In the midst of the controversy over training and licensing churning through the farrier industry, one American Farrier’s Association chapter is looking to limit the power of the organization’s national leaders and call off a pending survey of farrier schools.

Under the proposals made by the North Carolina Horseshoer’s Association, the AFA president would be stripped of his authority to appoint task forces and committees, and the AFA Executive Committee would not be able to act in place of the Board of Directors.

The North Carolina chapter was working to get the changes onto the agenda for a vote by the AFA’s Board of Directors at the group’s semi-annual meeting to be held Sept. 10 in Omaha, Neb. Specifically, the chapter proposes:

• Striking from the AFA bylaws language that now says, “The president may create task forces or ad hoc committees for the purpose of investigating a specific issue.”
• Striking from the bylaws language that now says, “The Executive Committee may, between meetings, set in place of and for the Board of Directors and the association.”
• Rescinding the board’s February approval of Farrier Education/

Registration Task Force resolutions 1, 8 and 9, which authorize the survey of farrier school qualifications, allow the AFA to continue to pursue the overall initiative of the task force, and grant “latitude and forebearance” as the organization moves “into this uncharted territory.”

Process Targeted

The proposals are a direct assault on the AFA rules that allowed President Craig Trnka to appoint the Farrier Education/Registration Task…