselves by letting clients know that their horse will be taken care of 24 hours after they’ve called to get work done on it.

“Carry your cell phone with you 24/7, answer every time it rings, let people know you will replace lost shoes and whatever has to be done,” he says. “A professional farrier may have a barn where he’s not scheduled to be there for 3 weeks. Somebody gets a new horse they want trimmed and he just can’t get to it. If you’ve got time, you’re able to do that trim.”

Smith also cautions that days between clients do not qualify as days off. Instead, those days should be used for marketing your practice, to “go to different horse facilities and introduce yourself, hand out cards and get your name out there.”

Besides finding clients to work for, new farriers also have to deal with clients whose horses misbehave — or with clients who behave poorly themselves.

“When the client is more concerned with the emotional welfare of their horse than the farrier’s physical safety and comfort, you just can’t work for them,” says Smith.

Getting Certified

Farrier certification is something that is not required by law in the United States or Canada. However, many new farriers speculate on whether certification is something that can lend credibility to their practice when they are first starting out.

“Former students call me with questions about getting certified with the American Farrier’s Association (AFA),” says Price. “When students are at school, I encourage them to think about working toward a certification with the AFA to increase their marketability and provide credibility to their work.”

In addition to improving credibility, setting certification as a professional goal can help guide many new farriers in their continuing education journey.

“Usually, students have questions about what it takes to pass the tests and what steps to take to prepare for the testing,” says Price. “I tell students to get involved in the AFA and their local farrier chapters and to attend clinics and other learning opportunities. Working with another Certified Farrier (CF) or Certified Journeyman Farrier (CJF) can also help the former student practice the skills needed to pass the AFA certification testing. I give them advice on what to practice and how to prepare for the different parts of the testing.”

Smith also advises that new farriers pursue professional backing from farrier organizations.

“I encourage my students to join the American Association of Professional Farriers (AAPF) and the AFA,” he says. “The AAPF has a student membership that is $100 for 2 years, and I encourage my students to take their credential exam.”

Finding Your Footing

The pressure to be at the level of an expert farrier is something that can creep into any farrier’s mindset if they’re not careful. Although new farriers should push themselves to do well, they should not isolate themselves — especially when they’re first getting established in the industry.

“I think that sometimes, new farriers — and not just new farriers, experienced farriers, too — may not always feel comfortable asking business questions. They feel like if they ask a question that somebody might think is a silly question or something they should already know, they’re afraid to ask,” says Crothers. “They shouldn’t be. No question is a stupid question — the only stupid question is the question that’s not asked.”

Even though asking questions might be hard, Crothers encourages any new farrier who needs help to ask for it. They shouldn’t fear that asking for help makes them less of a farrier than anyone else in the industry.

“Always seek help,” Smith says. “Unless you’re in a position where you have to respond immediately, it’s always good to get the advice from the farriers that have been out there doing it for years. None of us were born with all the answers.”

2019 Getting Started in Hoof Care