American Farriers Journal
American Farriers Journal is the “hands-on” magazine for professional farriers, equine veterinarians and horse care product and service buyers.
Backyard horses are often referred to condescendingly by farriers. These mounts deserve greater respect because they are the backbone of the industry.
The farrier business provides a broader range of working situations and income possibilities than just about any trade or business
I was driving taxi in Boston in 1971 when a 10-minute conversation with a fellow cabbie changed my life. He was going to quit driving cab and learn to shoe horses. My profound ignorance was revealed when I replied that I figured they stopped doing that when they phased out the equine cavalry. He said his uncle had someone come around his farm regularly to shoe his horses. I wanted to be my own boss, and in my youthful enthusiasm I envisioned traveling around the country in an old pickup, shoeing horses as I went. I had no idea how the business worked. I didn’t realize that horse owners wanted to know the quality of work that farriers did, and whether you were going to be around when the horse came due again.
Once I was made aware of the realities of the business, my expectations of the future changed, just a bit. The head instructor at the farrier school at Rogue River Community College had shod Saddlebreds for years, so he was a wealth of information as to the realities of the business and the many avenues open to someone just getting started. I knew my education would continue for a while (I hadn’t a clue it would continue for the length of my career), but I had no idea where I wanted to land in the business.
It…