“Continuing farrier education” has a lot in common with taking medicine when you are ill. You know you should take it but you really don’t want to. There are the usual excuses. It costs a lot. It is far away. I have other stuff to do. I know that stuff already. But just as taking your medicine like a good boy or girl, the result is that you are much better for the effort.

The late September Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners (NEAEP) Symposium in Groton, Conn., was just what was needed to energize the brain cells dulled by a hard summer’s shoeing schedule. The organization proved it is a high class act by assembling some of the premiere talents in the podiatry field.

The NEAEP is a regional organization of veterinarians and farriers from 13 Northeastern states, and is structured very much like the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). What makes this association different is that it has actively solicited farriers as equal members. Four farriers sit on the board of directors and took part in putting together the podiatry program.

I see this as a very progressive trend among veterinarians. They are reaching out to farriers to learn the latest in state-of-the-art hoof care and conversely offering the farriers the opportunity to learn about the newest practices in veterinary medicine in diagnosing and treating common lameness disorders. To…