A Tale Of Two Days, But Different Responsibilities

Success or failure as an apprentice has as much to do with your attitude as how you perform.

 You may struggle to find clients when you are starting out. Your area may lack the number of potential clients to sustain your practice. Perhaps you lack the skill, experience and confidence to work with clients on your own. Whatever the reason, you may consider working as an apprentice when you launch your career.

Many novice farriers will work in an apprenticeship while they serve clients on their own. This solution allows them to improve their knowledge and gain experience under a mentor while developing a sustainable practice.

This was the case for Kelley House, a shoer from Colgate, Wis. Seven years ago, the journeyman tool and die maker found himself out of work. Seeing the opportunities of similar manufacturing jobs disappearing the United States, House decided to change careers and become a horseshoer.

Today, he shoes 3 days on his own and apprentices 2 days each week in Hall Of Fame shoer Red Renchin’s multi-farrier practice.

House’s experiences on 2 days give a glimpse at the difference between what you can expect when you shoe alone vs. when you work as an apprentice.


Part of a Team

 “We’re going to need some 0’s,” Kelley House calls out to Nick Martin. Both work as apprentices in Red Renchin’s multi-farrier practice based in Mequon, Wis. As Renchin goes over his notes for the day, House and Martin dig through shoes, performing the daily ritual of properly stocking the shoeing rig’s inventory. 

“You don’t want to run out of shoes when you…

To view the content, please register or login.
Registration is free. Use your registered user account to download eGuides, watch webinars and manage your user profile.

Top Articles

Current Issue

View More

Current Issue

View More

Must Read Free Eguides

Download these helpful knowledge building tools

View More
Top Directory Listings