Randy Luikart is a different breed of farrier.

Few possess the Ashland, Ohio, shoer’s wealth of hoof-care knowledge and skills. Luikart is equally comfortable discussing the physics of equine movement as he is toolmaking. In short, Lui­kart owns his trade.

Entering his sixth decade of shoeing horses, Luikart has a distinguished résumé.

He was a member of the first six North American Horseshoeing Teams from 1979-1984, which eventually became the American Farriers Team. Luikart also served as its coach.

It was during this period when he authored his first article for American Farriers Journal. Unsurprisingly, it was rooted in science — “Building Up Show Horses: Mathematics Vs. Rules of Thumb.” Luikart serves on AFJ’s Advisory Board and remains a regular contributor.

Leadership

As farriery entered the 1990s, a new opportunity presented itself — the American Farrier’s Association (AFA) presidency. Luikart narrowly beat Scott Colson by nine votes.

“I was so relieved,” says the Mississippi farrier.

The AFA set a high bar in its first two decades of existence and had a well-tuned orchestra in place when Luikart began his term.

“Everyone you have in your orchestra are great players,” he says. “I didn’t tell Myron McLane what to do with the forging contest. I didn’t tell Scott Colson what to do with the convention. I didn’t tell Jeff Rodriguez what to do with the convention program. I helped them with it.”

The collaboration paid dividends and created a blueprint for his successors.

“We were a good match,” Colson says…