The farrier often is the horse owner’s go-to source for hoof-care questions, as well as other equine questions. Owners trust farriers, and many recognize that foot quality is related to other areas of health and well-being.

Familiarity has a lot to do with it, too, as the farrier is likely to see the owner on a 4- to 10-week interval. And while at the barn, the farrier often will spend more time there, giving the client greater access for asking equine-based questions.

Many farriers have leveraged this expertise to sell equine-related products to their clients. The range of these products are footcare-related to more general equine items. In the American Farriers Journal’s 2012 Farrier Business Practices Survey, the average amount of gross income gained by those who sell products to clients was nearly $4,600.

Seeing that number may seem compelling enough to become a yourself. However, there are several items to consider before you start selling.

What Is Your Goal?

The first consideration is how product sales will fit into your business. In operating a farrier practice, you must first determine the time and resources that you will invest into your daily trimmings and shoeings. That same level of thinking must be applied to selling products to your clients. What are you going to sell? How will you sell those products? How will you acquire those products, and for how much? What price will you sell them to clients to make a necessary profit? If treated as simple as product…