“There’s a difference between shoeing horses and putting shoes on horses,” says 2014 Rising Shoeing Star Diego Almeida, CJF (TE, EE, FE), AWCF.

What pays the bills and what lights a fire in you don’t always overlap, but for Almeida it’s a necessity — and for fellow Rising Shoeing Stars Gary Gullo Jr. (2019), Joe Nygren, CJF, DipWCF (2011) and Sam Zalesky, CJF (2015), there simply wasn’t another option.

After entering his first state contest with little knowledge of competition etiquette, Nygren finished in 30 minutes and shut off his forge to watch the other farriers. Still, he earned several ribbons that day for his efforts. From there, he kept attending competitions and clinics, his version of an apprenticeship. By the time he was a 2011 Rising Shoeing Star, he was regularly competing and operating a successful business. 

By contrast, Gullo spent his days after school shoeing high-value racehorses, where he’d spent most of his time before graduating from the Cornell University Farrier Program. Almeida was working for Midwest Horseshoeing School with his mentor, Steve Sermersheim, and Zalesky was shoeing at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. Gullo notes that the most successful farriers are typically the ones who work hard, are mechanically inclined, don’t think they know it all and keep an open mind. 

“That’s what I love about farriers. We always want more,” Zalesky says. “Farriery has been steeped in tradition for thousands of years, but there’s no set way to shoe horses, and there’s always something more to learn.”

The people passionate about farriery spend time attending competitions, clinics and joining local associations to learn. They aren’t in it for the paycheck, Nygren says, because they’re spending money to be there. Gullo’s key to building a good reputation early on was to keep his head down. Determine who’s a reputable and successful farrier and befriend them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t get discouraged. New farriers, he says, are often shy or don’t know how to break into the profession, but most farriers are there to help. This is where networking and keeping an open mind come in handy. Gullo absorbs as much information as he can from local clinics and resources like American Farriers Journal and the International Hoof-Care Summit. 

“I’ve been fortunate enough to shoe some of the best horses in the world and work with some of the best trainers in the world,” Gullo says. “But the best moments are the ones where you turn a lame horse sound.” 

After Midwest Horseshoeing School, Almeida became the program director of the Montana State University Farrier School. He runs the program based on what he wishes he learned in farrier school. Shoeing is only 30% of the business, he says. The other 70% is anatomy, physiology, insurance, accounting and people management. Almeida aims to prepare students for the realities of horseshoeing early so that fewer people give it up later. 

“Teaching at the school makes me a better farrier,” Almeida says. “If I make the program harder, I have to be twice as hard on myself, otherwise the students won’t respect me. So, it puts pressure on all of us. We all have to get better or the class won’t follow suit.” 

When looking for apprentices, Zalesky looks at character over skill. Good horsemanship is paramount because it often translates to people skills. The other half of the battle is just showing up, he says, and caring about your fellow farrier.

When a horse herniated a disc in Almeida's back, his apprentices stepped up to fill that void so that he didn’t lose horses. He rarely shoes alone, he says, which he views as a safety issue, and if he wants to take a day off, as part of a multi-farrier practice, he doesn’t have to worry about losing income. Almeida explains that farrier businesses are difficult to scale up because when shoers start out, they’re young and in good shape, but they know very little. Then, as they age, they understand more and become better farriers, but their bodies can’t handle as many horses. 

When looking down the road at the latter portion of Gullo’s career, he feels reasonably prepared. In addition to working at GMP Farm, an equine rehabilitation center in New York, Gullo is involved with Mustad, hosts clinics and designs farrier products. After a health scare early in his career, he is of the mind that every time a door closes, another better door opens somewhere. 

“Whatever is meant to be is meant to be because that mindset saved my life,” Gullo says. “I just say a prayer and go.”

Zalesky can’t see a future without farriery. 

“Shoeing horses is an art,” he says. “It’s how I express myself. If there were a calling for me, I think this is it 

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