The San Francisco Bay Area is among the true American equine hot spots.

The diversity of breeds and disciplines ensures plenty of hoof-care work in an area with a considerable concentration of wealthy clients who make their living in the high-tech hub known for being the home of such giants as Intel, Cisco, Meta, Apple and Google. A higher cost of living enables farriers to charge 40-60% higher than the surrounding rural areas.

Somerset, England, native Mike Hayward immigrated to the U.S. while training and providing footcare for the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants for 7 years. In 2008, he graduated under the tutelage of International Horseshoeing Hall of Famer Bob Smith from Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, Calif. Today, he primarily focuses on performance horses and therapeutic cases around the Bay Area.

It’s substantial territory, requiring Hayward to schedule his clients based on location. His team is in Woodside on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. He visits Sonoma clients on Wednesday, while Friday is devoted to South Gilroy. Santa Cruz is added to the rotation when necessary.

Covering a large equine population over a sizable area keeps Hayward busy, but there are drawbacks.

“Welcome to the Bay Area traffic,” he says while driving north on Highway 101. “Three hours of your life.”

The competition is tough. The Woodside area alone is filled with the best of the best — Jeff Phalen, the Clarke family and the Hall of Fame power couple Don and Margie Lee Gustafson.

Mike Hayward’s trimming protocol has evolved as he has gained experience. He only takes enough foot to balance it and prioritizes function over beauty. Jeff Cota

“The quality of shoeing is really good,” Hayward says. “You have to bring something to the table that the others don’t. Everyone gets along pretty well. A lot of people try to come into the area because you can make a very good living.”

High prices, though, mean high expectations.

“When some try to come in, they never last long because the quality of work around here is so high,” he says. “You still have the low-priced shoers and the ones who try to undercut — people who do deals and discounts — but they never work out.”

Scheduling & Servicing Clients

Most of Hayward’s clients are on a 5- to 6-week schedule, which makes work life easier.

“The feet are nicer because they don’t get too long,” he says. “They’re easy to maintain. Since the feet are so dry, they stay together much better. We’re not chasing feet; we’re maintaining them. We also reset more often. We make more money when we’re resetting shoes.”

The shorter cycle also changes the clientele dynamic.

“There are fewer clients, although not necessarily fewer horses,” Hayward says. “Fewer clients means fewer problems.”

Although most are on a shorter cycle, there are a few mavericks.

“Anything over 6 weeks is pretty much a trim,” he says. “We don’t have a great deal of trims. I push the longer scheduled ones out, or I’ll have my team — Esteban Narez or Fernando Roman — do them because they really mess with my schedule. Everything just bunches up. I’m pretty happy when everything is on a 5- to 6-week schedule.”

Hayward investigates a seedy toe insult to determine its severity. Jeff Cota

While Hayward’s schedule is relatively smooth, it wasn’t always that way.

“When I started, I’d work until 9 or 10 at night just to get things done,” he recalls. “Setting boundaries and expectations with my clients are the best things I ever did. I have a son, Jonny, and Esteban has a wife and kids, so I have to be done at 5 p.m. My clients know that I have Jonny every weekend, and I don’t work. If you lose a shoe on Friday, it might be Monday before I get there.”

Hayward takes scheduling seriously. Each client receives the next appointment time and date on his business card before he leaves the property.

“My schedule is the most important thing for me,” he says. “I need to know where I’m going to be 5 weeks from now. I need a schedule. I hate being behind. I want to be there when I say I’m going to be there because nobody else does that — shows up or shows up on time.”

It’s the No. 1 reason horse owners say they switch farriers. According to an American Farriers Journal survey, 32% fired their hoof-care provider for failure to keep appointments. Another 24% say the farrier did not return phone calls, texts or social media messages, while 12% say they showed up 2 or more hours late.

Hayward also incorporates interesting scheduling choices.

“Normally, I take Flag Day off,” he says. “When I came to the U.S., I looked at my calendar and saw that it’s Flag Day. I take it off like it’s a holiday. My first wife asked, ‘Why are you still at home?’ Well, it’s Flag Day. She’s like, ‘What?!’ Yes, it’s a holiday. It’s in my Apple calendar and everything. I’m like, ’Merica. Since then, I’ve always taken it off.”

