FARRIER INDUSTRY EDUCATION – IT’S YOUR CHOICE
A special report posted 5 June 2005 on www.hoofcare.com

By Doug Butler, PhD, CJF, FWCF

Much has been said about the “crisis” that is supposed to exist today in the farrier industry. Such statements cause one to ask, “Will anything good come out of this situation? How does this affect the way the horse owning public perceives farriers? Are horses better off or worse off today? What is the state of the farrier industry?”

I love the farrier industry yet am often times disappointed in the things said by those who are charged to be spokespersons for it. Although most farriers are independent freedom-loving people, on some issues they are falsely confident, naively uninformed and easily led by manipulators.

I was pleased to see the coverage The American Farriers Journal and Hoofcare and Lameness gave to the farrier licensing issue. This discussion extends to the bigger issue of farrier education.

It is easy to get the impression that there is no uniform standard and that everyone is “a law unto themselves.” However, there are published standards that assure a horse’s soundness and optimum performance when applied by a competent practitioner.

While it is true that many “farriers” practice a substandard brand of horseshoeing, what of those who don’t? What of those who want to do their best every time? They want to be the best they can be so they can better serve their human and equine clients.

Sure there are those who are attracted to horseshoeing by the prospect of making a “quick buck” from uninformed horse owners. Yet, there are many who know they must perform at their best if they expect to have the sustainable business that comes when you work with trainer and horse owner clients who value a skilled practitioner.

Today’s farrier schools generally emphasize what is easy to teach – forging and application of manufactured shoes. Unfortunately, many instructors often neglect the ABC’s of horseshoeing – anatomy, balance and conformation – and the horsemanship skills that go with them.

It’s frustrating to be taught by instructors who haven’t paid the price to be qualified themselves. Some don’t know their subject and don’t desire to know. They put up a smokescreen to hide their “intellectual nakedness” as Will Rogers called it. It is difficult for such people to demand excellence of their students when they don’t expect it of themselves. Their lazy way is the easy way. Their actions promote a lack of integrity and purpose in their students – two deadly sins in the horseshoeing business.

On the other hand, it is hard for any instructor, no matter how qualified and motivated, to teach unprepared and unmotivated students. Persons who haven’t learned to discipline themselves in the basic character virtues of promptness, cleanliness, honesty, courtesy, kindness, intelligence and focus are impossible to teach effectively in any setting. We need more prepared, qualified students if we want to truly raise the standard in the farrier industry.

I am convinced that the farrier industry’s low standard of practice problem is not due to farrier school curriculum as much as it is due to the character of those who chose to practice and teach the craft. Today, we seem to be encouraging many ill prepared, unmotivated and unqualified people to enroll as students and then become teachers.

I’m glad we enjoy the freedom in America that enables anyone who has the desire to get an education in any subject. There is more opportunity to learn correct principles and understand our job than there has ever been. The main problem seems to be that the students are not motivated to get both the intellectual and practical education that is needed to become a competent practitioner.

It is indeed unfortunate that with all the equine publications available, so few farriers read them. With more electronic as well as print publications than ever before in our history, we have a lower standard of practice by those who choose not to apply knowledge than ever before. While it is true that the material available is not always reliable or applicable to real life situations, knowing that it exists and is influencing our client’s perceptions is important.

The competition and proliferation of publications can be healthy if they are read and the facts are evaluated. Although everyone has a right to their own opinion in America, everyone does not have a right to their own facts. Healthy competition and responsible journalism are needed to help prevent journalistic opinions from becoming even more one-sided and solely based upon biased information that supports one-sided agendas.

Burney Chapman often said, “There are more ways to do horseshoeing wrong than there are to do it right.” Yet today there is more solid information available on how to do it right than ever before in our history. Every practitioner’s responsibility is to make the effort to gain a firm foundation consisting of a body of knowledge that allows one to evaluate what is good for the individual horses they shoe and the people who pay for that service.

True education in any field is the self-education one seeks after one obtains a core body of knowledge in a subject. We must carefully choose from whom we learn our core. We build on this foundation as we gain experience and build a body of wisdom that is needed for long term success in business and in life.

The American farrier has a freedom that is envied by many others. Freedom carries with it responsibility. We can choose to associate with those who share our values and hold us accountable for our performance. Or, we can adopt fads that are supported by marketing agendas. We have the opportunity to gain wisdom and knowledge based upon true principles. We can set an example of practice for others to emulate, if they choose. There is an old saying, “If everyone would sweep in front of their own front door, soon the whole world would be clean.”

I’m grateful I’ve had a small part in this great industry over the last forty years that I have spent researching and teaching the farrier craft. I am motivated by a desire to inspire instructors as well as students to love and practice at a higher level what is to me a fascinating and noble craft.

There has been much progress, but much more needs to happen. Although unity of purpose is a worthy goal, I believe that the fractionation that exists can be healthy when it gives us each a chance to evaluate and choose.

It is only through committing to obtain a solid understanding of the ABC’s of horseshoeing that we can build profitable and meaningful careers. Only then can we competently maintain the welfare of one of God’s most noble creatures, the horse. The firm foundations we build will then support our careers and our families.

Doug Butler, along with his son Jacob, is the author of The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3), the most widely used farrier text in the world. You can contact Doug at info@farrierfocus.com.

Farrier regulation/licensing position statement from noted author and farrier Doug Butler CJF PhD FWCF

American farriers have been the envy of the world because of their freedom to practice the craft without political interference and their ability to obtain a high standard of living.

Granted our standard of practice should be higher. This will be changed only when we attract and convert more dedicated craftsmen with the desire and integrity to adhere to high standards – not by legislating curriculums.

The call for regulation is the obsession of a few manipulators who favor bureaucratic control as a solution for all of life’s injustices. Those of us who have practiced and taught the trade for several decades have seen that politically-administered control in the hands of a few is not wise.

--Doug Butler (AFA) CJF PhD FWCF

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