06/02/2026
❓Your questions answered: What’s your shoeing background? ❓
Q gets this question a lot, and his response is usually to say he’s been shoeing for 10+ years.
(𝘉𝘛𝘞, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 👋🏼 𝘏𝘦𝘺! 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 🤪)
His response probably doesn’t answer the questions you care about when it comes to your horse care.
So here’s what he isn’t saying.
→ No… he didn’t take a 6-12 week shoeing course.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱:
→ Majored in c**t starting and horse management – he knows a thing or two about horse behavior, horse movement, and how to get the most out of them from the saddle and on the ground.
→ Worked under, and alongside, A TON of farriers, some great, some not so great. Shoeing 8-10 horses a day – horses that were expected to work 8-10 hours a day.
The ultimate crash course in keeping a horse sound and performance-ready. For 10+ years… at multiple large stables.
Many of these horses were young, bad-mannered on the ground, and tough to get around. LOTS of drafts… there’s a reason his draft prices are double now. 🥴
(He also shod ranch horses throughout… AKA performance horses with a job.)
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:
→ he’s studying to pass his CF test from the American Farriers Association.
This involves a written component and a practical where he demonstrates he can shoe a horse correctly. NBD
It also involves a display board of shoes with various modifications that he builds over time… as well as him building a shoe – out of barstock – on site in under 30 minutes.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯: 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.
Testing is expensive as it requires travel and is only offered at certain times... So a lot of farriers don’t bother getting certified.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿:
For him, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.
He isn’t too proud to say, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯.” (Whether that's a vet or another Farrier).
Got questions about whether he can/will take on a specific horse? Shoot him a message!
P.S. Thanks for all the birthday well-wishes yesterday! ☺️
