If you shoe dressage horses, Dave Farley has some pointers that might interest you.

Even if you love shoeing for a living, remember that you’re in it for the money, warns farrier Brian Robertson of Owosso, Mich. “When you wake up in the morning, you have got to be a businessman; from the minute you wake up until the minute you are off the clock,” he says.

Just in case one of your Web-surfing, world-traveling or horse show-attending clients raises the subject, let’s get up to speed on cold water hydrotherapy as an aid to equine hoof and leg health.

Farriers beware. Avoid diagnosing a horse with navicular disease, a problem that even experienced equine veterinarians using high-technology cannot always determine with absolute certainty.

Excuse the older folks who still pull to the side of the road when Clint Laybourn’s shoeing rig approaches from behind. Even without its emergency lights flashing, the truck still looks very much like the ambulance it once was.

Imagine that money is no object and you could have any shoeing rig your heart desired. Want it roomy? OK. Want it to provide protection from the elements? Of course. Want it to travel comfortably? No problem. Eye-catching. You betcha’. Anything you want.