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About Us
I have more than 30 years experience in the farrier business. I have taught students for the past 20 years on how to shoe and trim horses. Learn all the lamenesses of the foot, and how to shoe for it. This is the only school that teaches these methods. Students who have attended the school are from all walks of life who wish to learn how to either shoe their own horses or to do public horses as a business.
Over the years, we have had students from New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, all over Canada and the United States. You do not need a ranch or a cowboy background to be a farrier. As long as you are comfortable being around a horse, you will have no problems.
The school was set up so that anyone could afford to come, time wise and cost wise.
We have had students from ages 15 to 62. We get both male and female students. Approximately 30% of our students are female and are quite capable of shoeing a horse as any male can. You don’t need to be a big strong person, as you are taught the proper way to position yourself when you are doing the horse. You are not going to get into a wrestling match with an animal that outweighs you by seven or eight times.
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About Farriers
The best friend a horse will have is a great farrier. The worst thing a horse will have is a bad farrier.
The biggest percentage of lame and sore horses and shoes falling off is a result of bad farrier work.
The reason for shoeing a horse is for protection or correction and also the condition of the foot and what the owner is going to do with the horse.
For every one horse a farrier shoes, they will trim three to five horses. If trimmed properly, a lot of horses that are shod could go barefoot.
The biggest problem with lamenesses is that you have to know the cause in order to know the cure. The problem of not shoeing or trimming your horse the proper way can cause problems in areas other than the foot itself, such as knees, ankles, tendons, hocks, etc.) The last thing you want to do is use a performance horse, or any horse, when he has a problem. This is where a good farrier being able to detect the lameness problem can advise the owner to have a veterinarian diagnose and treat the problem. We are not in the veterinarian profession, but the farrier does see the horse a lot more often than the veterinarian does.
There is a tremendous shortage of farriers and it does not take long to build up a clientele. With the significant number of horses being used for team roping, barrel racing, team penning, race horses, and people with horses for pleasure riding, there is a large demand for farriers.
The benefits of being a farrier are that you are self-employed. There are no layoffs, no cutbacks, or very little, if any. There is a very low cost to operating the farrier business once you have all the necessary tools and equipment.
If you are coming to the school to learn how to shoe or trim your own horses then you don’t have to wait for a farrier, and you know that you will do it the proper way yourself.
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