It's more than just your transportation — it’s a way to express who you are and what you do. While a fancy shoeing rig may suit one farrier just fine, another may opt for an inexpensive yet functional model. Either way, you want to get the most out of your rig and the money you invest in it.

We called upon the services of a half dozen rig manufacturers to see how far your money can be stretched when in the market for a new rig. We figured a beginning farrier would have $2,000 to spend on a rig, an established shoer may have saved $9,000 and an accomplished farrier, who’s looking for it all, may be willing to invest $12,000 in a new rig.

The six rig manufacturers who responded to our questionnaire were: Equipment Innovations in Marietta, Ga.; SomerSong Forge in Somerset, Wis.; Georgia Farrier Supply in Jasper, Ga.; Purdybilt Bodies and Equipment in Moravia, N.Y.; Stone Well Bodies and Equipment in Genoa, N.Y.; and Monetta Farrier Specialities, Monetta, S.C.

What Can I Get For $2,000?

When you’re just starting off in the shoeing business there isn’t much extra money to spend on a rig. But, you have to be able to lug your tools and equip- ment from stop to stop. Our rig manu- facturers offered their thoughts on a bare-bones rig, which would fall in the…