A willingness to share ideas with fellow hoof-care professionals is among the industry's biggest accomplishments over the past 5 decades.

1975 

• Florida farrier Henry Heymering publishes first American Farriers Journal (AFJ), an 8–12-page publication mailed quarterly.

1980

• Massachusetts publisher Dean Laux purchases AFJ.

1981

• First four-color cover & four-color ad (Mustad).

1982

• AFJ expands to 6 issues per year.

1992

• Lessiter Media, a family-owned publishing business in Brookfield, Wis., acquires AFJ.
• International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame is introduced by AFJ and the Kentucky Derby Museum. (It now includes 166 inductees from 34 states and 11 countries.)

1997

• International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame program is introduced by AFJ, today representing 73 inductees from 27 states and 11 countries.

1998

• AFJ launches National Farriers Week to encourage horse owners, riders and trainers to express a thank you to the specialists in hoof care. A “Farriers Spotlight” was added in 2012, allowing horseshoers to draw attention to their specialized footcare skills.

1999

• AFJ and the Calgary Stampede’s World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition began co-sponsoring a mail-in forging exercise that showcased the forging talents of farriers around the world. Some years, more than 125 farriers from numerous countries demonstrated their forging talents in this mail-in shoe-making exercise, forging selected shoes, such as a lateral straight bar shoe with a masselotte clip.

2000

• 25th AFJ anniversary celebrated with special historical issue.

2002

• AFJ introduces “Farrier Classic” series of 9 reprinted historical books from the 1800s and early 1900s. Over the years, AFJ has produced 13…