Horse numbers were at an all-time low when I began shoeing in the early 1960s. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had stopped counting them. The composition and distribution of the horse population was very different then than it is now. Most people were professional horsemen who worked their several horses regularly. Today, the majority of most farrier’s clients have a few horses that are worked infrequently. In addition, there’s more breed variety represented in today’s population

The biggest difference between then and now is the lack of horse-care knowledge in today’s horse owners. This seems odd to those outside our industry since there is more opportunity to learn today than there has ever been. But learning a craft or skill must be honed by experience, not simply by Googling or attending a clinic or classes in a school.

Within the last 20-25 years, enterprising people have looked at what is most difficult about the farrier’s job and tried to make it simpler. Prefabricated shoes of all descriptions have been manufactured and are readily available to practicing farriers and horse owners. Hundreds of styles of horseshoes in every size are available. These are uniform in quality since they are made by machines and are suitable for many situations. However, different and unusual cases can require custom-made shoes to fit individual horse requirements.