My letter to the editor must have landed close to home among readers.

One thing I failed to mention earlier that really got me fried enough to write was trying to confront the American Farrier’s Association (AFA) certification judges with questions about my scores and not getting any straight answers.

Got The Answers

Since then, most of my questions have been answered by American Farriers Journal readers. But at the time, I came away feeling the same way that a guy feels who’s girlfriend dumped him and won’t say why. That makes it pretty tough to call it a meaningful experience.

It’s the same complaint you hear from people who get trashed at the horse show, beauty pageants, etc. If you can’t find out what you did wrong, you’re going to feel cheated and not challenged.

There is a lot of talk about how certification programs for many professions are not the same as doing the job in real life. In fact, a friend who is studying to be a dental technician says it’s the same in that industry. She finds there are three ways to do things:

1. The way they teach you in school.
2. The way you do it on the job.
3. The way you have to do it for certification or recertification.

Unfortunately, many of us are too concerned for the welfare of the horses to be willing to make the compromises required for certification. As long as we face the prospects of state or national certification, this…