Last week, American Farriers Journal (AFJ) Editor Jeff Cota and I were recapping the great memories flowing in on the history of AFJ. After asking me of my observations, Jeff invited me to contribute an “essay” of my own. I was glad to oblige.
For an industry as great as farriery is, there’s a small but loud segment of the trade that encourages reckless rumor mill gossip and the “running down of their fellow farriers and vets.” Our industry is better than that, and frankly, you deserve better than that, too.
There have been significant changes to farriery over the past half-century. Advancements in products and technology have improved the farrier’s ability to work with horses and earn greater income. Among these innovations, freely sharing footcare knowledge ranks at the top.
Communication between farriers was few and far between when Henry Heymering published the first issue of American Farriers Journal in 1975. Many shoers of that era recall counterparts packing up their tools when they arrived at a barn out of fear that their techniques might close the expertise gap. As a result, experience and ingenuity were largely relied upon to improve everyday work and efficiency.
When Frank Lessiter wrote the first “Shoeing for a Living” in 1992, American Farriers Journal launched what became its most popular feature series. Over the 28 years since its debut, the focus of each of the articles clearly mirrors Hall of Fame farrier Henry Heymering’s goals when he published the first 8-page issue of the magazine 45 years ago — bringing farriers together and eliminating isolationism.
Your client called. Her horse is three-legged lame, and she thinks it’s an abscess. What should you do? For many farriers, the answer is easy: evaluate the lameness, and if it’s an abscess, drain the infection and keep the hoof clean and dry afterward.
In this episode, Mark Ellis, a Wisconsin farrier who learned the ropes with Renchin, recalls Red’s relationships with area veterinarians, his legacy and the second career as American Farriers Journal’s technical editor.
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