By Will Clinging, CJF, AJFC

Over the past 30 years, I’ve worked as a horse trainer, a cowboy, and a farrier. Today, I’m a full-time farrier and have always been very active in our horse community. I would like to share how my perspective has changed over the years and how my experiences as cowboy, farrier, and trainer have influenced how I work today. I also want to talk about safe spaces, safe horses, and share some insight into the farrier industry and what is happening with farrier training and qualifications.

Safe Horses

I am a career horseman and have made my living on or under a horse for three decades. During that time, the type of horse I will get on or under has changed. As a younger man there were only two things that should have stopped me from working on many of the horses I was tasked with riding or shoeing — fear and common sense. I soon learned not to be afraid, so when things got a bit wild, I was not intimidated. I have never had common sense, but rather an uncommon sense that allowed me to understand the horse’s perspective. Once I understood how the horse would respond and what caused the horse to respond the way he did, it gave me the confidence to work through whatever storm I was in the middle of.

It isn’t the farrier’s job to catch your horse or train him to behave. For the safety of your farrier and everyone else who handles him, your horse should lead well, tie quietly, and be comfortable being handled and picking up his feet. Photo: Alamy/Tierfotoagentur

I do not have that same confidence anymore. In fact, when I was training, one thing I heard from many of my clients was that they did not have the confidence to ride or even handle their beloved horse. I did not understand then, but I understand now. Confidence is fragile, and in my case, just dealing with the volume of difficult horses became a challenge. I never thought I could fail, but a few less-than-stellar results can plant the seeds of doubt.

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Now I only work on horses’ feet, and although I have a few difficult ones, fortunately they are not the same scale of difficult that I used to deal with. As a farrier, it is no longer my job to train your horse to behave. It took me a lot of years to realize this. For good clients I will still take the time to make Pumpkin’s first set of shoes a good experience, but I don’t have the same amount of time to spend with the horse. I don’t get to know the horses the way I did as a trainer or a cowboy. I see them for an hour every six weeks, not an hour a day for three months or have them in my string for years.

Standing quietly to be shod during Hurricane Bill in 2009, this draft horse is a well-behaved client. Photo: Pam Mackenzie

Many farriers do not share my horsemanship skillset. While some are proficient horsemen and women, their enthusiasm for handling challenging horses may pale in comparison to simply avoiding the hassle.

From your farrier’s perspective, if they are injured working on Pumpkin, they’re out of work, and the hundreds of horses they care for are not going to get their feet seen to on time. They may need to ask colleagues in the farrier community to help them catch up their schedule. We all try to help an injured colleague as a way of paying it forward, knowing that one day we’ll need the help. Even if they don’t get hurt, the farrier doesn’t have enough time to spend with your unruly Pumpkin to get the job done safely without being late for the rest of the day’s appointments. Keep in mind that if your farrier does arrive late, there may be a good explanation. 

If the farrier works with an apprentice who is less experienced, does your horse create a workplace hazard? I was at a stop today to trim a couple of young warmbloods that are four years old, and today was the first time since they were born that I was actually able to trim them without first having them tranquilized. That’s because the owner has finally started working with them to get them ready to ride. It does not take much to make your horse easy to work on. Teach him to lead well (without being pulled on or pulling on you). Teach him to tie, whether in crossties or to a hitching post or a fence — he should stand tied and not be afraid. Teach him it’s okay to be touched and petted and patted. If your horse can do all of those things, his feet will not be a problem and your farrier will not dread working on your horse.

Related: The Wild West: Navigating Canada’s Unregulated Horse Industry

Related: The Benefit of the Doubt - Problem Behaviour with Horses

Safe Spaces

Safe spaces are one of my biggest concerns. I have worked with apprentices for many years. When they are less experienced, they do not always recognize trouble before it happens. I have been in enough wrecks that I can see it as soon as I get out of the truck. I am now at the point in my career where all I want to do is get home without an injury at the end of the day. This thought never used to cross my mind. As a cowboy I was too young. As a trainer I was usually in control of the environment in which I was working the horse. As a farrier we have to deal with the facility, or lack of, that the horse is housed in.

Your farrier needs a large, bright, flat, uncluttered work area with dry rubber mats that extend at least four feet in front of the crossties. Photo: AdobeStock/Dawn

The perfect area for a farrier to work in is large, deep enough for your big warmblood to have backed up to the end of the crossties and still have room for me to pick up a hind foot and be able to use my shoeing box. It’s bright — as bright as a school classroom. Light fixtures should cast no shadows, or be mounted in the centre of the shoeing area where Pumpkin’s body creates a huge shadow, but mounted on each side of where the horse might stand. It’s flat with no drains; the drain creates a slope in the floor which makes it hard to judge the static balance of your horse’s feet and legs. It has rubber mats that extend four feet out the front of your crossties. These mats are not full of holes, and do not have gaps in between them. A rubber mat that ends at the crossties just gives your horse something to paw at. There are no blankets, saddles, tack boxes, and grooming kits in the shoeing area. The floor is dry and clean; rubber mats are slippery when wet and full of poop slime. 

In reality, no barn I go to is ideal. Now, I will briefly describe the conditions we work in every day, and every one is a WorkSafe hazard: 

• 8 x 8-foot side-by-side crossties with the back wall full of blankets, and more blankets, halters and saddles hanging on the partition between the crossties. 
• A barn isle with tack boxes along the walls and nothing to safely tie a horse to. 
• Old, wet, slimy rubber mats.
• One fluorescent light fixture overhead with one burned out bulb. 
• Cross ties that barely latch. 

