After graduating from horseshoeing school, it’s tempting to believe that your education is complete. You have the foundations down. You’ve committed to the tools and equipment. You may apprentice and start building a client base. You’re eager to start your career

Still, the first year or two or three can be daunting. You’ll encounter situations with horses, clients, vets and peers you won’t know how to navigate. Or, you’ll wonder how other farriers deal with back pain or retirement planning. These street smarts come with time, the willingness to accept community support and continuing education. Here, American Farriers Journal gathered advice from your peers to share with you in your first year after horseshoeing school. 

Never Stop Learning 

Best piece of advice: never assume you know anything.

—  Ed Robinson, Pahrump, Nev. 

What the new graduates need to know is to keep learning. Continuing education is essential. Complacency is dangerous for the horse. 

— Karen Brown, Northwood, N.H. 

Every day of working, I wish I were encouraged more to get some sort of qualification. Six years later, I’m studying for my first FITS test and realizing all the information I missed out on. Never stop learning.

— Horatio Delport, Johannesburg, South Africa 

I stuck with my mentor until he retired after 9 years. Slowly, I worked fewer and fewer days with him, but I avoided a lot of mistakes — not just on the horse’s foot but dealing with clients.

— Chrissy Landreth, Pataskala, Ohio

Horseshoeing education is never finished,…