"Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”

Following this insight from the late entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn, the American Farrier’s Association (AFA) Board of Directors has taken measures toward making sure the word “consistent” will be often associated with AFA certification.

At the mid-September meeting, the AFA board approved measures to update the certification process. According to Certification Chairman Dusty Franklin, the board recognized that the first step in making a more consistent certification was ensuring those running the certification (examiners and testers) are themselves consistent in the process, and provide a fair and uniform evaluation of examinees’ work according to the guidelines that have been established by the association.

These updates state that examiners must complete the following to retain their status:

• Achieve 80% or higher on a written examination concerning the AFA Certification Guide.
• Submit a prepared horseshoe display completed to guidelines cited in the AFA certified farrier standards.
• Score a certified journeyman farrier bar shoe.
• Shoe a hoof with a pre-manufactured shoe to AFA certified farrier standards without a time limit.
• Forge a plain-stamped shoe with a toe clip on a front or quarter clips hind and shoe a hoof to AFA certified journeyman standard without a time limit.

To retain their status, testers also must meet all of the previous requirements. Unlike the examiners, testers are limited to 30 minutes per foot for shoeing with a pre-manufactured shoe and handmade…