Hayward targets another holiday for his annual rate increase. While many farriers implement hikes on New Year’s Day, he takes a more revolutionary approach.

Hayward applies Groom’s Hand to Cookie’s sole to combat seedy toe. Jeff Cota

“Prices go up every year on July 4,” Hayward says, chuckling.

Why?

“Because I’m British, and it’s Independence Day,” he says with a smile. “Happy Treason Day, peasants. My prices just went up. It seems to work out pretty well.”

Client Communication

Hayward pulls his Chevy 2500 HD pickup into Jaclyn Pepper Dressage, a training and boarding facility in Cotati, just west of Sonoma. Pepper is an FEI rider, competitor and trainer who was a U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF) silver medalist at the tender age of 15. She earned gold earlier this year. Pepper has also won multiple Horse of the Year awards and scores well over 75%.

She cut her training teeth under Allison Mathy, a fellow USDF gold medalist who is a Grand Prix Dressage rider, trainer and instructor at Lyric Dressage in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

“Jaclyn is such a wonderful trainer to work for,” Hayward says. “When we arrive at the barn, we talk about all the horses. She has a really good feel. Our communication is awesome. I can’t change anything unless you tell me.”

A Sweep Stake

Mike Hayward invented a patented broom with a roller magnet to collect stray nails after shoeing. Jeff Cota

San Jose, Calif., farrier Mike Hayward is constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency and hoof care. His ingenuity led to the creation of a magnetic broom.

He modified a shop broom with a roller magnet to retrieve stray nails after shoeing a horse.

“The roller magnet is on one side and the broom on the other so you can still sweep,” Hayward explains. “To remove the nails from the magnet, you just flip a switch that releases the magnetic face and the nails fall off.”

Hayward’s magnetic broom was awarded a U.S. patent. The next step is finding a manufacturer and distributor.

It isn’t a one-way street. Farriers often point out issues that go unnoticed.

“I like to communicate with the client because I’ve done these horses for so long,” he says. “I can feel whether they’re a little stiff or sore just by their body position. Those little feelers are so important.”

As Narez and Roman unload the Stonewell Mini trailer, Hayward huddles with Pepper to discuss the horses on today’s schedule. 

“What’s been happening?” Hayward asks. “Who’s doing what?”

“They’re all working,” Pepper replies.

“Any questions or concerns?” he asks.

“Cookie got her coffin joints and hock injected yesterday,” Pepper says, pointing to the mare standing in the barn aisle. “All her flexions were great. That horse is so sturdy. She was sound, so that’s good news. Taboo’s getting his back injected next week. Cooper is getting his neck done. Other than that, they’re all good.”

Trimming Protocol

While Hayward prepares to trim Cookie’s left front hoof, Roman cleans the shoes for reset. Narez prepares Hayward’s shoeing box, organizing nails on Hayward’s magnetic wristband and bringing over a container of Magic Cushion and gloves.

“I read the foot and trim to the waxy part of the sole then see what we have,” he says. “I take enough foot so I have a good, balanced trim. Reading the foot doesn’t tell you everything. I leave a little more foot than I used to. I’m not opposed to being more conservative with the frog. If you over-trim it, you lose traction in some ways. You can have a beautiful foot, but it’s the function of the foot that’s more important.”

Hayward marks the bottom of the foot to where he wants it to be.

“There’s a bit of a flare,” he says. “When I put it on the stand, I know how far to go back to. I think you can tell a lot more from the bottom of the foot than you can when you pull it forward. When I pull it forward on the stand, I’ll see where I’ve rasped it from the side and back it up to the line.”

Hayward’s method keeps his team on the same page.

“As we’re working, it’s not always me who dresses the feet,” he explains. “Esteban or Fernando know when they dress it, that’s how far they go. They stay to the parameters I want.”

Narez busies himself at the trailer by riveting DePlano leather pads to Kerckhaert DF shoes with quarter clips that will be applied to the fronts. Kerckhaert Selects will be nailed to the hinds.

