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Interested in farrier work


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Hey everyone, 

Well I got about 1 1/2 months of experience and just been kinda researching which type of blacksmithing I'd enjoy the most. I buy my coal from a farrier supply company and saw all the business cards for farrier and figured there must be a huge demand for farriers.  It sounds very interesting but my thing is I've never so much as rode a horse. Are farriers mostly horse lovers that got into blacksmithing and not a new blacksmith that got into farrier work because of blacksmithing? I also enjoy "attempting" to forge tongs. Maybe that might be a route.

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Hawgdirt, how much do you like horses? It may be a silly question, but farrier work is all about the horses, and not about blacksmithing. While some do forge every shoe, most farriers don't really do much forging, and quite a few don't shoe at all (AKA barefoot trimming). how much do you already know about horses? It takes time before you know your way around the crazy animals the beloved beasts. Most farriers also go to a farrier school for specialized training. 

Also be aware that farriery is generally not a hobby, it is usually a career with long work days, no sick pay, and no worker's comp. I don't mean to discourage you, I just want to make sure you have an idea of what being a farrier is like. The best advice I can give is to talk to a few working farriers. Being a talkative bunch, they will tell you all you wanted to know and much, much more.  

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Hey, hawgdirt. I have been smithing for about 2 years. last winter I had the opportunity to apprentice with a farrier for a few months.  good old fashioned no-pay, long-day kind of apprenticeship. before this i had not really thought of shoeing as a career path that I would be interested in, but afterwords, i am dead set on it. unlike you, i had had a good deal of horse experience beforehand,  having owned, ridden, and had some training experience. this was helpful, but as you don't have it, there is no better place to learn than a farrier's shop. We have just moved and are still settling in, but as soon as we get settled i will be finding another farrier to apprentice with. My best advice to you would be to go to a farrier's shop or ride along with one on his rounds and just watch. Watch and ask lots of questions! If it still seems like something you would be interested in, see if you can get a position somewhere as a student. I would recommend an apprenticeship as opposed to a farrier's school to start off with; apprenticeships allow you much more hands-on time than a farrier's school would.  Having your own private teacher also allows your questions to get answered more thoroughly. A farrier's school would be a good way to advance your knowledge after you are somewhat grounded, especially if you are new to horses. ;) It is true that shoeing has much more to do with the horses than with blacksmithing, but there is still an element of hot steel, and the two trades definitely overlap some. Mr. Frank Turley and Mr. Charles Stevens have both shoed as well as smithed. Try pm-ing them and picking their brains, because they are both more experienced than me. It is generally easier to make a living shoing over blacksmithing, but that can depend on your area as well as your skills. Don't necessarily feel pressured to choose just one, either. Just because you shoe, doesn't mean you can't also smith. Hope this helps! 

P.S. Andrew Martin, barefoot triimers don't count as farriers. :P

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Sounds like good advice. Just thought it might sound a like silly to other  farriers that I'm interested in farrier work because of blacksmithing.  I just figured,  so far I really enjoy blacksmithing.  I work 6 months out of the year at my current job, I'd love to find another means of income so my wife can quit hers, farrier blacksmith to my knowledge, give it a shot. Where do i find farriers in my area?

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All the cards advertising Farriers posted at the local feed store would be one place....Note if you see a ton of cards advertising their services it generally means a glut of them in an area not a dearth!  (Now if you see a lot of "farrier wanted cards..."

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Ask your local veterinarian- one that does a lot of horses/large animals. They will generally know who is reputable in your area, and may even have a farrier on speed dial. Shoot, our local vet is our farrier's nephew! 

Phone books can also be helpful, word of mouth at horse shows would also be a great option

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I found a farrier down the road from me, very nice and will let me apprentice with him.  Gonna start Monday just picking up horses feet to make sure I'm not scared of horses. So pretty excited about that. One thing I was confused by is he said while he does forge horseshoes, he said most of the time he buys his horseshoes and modifies them. Is that standard practice for a farrier or do most farriers forge their own horseshoes? Either way super excited to learn a new trade, hope all goes well.

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2 hours ago, Hawgdirt said:

do most farriers forge their own horseshoes

"Most" I don't think so certainly not in my area, I know one who does and uses it as a "Marketing Idea".  Time is money in any business, use premade or keg shoes and you can do 3? times more horses a day.  A lot cheaper for the horse owner this way and the cost of keeping horses is getting very high. 

 

2 hours ago, Hawgdirt said:

Gonna start Monday just picking up horses feet to make sure I'm not scared of horses.

Keep us posted on this event, please. 

