The Farrier Business Practices Survey, conducted annually by American Farriers Journal (AFJ), establishes a baseline for the state of the hoof-care industry. The survey — sponsored by Bellota, Glue-U, Triple Crown and Vetericyn — is sent to farriers across the U.S., and the resulting data is presented here to help you evaluate your business and prepare for the future. 

Since 2023, some key changes in survey results include numbers of horses and clients, gross income, business management tools and footcare product and educational information. Farriers took on fewer clients year over year but shod more horses, which contributes to the rise in income between surveys. Farriers now make an average of $119,770, $4,000 more than 2023. This illustrates a positive swing but does not make up for the drop from 2021, where income peaked at $123,532. Additionally, in the highest percentage to date, 20% of farriers are part of a multi-farrier practice, where income tends to average higher. 

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This survey also marks a shift toward pen and paper when it comes to accounting, scheduling, invoicing and keeping horse records. Ordering supplies, however, is most…