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The Importance Of Continuing Education
For Farriers
By Doug Butler, PhD, CJF, FWCF
"The Name You Can Trust in Farrier Education"
Butler Professional Farrier School, near Chadron, Nebraska
Have you ever heard a farrier say: "I don't have time to attend advanced skills training workshops or seminars." "I have all the skills I need to do my job — I don't need any additional training." Or "I'm making good money shoeing horses and I have all the work I can handle now!"
Maybe you've even said something like that yourself. Or perhaps you avoid 
attending hands-on workshops and seminars because you don't want anyone to know you're really not as confident and comfortable with your skills as others think you are — or as you wish you were. Sound familiar?
The truth is: None of us is as good as we could be — or as good as we might think we are. No matter how big (or small) our bank account, or what famous horse we may have shod (or not), or if we fall into bed exhausted every night from working our fanny off just trying to make ends meet — each of us can become better than we are.
Being a farrier is hard work that requires skill, knowledge, attitude and patience. It takes years to get good at it, and a lifetime to master. Here's how continuing education can positively impact your career.
6 Steps to a More Skilled You
1. Evaluate your personal farrier skills level. What do you do well? What do you need to improve? What questions do you have? Do you fear that you will be asked a question that you don't know the answer to? Your fear of embarrassment is your friend if it stimulates you to learn. What do you do when asked why you do something? Do you make up an answer hoping the client will not be knowledgeable enough to know you don't know? Such dishonesty destroys trust. Do you give a perception of ignorance about the very subject you are supposed to be an expert on? Have you made the effort to know what you are talking about? Do you demonstrate that you believe in knowing and understanding your business by continuing your professional development? Sustainable confidence comes from competence. Since there seems to be little agreement in the farrier world on what the basics are, do you feel you have the solid foundation you need to be truly successful? It's possible you may have to "unlearn" some things that you have assumed to be true so you can begin to learn and understand the proven things that will work consistently for you and the horses you shoe. What might those things be?
2. Commit to developing your skills. After an honest evaluation of your present skills, questions and/or fears, determine what you need to focus on to grow and improve. What skills do you want to be more competent in? What will raise your level of confidence? There are many continuing education programs available nationwide by trained, competent, skilled professional teachers and farriers. (We're especially proud of the classes and programs we offer, but there are others.) Put the dates on your calendar and budget accordingly. Many farriers will pay more to be entertained than to be educated. Farriers must change this attitude in themselves and strive to overcome the negative image of farriers that may exist in the minds of clients and professionals. Be a leader in this regard. Be willing to make changes where needed - even if this requires committing to a different learning system and lifestyle to achieve success.
3. Be selective in who you get your training from. Not all training is equal. Check out available basic, advanced and refresher classes at seminars, workshops, and farrier programs and schools that address your needs. Determine how much time and effort you are willing to invest to improve your skills. Choose experienced teachers and mentors who continue to learn and grow themselves. Are the teachers really interested in helping you learn, practice and gain experience in developing new skills? Do they provide hands-on training that allows you time to learn the skill through practice and repetition and constructive evaluation? Be open to new ideas and methods, but test them against the tried and true skills and knowledge that have proven successful. Don't be taken up with fads.
4. Study, learn, practice, apply. Regular practice helps keep you efficient and motivated. Set aside a regularly scheduled time to work on your skills, such as forging. This is necessary to keep your skills sharp so you can do what needs to be done in any shoeing situation. Discipline yourself to study vocabulary and learn to correctly spell anatomy terms. Write them on a card and memorize them while driving. Study textbooks such as The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3) and Shoeing in Your Right Mind with a pencil in your hand. Practice drawing to learn the spatial relationships of leg and foot structures. You will find pencil control is as hard to achieve as hammer control without practice. Subscribe to farrier publications such as American Farriers Journal or other magazines that will make you knowledgeable about your client's specific horse's breed/type. Learn from and acknowledge others who have had more experience than you. Apply your knowledge by practicing what you have learned in your everyday interactions with horses and people.
5. Be a true professional. You are in a position of trust and you need to do everything you can to insure your ability to properly care for horses' feet in a safe and humane way. Unfortunately, it has become easy for less knowledgeable farriers to survive and even thrive because of a lack of horse foot knowledge by the horse-owning public. Don't let this happen to you. Take the steps necessary to obtain the skills that will ensure you are able to provide a solid foundation for the horses you care for. As a professional farrier, you should always be clean, neat and polite; well groomed and take good care of your tools; be respectful of clients and care about their animals; have integrity; keep appointments and be on time; be courteous and honest; and have experience that includes progressive learning, growing and developing your farrier skills. Others must see that your knowledge, experience and skills are valuable; however, they won't see it until you first see it yourself.
6. Take action. If you don't have a written plan with identified and measurable goals, it's like starting out on a trip without knowing which road will get you to your destination. Some farriers start a business before they have any idea what it takes to be successful. You might say they skipped some grades and their education is incomplete. Plan now to attend continuing education opportunities that will help you grow professionally. Read books such as Six-Figure Shoeing to help you start and grow a successful career as a farrier. Determine to be the best you can be. I often meet horse owners who would select a better qualified farrier if given the opportunity. Be that someone they would choose.
Ben Franklin said, "If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it from him." What are you doing to improve your business, yourself and your career?
Call us to discuss your personal skills development. At Butler Professional Farrier School, we offer basic, advanced and graduate level training for farriers at every skill level - from fundamental concepts of shoeing sound horses to therapeutic shoeing and specialized breed/type shoeing. For general course descriptions and class schedule, visit www.butlerprofessionalfarrierschool.
Learn how to build a profitable and rewarding farrier business with Six-Figure Shoeing Six-Figure Shoeing. You'll get the essentials of running a business in a way all farriers can relate to at any stage of their careers.