“I prefer the DFs because I don’t want a lot of breakover on these horses,” Hayward says. “It’s a good, solid, reliable shoe. The Selects are a little longer than the DFs and have a much better shape.”

Roman takes Hayward’s place under the horse and burns the shoes on. 

Hayward schedules the next appointment before leaving the property. Each client receives his business card with the time and date. Jeff Cota

“Since Cookie is a reset, the shoes are pretty similar to what we’ve already put on,” Hayward says. “We’ll clean both shoes, take one of them and smoke both feet. It allows Esteban to make the pad on the other one straight away. It’s nice when Esteban is with us because either him or Fernando can trim hind feet. I don’t really do hinds. It’s like a vacation for me. Fernando is magical. We did 18 horses the other day. Half of them were shoes, half were trims. I didn’t have to adjust one shoe. He has an eagle eye.”

Slipping a latex glove on his right hand, Hayward covers Cookie’s sole with Magic Cushion and nails the padded shoe package on the right front hoof with Liberty CU nails. He repeats the process with the left front.

“I get no thrush with Magic Cushion,” Hayward says. “It leaves a really nice foot. This horse wants to get a little upright and gets a little more concussion. This package helps this horse. Typically, most pads we use are either for support or concussion. If the horse doesn’t need support, I’ll use Magic Cushion.”

Princess Service

While Roman burns and nails on the hind shoes, a groom leads Ellie to the shoeing area. Narez wastes no time pulling the mare’s shoes as the trio begins their princess service.

“Princess service is where we do two horses at a time,” Hayward says. “This barn is a nice environment to work in. They bring the horse to us. It’s nice to watch how the horses load and land as they come over. That makes a big difference because you can’t always see it when you walk in by yourself.”

Hayward follows behind Narez to trim the left front hoof. As he begins paring the foot, it’s showing signs of hardening in the arid climate. The sole flakes under the blade of his hoof knife.

Manage Your Finances & the Unexpected with Ease

Learn from other farriers who shoe for a living how they make the most of their knowledge & business

American Farriers Journal’s “Shoeing for a Living” series began in 1992 with Maryland farrier Gary Faulkner. Today, AFJ has published more than 120 “Shoeing for a Living” articles that spotlight farriers from across the country. The series’ goal echoes Henry Heymering’s reason for founding AFJ 50 years ago: to bring farriers together and learn from one another. To celebrate 50 years of supporting farriers, tune in all year for more tips and insights from farriers who shoe for a living.

Financial Health. Asked to give one of the most important changes to his career over the decades, Missouri farrier Ed Reardon puts down the right hind foot and stands. With no hesitation, his answer was hiring and delegating to his accountant.

Reardon gives credit to David Mercer, a local accountant for changing his approach to money management. For example, Mercer convinced Reardon to use a business credit card and personal credit card, never blurring the expenses.

“He told me to put everything on those credit cards be­cause I was writing checks prior,” he says. “I quickly realized after the first month, I wasn’t spending as much. I spent about 25% less because it led me to not splurge but instead think about what I was buying.”

Missouri farrier Ed Reardon recommends hiring an accountant and saving early for retirement. Jeremy McGovern

Mercer significantly impacted how Reardon operated his multi-farrier practice. He made changes such as filing as a corporation and leasing his shoeing truck and shop to his business. 

“Don’t worry about the cost of an accountant or financial planner, because good ones will pay you back many times over,” he says.

Advice on financial matters is key, but Reardon never lacked discipline in saving money. This goes back to a conversation with his surrogate grandfather Bill Schwab after shoeing school.

“He told me, ‘If you put $2 for each horse in savings, you’ll have a good retirement.’ I did that for a long time, of course making it more than $2 as I got older. Later in my career, I started taking half of my proceeds and putting it toward retirement.”

The last horse of the day is another trail horse that Reardon will trim. As he makes his way around the horse carefully evaluating and trimming each foot, Reardon shares insight on what he charges. He says that farriers should analyze each element of the job to recognize where they should charge more. Yes, Reardon believes in service to the client, but that doesn’t mean farriers should absorb all costs affecting their businesses. 