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Horseshoeing can be interesting if you can later on, specialize. For instance, you can focus on horse shows where your customer may be showing 3 & 5 Gaited or Tennessee Walking horses. Show Morgans is another one. Hunters and jumpers are fairly popular. Dressage is a good one. Harness track shoeing is where some shoes are hand forged. Shoeing horses for the race track where jockeys sit aboard, is called plating and done with boo coo aluminum ready-made shoes. Some shoers get well known doing therapeutic work by forging specialty shoes and braces for the veterinarians.

The old joke is "It takes a strong back and a weak mind," but don't you believe it.

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I am intrigued by it all that's for sure, if nothing else it would be a great skill to fall back on if coal industry tanks. He did mention that you need a strong back which did concern me.  I mean I have a strong back as far as picking heavy stuff up with ease but it does tend to hurt after a few hours of bending over, then again I don't know anyone's back that doesn't. 

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congratulations on the apprenticeship!  as a short answer, no most farriers don't make there own shoes. premade (keg) shoes are more efficient in most cases. handmade shoes are most commonly used for therapeutic work and for gaited horses. i am young and strong but my first week or 2 was rough on my back after that my muscles got stronger and  i felt it much less. you just have to hang in there. my real trouble is that i am 6'4 and still growing. need i say i prefer draft horses to minis. B) 

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Hold on there, a good farrier can still make their own shoes and for certain applications they certainly still do.(I'll be posting a "How to make a creased or fullered horse shoe this summer sometime as its on the list of "how to" to make).  Usually now it's more a case of modify Keg shoes (shoes factory made)..  

This is just a quick over view of differences and is not a complete explanation.. Every farrier will have an opinion one how it should be done.. or done correctly.. Proof becomes the level of soundness an how relaxed and pleasant the horses become as you work.. I haven't had a horse miss behave even with new horses in 20 years.. 

There is a very wide skill set in the farrier industry depending on where you apprentice and also the geographical area you are in..  

Some places will hot shoe and it's preferred in the area.. Hot shoeing  allows for an ill fitted shoe (not perfectly flat) to be applied as it burns itself to the hoof wall making it match the shoes.. It also will burn the hoof wall which people who do hot shoeing will argue it seals the hoof fibers and helps to set clips..   The reason listed is the reason it was originally done and it takes a little less skill  vs cold shoeing..

Cold shoeing on the other hand.. You balance the foot with the rasp to make it perfectly flat both from heel to heel and heel to toe.. Ideally it should be perfectly flat..  Then you shape the shoe.. This too, has to be perfectly flat with no deviation from heel to heel or from heel to toe.. Again perfectly flat.. ..  Then it is applied cold.. Clips are let in with the rasp vs burned in and is less damaging to the hoof materials vs burning..  

Back when I served my apprenticeship I was only hired because I was a blacksmith with many years of forging under my belt..  I had little to bad horse experience before this, so the guy said I'll give you a try.. He really did hire me to stay out at the forge and just make shoes.. I would get under maybe 10 -20 horses a day.. But in-between I would be out at the forge modifying and making new shoes for certain requirements..  WE also clipped all the shoes by hand and lots of horses had clips.. I'd say 75% had clips..  Mostly side clips but also toe clips and some really bad feet were triple clipped with both toe and side clips/ 

Anyhow, I've been a farrier now for 28 years..  I used to do a lot of "all of the above" and worked at race tracks, race horses, pacers, hunters, jumpers. dressage, draft, pullers. loggers.. ETC, ETC..  Clips, calks, studs, pads, egg bars, heart bars, trailers toe grabs. reining shoes or sliders, stifle shoes, etc, etc.. 

 

Over the first 8 years of working for myself I came to realize most problems with horses feet were created by the farrier and the traditional way in which the feet were looked at..  It's a long story but anyhow, I started moving away from shoeing and 99% of the horses I do now are barefoot.. I still have 1 customer who I put shoes on her horses and shes had horses in the Olympics..  Also when  new customer comes along and has shoes on and it's prime riding season..  It's not a good time to pull shoes then as it's like a person walking with a rock in their shoe.. 

While I think the ability to put shoes on horses is a pretty neat skill and am so grateful I posses this neat skill set.. Every time I put a shoe on a horse I cringe at the damage done to the supporting tissues inside.. ( the hoof and its function is extremely simple in a very complex way).

Here are some pictures of an Arab I do on a regular basis..  The feet are as tough as anything you can throw at them..  Just about perfect for this time of the year.. Horses feet change for given weather conditions and terrain.. These are spring feet with the thicker Winter sole shed out.. 

I video each trim or shoeing session so have a record of each horse over years of being done and it's amazing the changes that happen once gone barefoot the correct way.. 

