The mindset with which you approach your hoof-care practice can often be the difference between fulfillment or frustration with your chosen career.

Many successful people in various career fields have adopted a positive mindset. When this mindset is developed early and followed regularly, it tends to allow beginning farriers the courage to try new things, learn from experiences and approach their chosen trade without being controlled by fear of the unknown.

The really exciting part is that you don’t have to be a beginner, or even a farrier for that matter, to benefit from these principles. You can begin adopting them into your day-to-day thought processes at any time. Give this approach a try and allow it to give you a new perspective that might help reignite your passions in all areas of your life, and especially in your hoof-care work.

Good/Bad, Right/Wrong and Boxes

One of the first concepts we encourage our students at the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization (ELPO) to adopt is how they evaluate the concepts of good vs. bad and right vs. wrong when it relates to hoof care. The majority of hoof-care practitioners have the best intentions with each animal they work on. However, despite our efforts, sometimes we inadvertently cause pain and discomfort. This can be done through experimentation with new concepts, or simply misjudging the foot.

Does this make the farrier good or bad…