I tell clients that I will not be responsible when the hot shoe I am trying to fit on their horse burns a hole in an expensive blanket hanging on the wall or in the new saddle they plan to use when Pumpkin’s shoes are done. 

A poorly lit work area with a single florescent light in the middle of the ceiling creating shadows on both sides of the horse. The horse is turned around so the farrier can see by the light from the doorway. Photo: Pam Mackenzie

You may not be able to increase the size of your farrier’s work area, but it can be clean, dry, bright, and free of clutter. My reading glasses and a headlamp are my most important tools. If it’s dark I can’t see, which makes it very hard to do good work, therapeutic work, performance work, or even a regular trim. 

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Now if you combine an unsafe workspace with a difficult horse, you are putting your farrier in a perilous position. Being a farrier already has many recognized physical workplace hazards such as awkward posture, repetitive actions, heavy lifting, bending and twisting, working in the heat and cold, working on uneven surfaces, and the need to hold up the horse’s leg for minutes at a time. Most farriers are chronically in pain. Our job is almost guaranteed to cripple us. Please do not put us at more risk than the job at its best already does.

Farrier Training and Accreditation

Do you know if your farrier went to school to learn their trade, and where they went to school? Did they serve an apprenticeship and if so, with whom? Are they accredited? Do they participate in continuing education events? Do they have liability insurance? Do they have WorkSafe coverage for their apprentices? In Canada, farriers are totally unregulated and therefore, all the things just mentioned are voluntary. Any apprentice farrier is serving a voluntary apprenticeship. If your farrier can answer these questions, they likely take their vacation seriously.

The farrier industry is in a huge training and education bubble right now. There is a farrier-related competition, clinic, conference, or exam every week of the year somewhere in Canada. The access to information, research, and modern materials is almost overwhelming. If your farrier is not involved, they are not keeping up and they are not doing your horse a service. If they are not actively pursuing continuing education, they are ignoring the resources this industry is willing to share with them.

Apprentice farriers are important members of your horse care team. They work under the direction of your regular farrier and are dedicated to learning and improving their skills. Photo: Pam Mackenzie

In Canada there are several large farrier associations. The Western Canadian Farriers Association (WCFA) for BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The Ontario Farriers Association (OFA), and the Association des Faréchaux-Ferrants du Québec or Quebec Farriers Association (AMFQ). These associations have joined forces to create the Association of Farrier Trainers of Canada (AFTC). The AFTC has created a learning pathway for a new three-year Farrier Apprenticeship with three levels of exams before a farrier is recognized as an Approved Journeyman Farrier of Canada (AJFC). The AFTC has created an exam process that is national in scope and has established a consistent standard for education, skills, and behaviour.

There are two other major associations internationally that grant qualifications after an exam process. The American Farriers Association (AFA), and the Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF) from the UK (founded in 1356).

If your farrier has any accreditation from the AFA, WCF or the AFTC they have undergone a very difficult series of skills and knowledge tests, including anatomy, physiology, disease and lameness, forging and shoeing. The average farrier takes four attempts to successfully complete the process of certification. If your farrier has letters behind their name CF, CJF, DipWCF, AWCF, AFC, AJFC, be proud of them as they are among the few prepared to stand up and be judged by their peers.

Apprentice Farriers

The farrier culture in North America is not really used to apprentices. Many of us work with one or more apprentices, but it’s not the norm. I have been fired, and I’ve fired clients, because of my apprentices. 

Think of apprentices as the best students, dedicated to learning to be better than the average farrier. If your farrier has an apprentice, take an interest. Learn the apprentice’s name (many clients don’t). You want apprentices working on your horse. They are working under direction, if not direct supervision. Apprentices are cautious, diligent, and possibly the only reason your farrier has the time to shoe or trim your horse. With a busy practice and an efficient apprentice, a farrier can do at least 50 percent more horses in a day than if working alone. Will your horse be the one that gets dropped because you don’t want the apprentice working on him?

My apprentices are an extension of my business, my training, my education, and my professionalism. Treat them like the important member of your horse care team they are.

If you trust me to work on Pumpkin and I send my apprentice instead, it’s because I trust them and believe them capable. 

I work on plenty of horses alone for various reasons and am aware of the horses that need more experience than an apprentice has. I will not put your horse at risk. Apprentices get better, faster, more confident, and become a huge asset to my business and the care of your horse. I have had great apprentices that have gone on to be great independent farriers. They have made me a better farrier by questioning why I do something, pointing out my mistakes, asking me to check their work as I would ask them to check mine. They have certainly allowed me to shoe more horses for more years without becoming a total physical wreck. If your farrier has an apprentice, get to know them because they might just take over one day. 

Resources:

• Western Canadian Farriers Association
• Ontario Farriers Association
• Quebec Farriers Association (Association des Maréchaux-Ferrants du Québec – AMFQ) 
• Association of Farrier Trainers of Canada
• American Farrier's Association
• The Worshipful Company of Farriers

Related: Professionalism in the Horse Industry

Related: Do Equestrians Know How Their Horses Learn?

More by Will Clinging

Main Photo: Pam Mackenzie