I’ve had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of farriers because of my line of work. They range across all ages, live in countries around the globe and work with a variety of disciplines and breeds.

The most common reason they’ve entered the profession is a passion for improving or maintaining horses’ quality of life through footcare. I’ve found the next most popular reason is the independence that farriery offers. You can set your own hours, work with the types of horses and clients you like, set your own prices and so on.

But many who entered this profession for that independence also failed and have left farriery. Their primary mistake is that they mistook independence as meaning they could do — or not do — whatever they would like. Failure may have had nothing to do with the ability to trim or shoe a horse.

It is true that this profession offers more independence of choice than others. But independence has nothing to do with how many bosses you have. In fact, farriers with thriving practices have dozens of bosses — their clients.

So yes, you don’t have to return phone calls or show up on time if that is your notion of independence. But see how that helps your career, especially if you build a reputation as that type of farrier among the local horse barns.

Piece Of The Puzzle

Understanding better business practices, like client communication, is necessary for being a successful farrier. Today, a farrier is asked…