I was really impressed at this year’s 10th annual International Hoof-Care Summit to see the growing number of farriers who brought their young apprentices to this mid-winter event. It indicates the increased emphasis being placed on the value of continuing farrier education and also demonstrates the fact that the footcare business is once again picking up steam.

Data from last fall’s 2012 Farrier Business Practices Survey conducted among American Farriers Journal readers indicates 62% of today’s full-time farriers served an apprenticeship. The typical apprenticeship lasted 22 months before the farrier went out on his or her own.

Among part-time shoers, 60% served a typical 18-month apprenticeship.

But apprenticeships aren’t the end of the learning experience. Many farriers continue to ride a day or more per month with their mentors or other successful hoof-care professionals to further expand their footcare knowledge.

Learning Flows Both Ways

While mentors gain from the teaching experience and apprentices gain from learning, the reverse can also be true. A successful one-on-one mentor/apprenticeship program should not only be about giving, but receiving as well.

Both parties can gain a great deal when they make a full commitment to this in-the-field learning experience.

Many veteran farriers see taking on apprentices as a way of giving back to an industry that has treated them very well over the years. In fact, many farriers like to share the footcare ideas they’ve learned the hard way over the years so younger farriers can avoid making the same mistakes. This is an abrupt change from years ago when farriers refused to share trimming and shoeing techniques.

Many apprenticeships have resulted in long-term relationships where both parties continue to share experiences and act as a sounding board when one or the other is dealing with difficult hoof-care cases. Most farriers are proud of the teaching role they’ve played in helping a young farrier get a foot-hold in the industry. And they’re delighted to see the apprentices they helped train experience success in the footcare world.

Hoof-care learning can also flow the other way when an apprentice questions why a mentor does something in a particular way. This questioning in some instances may lead to the mentor developing a new way of helping a horse.

Gaining valuable advice is a big benefit of an effective apprentice/mentor relationship. In fact, many of today’s veteran farriers have told me that they often hear their mentor’s voice offering guidance when tackling a difficult hoof.

Real-Life Learning

For shoeing school graduates, an apprenticeship can help an individual not only experience real shoeing, but help learn the essential people and business skills that are needed to succeed.

So who benefits the most? That’s a question that never has to be answered, as both mentors and apprentices gain from having someone listen, reflect and offer feedback on their work