 

My hands were completely numb for the first 2 years serving my apprenticeship from using my hands so much.. 

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That's some real good information. I've seen a few videos and while the blacksmithing aspect got me interested,  the whole skill set of a farrier looks like something id enjoy,  hopefully this guy doesn't cancel on me,  I'm looking forward to it.  Is it recommended you go to a horseshoeing school eventually?

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1 hour ago, Hawgdirt said:

That's some real good information. I've seen a few videos and while the blacksmithing aspect got me interested,  the whole skill set of a farrier looks like something id enjoy,  hopefully this guy doesn't cancel on me,  I'm looking forward to it.  Is it recommended you go to a horseshoeing school eventually?

A lot of farriers like to mold their apprentices into what they want..  A lot of farriers will only hire someone who has gone to farrier school..

Sadly a lot of farrier schools are still teaching out dated information  (I've read books from the 1800 right up till last week..  they are still having the same problems today that they had over the last 1000years with domesticated and stabled horses)....   

If you really want to understand what is going on with a horses hoof (how it works vs just how the tissues are connected) you'll have to find someone in the know who is willing to share it, because it's still not talked about...

If you want to simply learn about connective tissues and anatomy any horse shoeing school will do... while most schools will tell you "out the door you will be a competent farrier" it's like the first time you send a new private onto the battlefield...  You maybe fairly prepared but there is nothing like the real world... this is where working with a knowledgeable farrier will help you...

When it comes to shoeing a horse it's always a plus and a minus..   never a 100% positive..

By the way..  I will joke around about the blacksmithing or iron working stuff but when it comes to working on horses I'm as serious as a heart attack..And I call them not only as I see it but also with what works.. 

Good luck in your new endeavor...

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Well I reckon its back to the drawing board, we agreed on a time, said he'd call, and nothing,  never so much as texted me to say he don't wanna do it anymore.  Called all the farriers I could find and no one wants to do it.  I'd hate to spend a lot of money on school without trying it out first but might be my only option.

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Think of the liability they would be letting themselves in for!  You are asking them to bet everything they own on you and they don't even know you...  Have you read the details on your health insurance?  My policy says I HAVE to sue a third party if I get hurt involving them whether I want to or not...

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1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

Think of the liability they would be letting themselves in for!  You are asking them to bet everything they own on you and they don't even know you...  Have you read the details on your health insurance?  My policy says I HAVE to sue a third party if I get hurt involving them whether I want to or not...

Most Farriers are rogue..  They will explain the dangers and if you go with them you can expect to be cut, stabbed, burned, kicked, bitten, stepped on.. It's not a job for the weak of heart and it is very physically taxing..   

In that same token it can be a very rewarding trade and if you really want to help the horses vs just make a dollar it can be both excellent, rewarding and a great way to make a living..   Just remember in a job like this.. You have to be able to function at or around 100% all the time. You don't work, you don't get paid, you get hurt.. You don't get paid..

. If you get distracted even for a minute you can get hurt badly or even killed..  I know 5 people that have been hurt seriously working on horses.. and I know 30 people who have been thrown from a horse.  and know 2 people personally who have been killed..  

Few pictures from todays work..  

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I'm not exactly sure what to look for but looks like you take pride in your work.  It is a little childish but first time I talked to him found out his wife works with my mother and little did I know they both hate each other so I'm sure that had a lot to do with him not calling, but in my opinion still very unprofessional you can at least call or text. 

But I've found 2 more willing to take me under their wing.  One recommends going to school,  even said he'd throw some work at me once I learn enough.

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18 hours ago, Hawgdirt said:

I'm not exactly sure what to look for but looks like you take pride in your work.  It is a little childish but first time I talked to him found out his wife works with my mother and little did I know they both hate each other so I'm sure that had a lot to do with him not calling, but in my opinion still very unprofessional you can at least call or text. 

But I've found 2 more willing to take me under their wing.  One recommends going to school,  even said he'd throw some work at me once I learn enough.

These are healthy well proportioned feet..  Keep these images in mind or reference back once you start seeing the feet you look at.. :)

Sorry the guy bailed on you..    As for the family drama between the 2.. A lot of farriers are known for being late or not showing up at all.. Its actually the 2nd reason why most farriers are fired.. 1st being a consistently lame horse and then it may take 5-10 years.. Until enough is enough.. 

When I started this in 89 there were maybe 15 full time farriers in about a 75mile radius..  now there is maybe 60 or more.. Some part time, some full time but there are more horse today then have been in 30 years..  so I would imagine if you really want to do it.. Find a guy who you can go with a few times and get under a few horses.. This will give you more information and help to push you to make the right decision based on experience vs being told..

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