The weeks and months following a footcare student’s graduation from shoeing school can be both exhilarating and intimidating.

New farriers are met with the exciting challenge of establishing their own practice and putting everything they’ve learned to use. However, they have to deal with the details of running a business, an experience unique to each farrier.

Many new farriers return to their former instructors for advice on how to run a small business. In this article, three shoeing school instructors answer the questions their former students ask them most often.

Money Matters

One of the biggest issues new farriers run into when they are starting their own practice is money. Many don’t know how much they should charge based on their area, their expertise or their particular shoeing niche.

“We talk about pricing in school,” says Bob Smith, founder and head instructor of Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, Calif., “but once they get out there, they have all kinds of…