The mindset with which you approach your journey into the world of hoof care can often be the difference between fulfillment or frustration with your chosen career.

It seems that this success mindset has been adopted by many highly successful people in many career fields. When this mindset is adopted early and followed regularly, it tends to allow beginning farriers the courage to try new things, learn from experiences and approach their chosen trade without being controlled by fear of the unknown. Let’s look at these ideas and how they can help you develop a successful, fulfilling career in hoof care.

Avoid Boxes

One of the first concepts we encourage our students at Equine Lameness Prevention Organization (ELPO) is to adopt how they evaluate the concepts of good vs. bad and right vs. wrong when it relates to hoof care. 

The majority of hoof-care practitioners have the best intentions with each animal they work on. However, despite our best efforts, sometimes we inadvertently cause pain and discomfort. This can be done through experimentation with new concepts, or simply misjudging the foot.

Does this make the farrier good or bad? Not necessarily. They made a choice, or series of choices, that simply didn’t work out how they expected. The same can be said for brands of shoes. All too often, I hear farriers, trainers and vets naming shoes as good or bad. Are they good or bad? We have so many options today because each shoe design has been used successfully for someone. The reason a shoe might or might not work well in any given situation depends on many different factors — how the foot is trimmed, what discipline the horse does, the footing they work in, etc.

Shoes are simply tools. We also need to realize that there might be many different approaches that would be just as successful for the situation, therefore not making any one approach right or wrong. It is our job to understand the concepts and tools we use as best we can so that we can make educated decisions and realize that if something doesn’t work out the way we hoped, we can simply change it.

Along with the concepts of good/bad and right/wrong, comes the idea of putting things in boxes. It is our human nature to compartmentalize everything into boxes and shut the lid. However, when we do this, we also shut ourselves inside those boxes, limiting our ability to see other possibilities and options. We tend to believe that if something doesn’t fit in our neat little box, it must be bad or wrong. We do this with things such as hoof angles and hoof measurements. Suggesting that each horse must fall within our preconceived idea of “normal.” A wise young apprentice of mine used to like to say, “normal is just a setting on your dryer.”

To illustrate the absurdity of boxes, we like to use the example of “Tom.” Let’s say for the sake of this argument that Tom is the perfect specimen of a man. So, from now on, we need to make every other man just like Tom. They all must have the same arm length, hairstyle and eye color. They have to wear the same style of clothes, listen to the same music and enjoy the same hobbies as Tom. Isn’t that insane?! Many dictators throughout history have attempted this approach, and they always failed, because each one of us is an individual. It’s no different with the animals we work on, they are all individuals. We have a responsibility to find out what “normal” is for each individual foot of each individual animal we work on. We do this by getting rid of our boxes and evaluating everything with an open mind.

Question, Monitor, Improve

We often get asked what ELPO is and what it does. The answer is in our motto, which is: We are an organization that’s dedicated to questioning, monitoring and improving upon hoof-care practices. This is something that everyone can and should implement into their practices. It’s certainly not specific to only our organization’s members.

Question everything! When you see a farrier trimming a foot differently from how you might ask them why they are doing it that way. Starting conversations with your colleagues can be a great way to gain a different perspective. Just keep in mind, you’re not trying to prove anything or challenge someone’s method, just trying to understand the different approach. Let your curiosity come through in your vocal tone. While you’re at it, question why you do what you do. If you can’t explain why you are choosing to trim a foot a certain way, then maybe you should re-evaluate why you’re doing it that way. Without questions, we have no reason to seek answers. Be aware that answers often lead to more questions.

Monitor the things you have questions about. Monitor morphology of the foot from one shoeing or trimming to the next. Did you achieve the result/change in the foot you were seeking? If so, keep doing what you’re doing. If not, change something. Monitor the animal’s response to what you do with its foot. Did the animal seem to appreciate what you did? If so, they will often look at you and show signs of relaxation. If not, they may be more resistant to giving you their foot again. Pay close attention to the animal’s response, after all, they’re the ones that have to live with what you did for the next 5 to 8 weeks.

After you have questioned and monitored, begin to improve whatever you were questioning and monitoring. There is no such thing as perfect, but there is such a thing as better. Each day we can use our questions and observations to improve our skill set and knowledge base. Don’t get discouraged by your perceived failures. Thomas Edison was once asked why he kept trying to invent the light bulb after 10,000 “failures.” He responded that he had not “failed” once, he had however discovered 10,000 ways to not make a light bulb. Even if something is already working well, see if you can make it better. A 1% improvement is still an improvement and is certainly worth the effort.

It’s important to question, monitor and improve your hoof-care practices and implement what you learn into your business.

Embrace the Journey

Often, we are told that we need to set goals, and that is great, but we want to be careful to not get so caught up in meeting those goals that we forget to pay attention to the steps that get us there. One does not simply arrive at the top of the mountain; this feat is only achieved by taking one step at a time. Remember to pay careful attention to and analyze each step along the way. Failure to do so might cause a slip that can cause you to slide back down the mountain. Solid, well-executed steps are the path to succeeding with big goals.

Chances are that even with careful execution of your steps, you might stumble occasionally. That’s OK, embrace that part of the journey too. Many people with “natural talent” often don’t get the privilege of embracing this part of the journey, because things come to them so easily. I kind of feel sorry for them, because there are many valuable lessons hidden in these obstacles that give you a leg up in future situations.

These lessons are not always comfortable to deal with at the time, but they are essential to your growth. With each experience you have along your journey, you gain a new tool. If you miss out on these experiences, you may miss the opportunity to gain the tools necessary to help another animal or person in the future. Keep in mind, failure is only real if you choose to let it discourage you to the point that you quit. Don’t quit, just keep climbing that mountain, enjoy the beauty around you, and remember to take one step at a time.

Path to Great Achievement

It is easy to be afraid of the unknown and the difficult, but great achievement comes through great struggle. As was mentioned earlier, most farriers are servicing their animals with the best of intentions. If you are embracing the lesson mentioned throughout this article, you should have the realization that we are all on the same path, one of continuous growth. No one knows everything. We must endure struggles and mistakes to grow. The intriguing thing is that the struggles and mistakes are what we gain the most growth from. So, when you get a call from a new client, say “YES!” and begin a new path of learning.

Even if the call is not the most profitable in the beginning because it’s a long drive to get there, still say yes to the opportunity. Wayne Gretzky, a hall of fame hockey player, once said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” That’s a pretty powerful statement if you think about it. You will never know the outcome of an opportunity until you take it. Many of the most successful individuals in history took chances in their careers, which is what led them to their successes. The call that requires a long drive could turn into an opportunity to service an area with 50 horses that need care, which would certainly help the profit margin.

In the world of sales, it is taught that you follow up on every lead. Only 10% might produce anything, but the more opportunities you follow up on, the more chances you have for something to work out. Sure, there will be some undesirable outcomes along the way, but if you persevere and keep getting up when you get knocked down, you will find you’re on the path to success and gaining a ton of unique experiences along the way. Each experience holds something to be learned and gained, but if you miss the opportunity you will never know what could have been.

Remember to analyze the use of good/bad, right/wrong and which “boxes” you create for yourself. It will open you up to question, monitor and improve upon your beliefs and skill set. Don’t forget to embrace all the ups and downs of your journey and remember that they are stepping-stones of experience. Doing so will give you the courage to say “yes” to each situation you’re presented with and not fear the outcome. This is the Success Mindset.