Farriers may look at the time investment and inventory used as what they are charging. Reardon says to think about other aspects, such as the time involved. A few years ago, he initiated a $10 fuel surcharge. If a client was expected to pay for services on the day of service and failed to, he would charge an extra $10 for processing and mailing the invoice. 

“You have to be upfront and explain these to the client,” he recommends. “I am also upfront when I raise my prices each year.”

— “A Dedicated Retirement Plan,” March 2023

Learn to Problem-Solve. As a long-time competitor, including at the Calgary Stampede and with the American Farriers Team (AFT), Kentucky farrier Conrad Trow is well-known for his skill in the forge. He used to build every shoe on the spot for his horses for many years. He began utilizing premade shoes to cut down on the time spent. Trow recommends farriers develop their skill set with forge work. Asked when someone becomes proficient in their everyday forge work, Trow finds it is when you can shoe a horse, look at each foot and recognize the faults and improve on them. But it also is when unexpected conditions no longer overwhelm you.

“That is more important,” he says. “There are few situations where I can’t come up with a game plan and execute it without being overwhelmed. I’m confident that no matter what I’m presented with, I can fit those feet to the best of my ability.”

According to Kentucky farrier Conrad Trow, a good horseshoer is one who can execute a shoeing plan no matter the circumstances Jeremy McGovern

That is why Trow competed so much. It was never about accolades and awards, it was being able to shoe to a prescription and how that is necessary in everyday work.

“That is the hardest thing to do,” he says. “Can you say what you are going to do before you shoe that horse and then execute it? That’s what makes a good horseshoer.”

— “Shoeing Performance Horses in Oldham County, Kentucky,” May/June 2019

“It’s almost nipper season,” Hayward says. “I’ll have to use the nippers to remove the sole soon because it’s just too hard.”

He notices a hole in the toe behind the white line and probes it with a nail.

“It’s a bit of seedy toe, but it doesn’t go anywhere,” Hayward says. “It only goes about 2 mm in. I’ll put some Groom’s Hand on it.”

The trio has developed an efficient operation. Roman has worked with Hayward for 8 years, while Narez has logged 3 years. They work in concert with one another. While they perform their tasks quickly, there’s no sense of rush.

This benefits their daily work, but it paid dividends when a freak accident left Hayward unable to work. After recovering from double carpal tunnel surgery, he was walking a horse out of a pasture when it tripped and fell.

“I was under its front legs as it fell,” Hayward recalls. “I put my arm out to stop my fall, and it went crunch. Fernando thought the fence post broke because of the noise, but it was my shoulder.”

Describing it as one of his most painful experiences, Hayward’s body started to react.

Esteban Narez and Fernando Roman are integral to Hayward’s practice. “There’s not one thing these guys can’t do that I do,” he says. Jeff Cota

“I was sweating immediately,” he says. “I turned yellow. It felt like I was going to throw up. The pain was excruciating. Luckily Fernando was with me.”

After finishing the horse, a local veterinarian radiographed his shoulder and advised him to see a medical doctor.

“The doctor said, ‘Your shoulder kind of looks like Pac-Man’s mouth,’” Hayward says. “They cleaned out the joint and surgically repaired it with a screw. I have some pretty cool scars. My range of motion is a lot better. I couldn’t lift it up before. I had to sleep on the sofa sitting up for 2 weeks.”

While Roman and Narez picked up the slack, losing Hayward put them behind.

“I had Esteban around a little bit more than normal,” he says. “He stepped up and helped a bunch, which is awesome. I’m extremely privileged to have such a good team. There’s not one thing these guys can’t do that I do.”

“I can say barn,” Narez jokes, referring to Hayward’s English accent.

“Working as a team is so much more fun,” Hayward says, still chuckling from Narez’s joke. “We check each other’s work, and everyone keeps each other accountable. We make fun of each other’s crappy nail line. If we have an amazing nail line, I’ll make sure Esteban sees it so he can strive. He’s getting there.”

“One hot nail at a time,” Narez shoots back.

