Discussion Board Archives from 2001

Name: Jeff HoustonSubject: AFA relationship with AF Journal

Email: wrzdhrshus@yahoo.com

First, let me apologize for the two previous messages that didn't go through. I guess you can't cut and paste a Word document into this message board.

In reading my most recent copy of the American Farriers Jouranl, I was struck (again) by the term "Official Publication of the American Farriers Association." What makes it so? I've been told that we have a contract with the publication and that is what makes it so.

While I understand the Journal is probably intended to be a forum for the open exchange of ideas, I question the reason for, and also the wisdom of, the AFA being included in the title presentation of a publication that we do not have abosolute control over. While I have been informed (or misinformed) that we have a group of respected farriers that reviews the articles (or doesn't) that is not the only area that concerns me.

First and foremost, the AFA should be synonymous with the word integrity. The horse owner, the new farrier, the veterinarian and anyone else who looks to the AFA for information should be able to have complete confidence that what they will get in return will be untainted by personal gain or potential profit. In other words, the facts. And if we don't have the facts, an admission that we don't. I believe that when most people read the Farriers Journal, they believe they can trust in anything they find inside. I know when I started out I believed if it was in the Journal, it must be true! It took a while, but I soon discovered that quite frequently that wasn't the case.

To get to the point, I believe the time has come when we (the AFA) need to take action. The catalyst for my finally speaking out may be found in the May/June issue at the bottom of page 56. This advertisement outraged me. What this is doing in this magazine is beyond reasoning. The point seems to be that if you have the money, we have the ink. Who cares about responsibility? It is now well past the time to make a change. Either the AFA has complete control over ANYTHING printed in the Journal or our name should not be connected with it. I'm not saying anything radical or controversial. This is just obvious common sense.

I'm inclinded to believe the original decision to affiliate with this publication was well intended, but the cost to our organization's integrity cannot be tolerated. We are being sold out for a hanful of silver. I can't help wondering what Burney Chapman's commonet on page 56 would have been -- I doubt if that could have been printed. Some of what does get printed is an absolute smear of the men who dedicated their time, knowledge and even part of their lives to making the AFA a vehicle for the pride, professionalism and dissemination of knowledge and ideas t be displayed farrier to farrier, and to the equine world at large. I further believe that any attempts to defend the current trend of printing anything with no attempt at validating the content will actually enforce my contentions. We must control the content or separate -- NOW! This has already gone on too long. Nothing is worth sacrificing our integrity -- and it is being done with our blessing every two months publicly, in print, internationally.

Jeff Houston

AFA #5289