Introduction
Horseowners today will actively seek out highly trained Farriers. Their horses are high priced investments, competitive recreation, or cherished pets and owners have little tolerance for anything less than the very best care for their horses. The farrier is pivotal in total horse care.
The farriers job cannot be done by a machine. A skilled farrier has a well-trained eye that captures the dynamics of the horse’s movement and structure and translates what (s)he sees into what best benefits that particular horse.
Maximizing a horse’s performance, or even a horse’s comfort, requires skilled teamwork of owner/rider, trainer, veterinarian, and the all-important farrier. In every horse population many lower leg and hoof lamenesses are the direct or indirect result of improper trimming and shoeing by unqualified farriers. Qualified farriers are knowledgeable farriers. Knowledgeable farriers are educated, tested, and certified according to industry standards established by experts in this field. Education is the key.
Both the American Farriers Association (AFA) and the Brotherhood
of Working Farriers Association (BWFA) have certification programs. Text
knowledge and hands-on competence in the field will make it possible
for each dedicated trainee to achieve the goal of successful certification
by these esteemed and recognized associations. A primary goal of this
course is to lead and direct each trainee to achieve a level of competence,
sufficient or beyond, to pass the test recognized by these associations.
The only way to master fundamental horseshoeing skills
is through intense hands-on training in the field. Balanced trimming
and shoeing will be practiced and perfected in various horse populations
along with textbook instruction. All trimming and shoeing will be done
in the field on working farms. Trainees will be required to learn anatomy,
physiology, and the fundamentals of biomechanics of the horses hoof.
Trainees will also make basic shoes and tools needed for this trade.