While Hayward levels the solar hoof wall with a rasp, Narez brings Hayward a hot shoe to fit. Roman finishes Cookie, who is escorted from the shoeing area. Narez retrieves the hot shoe after Hayward is finished, then grabs a broom to sweep the floor of Cookie’s hoof trimmings.

Hayward moves to the right front, which has a conformationally induced lateral flare.

Hayward uses a Kong dog toy on his Hoofjack peg. The smaller black toys last longer. Jeff Cota

“She’s a little crooked,” he says while paring the sole. “She’s young but has nice feet — probably some of the best feet in the barn. She grows so much foot in 5 weeks.”

Roman brings a hot shoe to fit after Hayward finishes his nipper run. After he’s satisfied with the burn, Hayward grabs a can of Groom’s Hand Thrush Solution and covers the sole to combat the seedy toe. Roman cleans up the shoe at the grinder as Hayward brings the foot forward on the peg to dress the foot.

Aesthetically Pleasing

Hayward removes the foot from the peg and brings it back between his legs as Roman hands him the shoe to nail on.

“The copper nails drive so much better,” Hayward says. “There’s no black corrosion around the nail holes, and the nails don’t rust.”

“And they’re pretty,” Cooper’s owner says as she leads him to the shoeing area where Narez meets him to pull his shoes.

“They’re pretty,” Hayward echoes. “That’s exactly right. And they’re expensive, so that means they must be better.”

After Hayward nails up Cookie’s forefeet, he navigates to the barn’s desk in the aisle to take payment and schedule Cookie’s next appointment. Narez sweeps in with the broom, then gives way to Roman, who tackles the hinds. Narez retreats to the Stonewell trailer where he fires up the forge to clean up Cookie’s hind shoes for resetting.

Meanwhile, Hayward greets Cooper and begins trimming the gelding. Roman nails up Cookie’s hinds and gives way to Narez so he can clinch, finish and apply a coat of Kevlar Tuff hoof polish. After trimming, Hayward uses a buffy on the hoof wall.

“I’ve been using the buffy since it came out,” Hayward says. “I love it. It saves time, effort and looks nice. I’m pretty big on aesthetics, especially in the area we’re in. It’s an interesting demographic to work in because the Bay Area is so, ‘I want it now.’ There’s a lot of money, and if you can’t be there today, the next guy will be.”

A Hot Mess

Cooper has a few issues that Hayward keeps in mind. The least of his concerns is a touch of seedy toe, which is dealt with by a generous coating of Groom’s Hand.

“When I use Groom’s Hand, I find that the sole remains purple at the end of the cycle when it’s applied to the hoof and covered by a pad,” he says. “I don’t find that with other products.”

The more significant concerns began 8 months ago when the gelding experienced a laminitic event that led to some separation. A subsequent nail puncture wound spurred him to founder.

“He was a hot mess for 4 months,” Hayward says.

While the previous horses were shod with leather pad packages, Cooper’s features a Farrier’s Pride plastic pad.

Hayward has transformed Leo’s flat sole into a concave foot. There’s still work to be done as he illustrates where the heels should be. Jeff Cota

“He’s really flat-footed,” he says. “He can’t handle a lot of frog pressure. So, we go with a flat pad instead of frog support. He needs more protection than leather. These flat pads are pretty hard. We put Mustad Hoof Cushion Medium A35 impression material in the back half of the foot. We try to not put too much at the front. Some will seep forward, but I don’t want pressure at the tip of the coffin bone.”

Combining Cooper’s penchant for finding problems during turnout and the plastic pad, Hayward applies the shoeing package with six nails as a preventative measure.

“I typically go with five or six nails when I have a size 3 or above pad,” he says. “I love four-nailing, though, because there are fewer nails in the foot. His frog is big, so he’s getting a little bit of pressure, which is good for him. But too much and he doesn’t move well. I want to do more, so I’m trying to find the balance between moving the best and having the best feet.”

Cat-and-Mouse Game

After Hayward turns Cooper over to Roman, he focuses on Leo. The gelding has been a project since coming to the barn.

