At some point in your career, you may want to become a specialist with a specific discipline or breed of horse. Becoming specialized in a breed or discipline is easier said than done. 

There are particular styles and nuances about the horses and the people associated with that group that can make it difficult to establish and maintain a thriving farrier practice that serves it. 

Trainers and owners tend to have differing opinions of how their horses should be shod and trimmed than a farrier might. Many of them have specific footcare qualifications that are required compete in competitions. They can be demanding for differing reasons.

With that in mind, we selected several farriers and other equine professionals to speak on what’s required to succeed in various discipline or breeds.

While not all owners and trainers share the same values and philosophies, the advice listed here can help you build a plan for succeeding within these disciplines. 

Dressage Horses By Steve Prescott (Hardeeville, S.C.)

Analytical

Dressage owners and trainers are of a different mindset than those of hunters/jumpers. The dressage rider is a very analytical person who is very concerned about perfecting the gaits of their horse. Because of that, they can be more difficult to please that those in other disciplines. They will ask a lot of questions and it can seem like they will pick you to death because they want to know how you as a farrier will improve a situation. It is a fun challenge.

They’ve become more inquisitive owners or trainers because of the advent of the Internet. They will read articles online and study subjects hard. They will come to conclusions. They want a black-and-white answer, but farriery is the opposite of that.

I don’t find them to be as gregarious as those owners and trainers you might experience in other markets like hunters/jumpers. There is a lot of that goes into their analysis that they work on alone or within a small team.

Your Place On A Team

The team is very precise: an owner, trainer, veterinarian and farrier. They will be so loyal to that team that they won’t deviate. It may be a generalization, but I find that the owner puts more value on what the trainer or veterinarian has to say about the hoof care. So sometimes, the farrier has an idea on the direction to go, but the owner will defer to the trainer or vet.

It becomes difficult when the trainer wants to fall into a fad of how every dressage horse should be shod. For someone like me, who has studied hoof care for more than 30 years, it can be hard to swallow. The problem can exasperate because of things like the Internet or Facebook.

As a dressage farrier, you may need to drink a big gallon of patience before a stop.

Don’t Expect The Best

Starting out, you need to go to the local shows. Who is participating at your local shows? You have to know this because this will be your core group of consumers. They are going to need regular hoof care.

As you start out in the local market, you will likely begin with the low level dressage owner. They tend to buy a cheaper horse. The horse may be green, or it may be worn out. It puts a lot of pressure on the farrier to get his or her job done. This can make that owner difficult to work for.

Hunters/Jumpers By Jennifer Moshier (Delaware, Ohio)

Attend Shows And Watch The Competitions

The most important thing for a farrier breaking into the hunter/jumper discipline is to familiarize yourself with the horse. 

This can be done by attending competitions and seeing what judges look for in a farrier. When I judge, I look for the horse to have a proper “daisy cutter” trot and how the horse jumps over a fence. The farrier needs to help balance the horse so those areas look right.

Do Your Homework

The hunter/jumper crowd tends to be a more affluent base of clients that what you may experience in backyard horses or other disciplines. This requires a higher level of shoeing skills and every detail in the horse is noted. A farrier in this class must be able to understand the vocabulary and talk about how the horse looks when it jumps.

Good Communication Is Crucial

The biggest thing for a young farrier coming into the business is if they choose to shoe in barns with high-level clientele, a good level of communication is vital. If there is a foot care problem with the horse, the owner and trainer are going to want to know about it right away. 

The farrier has to be willing to own up to mistakes and come in and make things right.

Morgan Horses By Mary Carlton (Marshall, Mich.)

Be Diverse

Unlike some breeds of horses, Morgans require different shoes for different disciplines and footing conditions. We are looking for knee and hock action according to each discipline and the ability of the horse.

Pay Attention To The Size Of The Feet

Morgans as a whole have medium-sized feet with good hoof walls, which some larger-footed breeds don’t have, or the navicular problems that some smaller-footed breeds have. However, flat-shod Morgan horses generally have longer feet so care needs to be taken to make sure the angles of the bones of the feet are growing properly to prevent future problems and quarter cracks.

Familiarize Yourself With United States Equestrian Federation Regulations

If you’re going to be shoeing Morgans that will be competing, you need to make sure the horse is properly shod. We have to conform in order to compete in all the various disciplines. There are various lengths for each division with some pad regulations. Visit usef.org for more information.

Thoroughbred Racehorses By Tom Curl (Vero Beach, Fla.)

Work With Somebody

More guys than ever use apprentices. Don’t seek out the most successful person. Instead, find the most well-respected farrier, who is the go-to-guy at the track. That mentor may not always be the busiest guy, but will be widely-respected.

Before hitting the tracks, I was known in the jumping horse business, pretty much worldwide. Still, it took years before I could walk on tracks in the United States and people knew me by name. It does take time to be recognized. 

As an apprentice, for a long time you’re going to be “that guy who works for so and so.” That’s going to be your official name for a while. That’s just a part of it.

