Esco Buff leads a roundtable at the International Hoof-Care Summit. “AFJ has helped push the narrative for our profession to be more professional, skilled and educated,” Buff says. Image: Lewis Horn III

Editor's Note: American Farriers Journal is celebrating its 50th anniversary and we’re reflecting on the relationships and partnerships we’ve forged, the milestones and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. In the famed Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” protagonist George Bailey gets to see, via a dramatic intervention by an angel named Clarence Oddbody, what the world might have been like had he never been born. International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame member Esco Buff offers his thoughts on what the farrier industry would be like if AFJ never existed.

If American Farriers Journal (AFJ) had never taken off or faded out in the ’90s, the farrier industry would likely look and feel a lot different in several speculative ways.

AFJ serves as a central hub for farriers, connecting them across regions with shared practices, case studies, product reviews, industry insights and innovations. Without this, I believe there would be less industry cohesion. There would be more regional sharing, perhaps, and it would take longer for ideas and innovations in one area to spread nationally or even internationally. Newer farriers would also feel more isolated and have less support.

It has helped push the narrative for our profession to be more professional, skilled and educated. The educational content might have stayed more informal or passed down through word of mouth. It has also helped professional organizations gain more attention.

AFJ also gave a platform for farrier supply companies to advertise, get feedback and help create dialogue among farriers. New ideas and brands would not be readily available and more than likely rely on word of mouth or possible trade shows, which have limited overall farrier attendance. Finding new products would be difficult.

Without AFJ, online forums and Facebook groups might have become the de facto professional spaces much earlier. There would be more of a decentralized knowledge base, more informal, and possibly the biggest issue would be the lack of good editorial filters. AFJ brings a bit of polish to the image of the modern farrier. Without that, the culture might skew even more towards being less professional and less educated.

AFJ has been the only true trade magazine publishing all ideas and content.