It’s been 35 years since Florida farrier Henry Heymering turned out the very first issue of American Farriers Journal. He published the 8-page black and white issue in March of 1975. Today, he still shoes out of Frederick, Md. By the end of the first year, Heymering had 250 paid subscribers.

Many Footcare Changes

There have been many changes in both the farrier business and this magazine over the past 35 years. AFJ has grown to where eight issues with nearly 1,100 total pages are produced each year. In addition, AFJ has introduced the International Hoof-Care Summit, with the 7th annual event coming up in Cincinnati in early February.

Since Lessiter Publications purchased AFJ in 1992, we’ve also turned out more than 25 Special Footcare Reports, 10 farrier books and an annual mid-summer career guide for horseshoeing school students.

As we’ve moved into the electronic age, we’ve continued to develop the AFJ Web site as a source of valuable hoof-care information. Our electronic efforts include a bi-weekly e-mail footcare newsletter, hundreds of pages of essential hoof-care information, numerous videos and plenty more to help you do a better job in your footcare work. Today, you’ll even find an AFJ presence on Twitter and Facebook. (Turn to Pages 86 and 87 to see some highlights of what we’re offering for continuing education on the AFJ Web site.)

In each AFJ issue during 2010, we’ll be looking back at what’s happened in the footcare business over the past 35 years. To kick…