When beginning your farrier career, it’s important to avoid surprises that could negatively affect you both in the short- and long-term.

A trio of Wisconsin farriers who combined have more than 100 years of shoeing experience  — Eddy Strommen of Evansville, Dean Johanningmeier of Cross Plains and Martin Roche of Blanchardville — identified three ways that you can protect yourself from the inherent risks of the profession.

Tool Selection

Working under horses and at the anvil every day takes its toll on a farrier’s body. Many young farriers can quickly bounce back physically, but the work will eventually catch up to you. Buying high-quality tools and equipment can help reduce the toll.

“Keep in mind that the government is buying your truck and equipment,” says Johanningmeier, referring to writing off the expense of tools and equipment with the Internal Revenue Service. “As soon as you can afford it, buy good, quality tools. Don’t sacrifice your body by saving money.”

While the highest quality tools cost more, they work better and last longer.

“There’s a reason they cost more,” Strommen says. “When you handle tools during the trade show at the International Hoof-Care Summit, you can tell the difference between a $50 set of nippers and one that’s $250. At the end of the day, you might be able to trim three or four horses with those $50 nippers, but you don’t want to do 50 of them. It’s worth spending the extra money on good tools.”

It’s worth spending more money on good quality tools. They last longer and perform better.

Quality tools and equipment last longer, but regular maintenance is key to protecting your investment.

“Pickups and rigs cost a lot of money,” Strommen says. “It’s far cheaper to maintain them regularly. We’re good at scheduling horses. Schedule time to maintain your truck, rig, tools and equipment.”

Collecting Sales Taxes

While computer software has made it easier to perform certain tasks yourself, there’s an argument to be made to avoid shortcuts. Accounting is one.

“An accountant is one of the most important people to pay, besides your insurance agent,” Strommen says. “They can help us make educated decisions so the business can thrive. My accountant knows all the rules. I can call her anytime with questions about the business and help me make financial decisions.”

Laws vary from state to state, particularly those involving sales tax. Some states don’t require farriers to collect sales tax, while others do. Before issuing your first hoof-care invoice, it’s important to determine what your state requires. An accountant can help.

“I have a friend who got hit for $100,000 in back taxes,” Strommen says, “which I don’t know if I could sustain that.”

Another of Strommen’s friends relocated from a state that considers horses livestock, which doesn’t require the collection of sales tax. However, their new state doesn’t consider horses livestock. As such, sales tax collection is required.

“When they arrived, they continued to run their business as they had been,” he recalls. “All of a sudden, the government goes back 7 years and figures out how much they hadn’t charged. The state doesn’t care. They’re coming for it. Talk to an accountant about your taxes. Things change. My payments recently changed from quarterly to monthly. You have to stay on top of it.”

Insurance Protection

Your daily work revolves around risk. You’re getting under 1,200-pound prey animals that instinctively bolt at anything that resembles danger. Add to the mix propane forges, hot metal, sharp knives and power tools, and it’s not a matter of if you’ll get hurt, but when. While the cost l might seem steep, working without health and disability insurance means you’re gambling with your immediate and long-term future. The protection is worth it.

“Get a good insurance agent who can answer your questions and make sure you’re insured properly,” Roche advises. “You want to make sure you’re not under-insured or over-insured. Make sure that they know what you want and what you should have. If you’re not getting it, call someone else.”

While most farriers take advantage of health insurance, most aren’t aware of another option that millions of workers who work for companies take for granted.

“A lot of farriers don’t realize that we can have workman’s compensation insurance when self-employed,” he says. “If you get hurt on the job, workman’s comp pays for all of your medical expenses, plus pays for your salary. It costs about $2,000 a year and my deductible is $6,000.”

Liability insurance is another worthwhile consideration to protect you and your small business.

“We’re called on as professionals to work on horses,” Roche says. “I’m going to seek out people who take the job seriously because on the insurance side of things, there are a lot of gray areas. Most horseshoers are not going to read the fine print of insurance policies. Insurance agents are taught to read them. That’s where your
professionals come in to sort out those small details.”

Liability insurance covers you and your business should the horse you’re working on become injured or dies.

“It can be as easy as a horse gets loose and runs into the side of your shoeing trailer,” Roche says. “It sounds crazy, but it happens. Who pays for that? If your rig isn’t insured, then somebody is eating the cost of the trailer and the cost of the horse. If you get stuck with a $30,000 horse, you can survive that. If there’s also a $250,000 lawyer bill that comes along with it, that’s something you can’t survive.”

Hiring an attorney to establish a business entity, such as a limited liability corporation (LLC), for your practice will help protect your personal assets. While it might be tempting to save money by buying an LLC and downloading it off the internet for $100, it won’t save money in the long run.

“When something happens, I’m going to pay my attorney more money to read the LLC that I got off the internet to understand how I’m protected,” Strommen says. “When the attorney writes it, they know how to best protect you and will include everything necessary to do so.”

As you start your business, learn from those who have made mistakes. Investing in quality tools, an accountant and insurance can help you avoid unnecessary pitfalls.