With winter almost here, I think about how blessed I’ve been to attend outstanding national events led by industry associations. In late September, I headed to New York for the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners’ Saratoga Vet & Farrier Conference. This annual event features insightful lectures and wet labs. The following month, Yoder Blacksmith Supplies hosted the International Association of Professional Farrier’s Hoofcare Essentials gathering in Fredericksburg, Ohio. This 1-day clinic was jam-packed with terrific presentations and demonstrations. To round out fall, the American Farrier’s Association Annual Conference once again combined top-notch education with the thrill of competition. If you missed any of these, American Farriers Journal will feature articles through the coming months featuring much of the information delivered at these powerful events.

Unfortunately, I missed October’s Equine Lameness Prevention Organization’s International Lameness Prevention Conference. This is yet another powerful event that gives attendees a balanced agenda of practical and theoretical insight.

In winter, we’ll see the World Championship Blacksmiths season-ending National Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. Afterward in January, the International Hoof-Care Summit will host another 4 days of farrier education in Cincinnati, Ohio.

And this doesn’t count all of the supply shop events, local association clinic hammer-ins, and other assorted farrier gatherings focused on education and self-improvement (find more options at AmericanFarriers.com/events. There has been no better time to be a farrier with the abundance and assortment of educational opportunities. Even if you disagree with the mission of any of these options, there is bound to be…