thewanderer

I managed to speak with a bunch of farriers at an event and watched them do demonstrations. There were several farriers there who had been to school and had been working alongside journeymen for a year or two. They were getting ready to get certified. They were still considered beginners. If you really want to get into it, learn as much about horses as you can. I showed up with a metal working perspective and have found that is only a small percentage of farriery. In preparation for school, I've been studying anatomy and horse hoof care, and have taken basic riding/handling lessons. So far, it seems it is 95% about the horse, and only 5% about shaping steel.

A few years back I was purchasing a truck from a horse breeder. He told me he had been doing it for some time. I asked him what made him decide to get into it. His response: "Well, I had a bunch of money and it seemed like a good way to throw it all away." I started to laugh, but then noticed his family and employees were completely straight faced and silent.

In regards to the increasing number of schools: Perhaps it just depends on the area. I personally have yet to meet anyone in person who wants to be a farrier, let alone an actual working farrier. I did meet one fellow who said he took to trimming his own horses because he could never get one to show up! The same fellow claimed that in a nearby county, due to retirements there were now only 2 or 3 farriers in the area and they were all booked up. I'm doubtful as there's a horseshoeing school here within a two hour drive. However, I've heard many people attending school just want to learn to shoe or trim their own horses. Makes sense with the rising costs in horse care. An uncited statistic I read: 1 in 10 practicing farriers continue with the trade after 1 year. As a comparison, nearly every student at my welding school got job offers. Some companies were showing up and pulling people out of class. Obviously that's a different scenario, but as a former independent contractor I know that many people do not last long in self employment. It is often difficult to do successfully on the side, both from an economic perspective and in terms of skill development. Another thought: The Post 911 GI Bill has made it far easier for veterans to attend trade schools. I recall hearing once or twice that there used to be quite a few horseshoeing schools prior to the 1950's, but a huge number went out of business after the VA decided to stop paying for them. Maybe things are simply going the opposite way?

Sounds like me. I got into blacksmithing on a whim (local forge meetup). I enjoyed working metal so much that I attended a 500 hour welding/fitting training course. Have had two job offers since, but recently decided to attend a horseshoeing school instead. Like Hawgdirt, I have not spent much time with horses. I wanted to take riding lessons when I was young, but my dad was adamantly against it due to being kicked by a pony as a child. I've ridden a few times as an adult. My girlfriend's family had horses on their farm, but that stopped when a racehorse rescue kicked and killed the family dog. Their opinion on the trade is that there's a high likelihood of injury. They said the same thing when I went to welding school. I'm not on their good side right now, so maybe they're just airing their hopes!