“When he first came in, his feet were super flat,” he explains. “He had a negative plane. His coffin joint was angry, so we elevated him with a 2-degree wedge and impression material. My No. 1 goal whenever we get a new horse is to create a healthy foot. Once we create a healthy foot, then we can start to make changes.”

As the foot started to achieve concavity, Leo’s heels grew, prompting a change to a 1-degree wedge.

“Now, we have a decent amount of concavity, and he’s finally getting some foot,” Hayward says. “He definitely has some heel, so we’ll lower his heels to get a healthier foot. But we have to artificially put it back on with the 1-degree wedge because I don’t want his heels to run forward. His heels should be here (Figure 1). It’s like a cat-and-mouse game with this one.”

Hayward creates concavity by providing support with dental impression material.

“I prefer dental impression to a pour-in pad,” he says. “I don’t think you get such a healthy frog with pour-ins. The frog tends to meld into the front of the foot. We don’t get that with dental or Magic Cushion. We’re making slow progress. There are little things we do. If we see a little bit of separation or thrush, we’ll use Groom’s Hand or the clay. We do the little things that the client doesn’t see. Those little things help me for the next time. I can’t get results if I don’t do the little things.”

Leo’s package includes copper sulfate-infused impression material to protect it from fungi and bacteria.

“Normally when you take a pad off, there’s an odor,” he says. “We don’t have any of that. What a clean foot. Our goal is to get a healthy foot. He’s blown out his quarters a bit. That could be because of the pad. But I’ll take what we have now compared with how we started.”

Balancing Act

If Leo is a project, Taboo is a nightmare.

“He has the worst feet,” Hayward says. “Don’t judge me for his feet.”

“Mike does a really good job with him,” Pepper says. “Seriously, I don’t know how the shoes stay on.”

“It’s hope and prayer every night when I go to bed,” Hayward replies.

Taboo is a 17.3-hand warmblood that has shivers and leans while Hayward works on him.

“He’s so heavy,” he says. “We get his front end done first, then they sedate him. If they do it before, it’s impossible.”

Taboo’s feet illustrate the damage shivers inflicts on them. He slams his feet on the seared California ground, destroying his hind shoes and hoof wall.

“There’s separation in several places,” Hayward says. “He got sick for a while, and his feet really suffered. We were trying to back his toes up, and he got a toe crack. What do you want to deal with?”

Hayward brings Taboo’s left front foot to the peg, which is adorned with a rubber Kong dog toy.

“The smaller ones work better than the big ones,” Hayward says. “If you use the red ones, they wear out too quickly. You have to go with the heavy-duty black ones.”

Each swipe of the rasp across the hoof wall sounds like crumbling plaster. Shards of capsule tumble to the barn floor.

“It’s just so brittle,” he says. “They’ve tried supplements and topicals. He’s not showing now, so this is probably the best his feet have been. When he was showing, he was getting bathed all the time. The wet-dry cycle makes his brittle hoof wall worse.”

When Hayward finishes trimming and dressing the left front, Roman hands him a hot shoe.

“We try to get a pretty good burn on because we’re trying to seal the foot a little bit,” Hayward says above the sizzle from the shoe meeting keratin. “If he grew foot, it would be amazing. That’s what we’re trying to encourage with the dental impression and frog support. If we can get a healthier foot, he’ll grow. His hoof quality is poor, so trying to distribute the weight over the sole is hopefully going to help him a bit.”

The poor hoof quality presents challenges when applying the shoeing package.

“You have to nail above the compromised hoof wall,” he says. “You can’t use fewer nails.”

After Hayward and Narez finish the front feet, Pepper administers Dormosedan Gel from Zoetis to sedate Taboo (learn more about Dorm Gel here). When his head drops, Narez pulls the right hind behind the horse, resting it on his boot, and pulls the shoe.

Roman employs the same technique while trimming. Like Taboo’s front feet, his hinds are dry and brittle. Roman’s knife blade skips across the sole. While the low angle of the foot increases the task’s degree of difficulty, Roman sacrifices his comfort for the horse.

The compassion shown Taboo is one of the many reasons Hayward and his team are Shoeing for a Living in the Bay Area.