For the second year in a row, I’ve been lucky enough to attend the Northern California Classic (NCC) and Edward Martin Perpetual. Each year has brought excellent clinicians and dedicated competitors. In the first day of this year’s clinic and competition, Arizona farrier Travis Koons gave attendees numerous tricks and tips on forging, shoeing and trimming, including how to create stronger clinches, how to avoid the heels of your shoes loosening over the course of a cycle and what to look for in a striker. All these tips and more are soon to come on AmericanFarriers.com.
In the days leading up to the NCC, I also had the opportunity to ride with California farrier Amanda Smith and spend the afternoon at Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School. As an instructor at Pacific Coast, Smith is excellent at what she does. In Smith’s only barn of the day, an apprentice and another farrier joined her, each at different points in their horseshoeing education. For the newer farrier, the focus shifted between nailing, clinching and making adjustments to the toe of the shoe. For the apprentice practicing for his Certified Journeyman Farrier exam, the focus was on creating smooth and consistent nail holes. Smith demonstrated practical, hard-hitting tips and gave advice for each situation (Learn more about Smith in an upcoming issue of American Farriers Journal).
At Pacific Coast, the students are coming up on their last week of the course designed to give them the tools and skills necessary to start a business immediately following graduation. In eight short weeks, these students have gone from having a limited farriery knowledge base to trimming, forging and shoeing a horse in a set period of time.
Moving up through the stages of proficiency — like moving up a division at a horseshoeing contest — requires a skill shift. This can feel indistinct or vague when you don’t know what you don’t know. Listening to Koons and Smith reminded me that the devil is in the details. Implementing one small tip from another farrier can help you think about things in a different way. Those small tips and tricks add up until suddenly you’ve built a skillset you didn’t have a year ago.
Today, Koons spiraled a hoof knife down the plastic of a R.A.T.E. hoof packing tube like opening a crescent roll. A farrier next to me was shocked he hadn’t thought of doing that before. It’s a small example, but attending clinics, contests, shop nights, the International Hoof-Care Summit and other community farrier events can help facilitate those a-ha efficiency moments — or forging or trimming or shoeing moments. Even if it feels like a small tip, it can level-up your skillset down the road.
What are your best farrier tips and tricks? Share them in the comments below.
