Two years ago, the gross annual income for full-time farriers crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time in the American Farriers Journal Farrier Business Practices Survey. For 2019, the full-time farrier yearly income increased by an $14,283 compared with that 2017 figure.

For 2019, the average yearly gross income for full-time farriers was $116,486, an increase from $102,203 just 2 years earlier. This represents a 11% increase in gross income for full-time farriers in only 2 years’ time.

For part-timer farriers, the average gross income per year continued to drop. Their income for 2019 stands at $24,998, which is a drop from $26,148 in 2017 and from $26,349 in 2015.

Industry-exclusive Survey

Like no other measurement of the U.S. equine footcare industry, this 17th edition of the American Farriers Journal benchmark study offers essential information to help farriers better evaluate their business compared with other hoof-care professionals.

Conducted every 2 years for more than 3 decades, farriers have used this American Farriers Journal sponsored industry-wide benchmark data not only for business analysis purposes, but also to update trimming, shoeing and specialized hoof-care prices for the coming year.

In addition, suppliers rely on this data to better understand the operations of U.S.-based farriers.

Survey questionnaires were sent out electronically and farriers were asked to answer 68 questions. The list includes questions on background information (age, gender, location), business strategies (annual income, charges for specific types of footcare work), business management practices (insurance, retirement plans, where and how products are purchased)…