But this also means you better  pick your mentors wisely. Tell them exactly who you are, what you want and what you expect to get out of it. 

Be prepared to work hard for a little bit of money in the beginning.

Not Just At The Tracks

There are going to be a lot of differences with Thoroughbred farms and racetracks. With Thoroughbred farm work, you’re dealing with the babies, broodmares, breaking horses, horses in training, 2-year olds, etc. 

At the racetrack, everything is in one gear. At the Thoroughbred farm, they’ve got to be pretty multi-talented. 

Be Mobile

It is hard to be a one-track shoer anymore. The guys that stay in New York or New Jersey constantly and don’t follow the horses to Florida in the winter are becoming rare. 

But if you want to be based at one track, beware of the routine. You need to be around as many changing surfaces and areas, as well as people. You need to meet other farriers and see other types of work to keep learning and your mind turning. Otherwise you’ll get stale and your work gets to be repetitious.

To get that hometown racetrack and really make a big beginning business is a pretty tough nut to crack.

Backyard Horses By Jeff Crane (Waxhaw, N.C.)

Loyalty

Backyard clients are some of the most loyal people I work for. I know there are exceptions, but I have had some of the same backyard customers for the past 20 years. I don’t really try to develop a personal relationship with clients. But looking back, I have seen my customers’ children grow up, get their driver’s licenses, graduate from high school and college, get married and have children — who went on to become horse owners. That keeps the cycle alive.

Learning Experience

There are many learning opportunities with good backyard clients. When I was gearing up to take the American Farrier’s Association’s Certified journeyman Farrier exam, a lot of backyard horses got handmade shoes. This was great practice.

I shod every type of hoof shape there was because you never knew what you were going to see at the test. I also had to get the job done in the allotted time frame of that shoeing appointment, which helped when my work was timed during certification.

Travel Is A Good Thing

As I drive between clients, my body gets a break and I can eat and have a cold drink. It is enough to rejuvenate me by the time I get to the next place. I have days when I am set up all day at the same barn and it seems like I never stand up straight. Shoeing horses is tough on the body, so those breaks are important.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from new backyard customers is that the farrier is never on time. Backyard customers need to feel as important as our large accounts because their time is valuable.  

Reiners By Daniel Sanborn (Salisbury, N.H.)

Make Sure You Have The Horse Balanced

No other horse slides 35 feet when it hits the ground, so having a reining horse balanced is critical, maybe more so than any other breed. As a trainer, I like my horses’ hind hooves to be a touch higher than its front.

Expect To Shoe Every Month Or So

I like to keep my horses shod every 4 to 5 weeks, with 5 being the absolute latest. My horses start to wear out their sliding plates quite a bit by that time, so a farrier will be busy shoeing reiners.

Don’t Try To Reinvent The Wheel

One of the biggest things I see when people don’t shoe reining horses regularly is they don’t reset the nail head on the sliding plates on the hind hooves. We’re supposed to have the feet strike the ground flat, but if a horse splits the plate, it can tear muscles, which is more important than having a hoof land flat.

Cutting Horses By Danny Anderson (Whitesboro, Texas)

Speak Their Language

I think you need to know what the horse is doing, regardless of the discipline. I think you really need to understand what they’re asking of the horse. And know what they mean when they say “She’s sliding past his cattle,” “I can’t get him to roll over his shoulder,” or “He’s hanging a foot out on me.” 

They’ll have their own language in each discipline and be familiar with those terms that they’re using. And be familiar with what the horse is doing. Know that he pushes off of his inside toe or that he has to have a wide stance. 

Know The Basics, But Also Know The History

Through the years, the basics are still the same. But, you can always adapt that basic to suit certain trainers and certain horses. Know your bloodlines. These days, the genetics of certain horses and with their bloodlines, you’re going to have to shoe them a certain way. 

You can best learn this by riding along with another shoer. Keep your mouth shut and listen. Then, you can ask that other farrier later, “Hey, what was that thing you were speaking about before?” And he or she can let you know what he meant by letting him explain it.  

Realize that trends in that discipline change. Fifteen years ago they wanted to cut a horse that would jump up and run across that pen and drag it, and I mean bury it. And now they kind of want the creepy-crawl type.

Attend the events or try to get videotapes because you’ll start noticing that the riders and horses that are winning.

You May Not See Eye To Eye With The Trainers

I’m old school. Certain trainers aren’t going to use me to shoe their horses simply because I’m fixed enough into what I believe will and won’t work. 

The only way I can approach that is say, “Look, this is what I’ve developed over a lifetime of doing this. I’ve developed this style and this is how I shoe horses. Now, while I’m in the service industry, I want you to feel confident in your horse when you go into the arena to compete and think you got your horse shod to where you feel he’ll compete the best.” 

There are some things that I know are detrimental to this animal. Those things I will draw the line at. But, I’m more than willing. There are some trainers who like trailers on their shoes and there are others that don’t. I’m not going to say everyone has to use trailers. I think you have to be very diplomatic with that trainer or owner and tell them the truth.