While it dealt with equine massage therapists, a bill introduced last summer in the California State Assembly could have had serious ramifications for horseshoers. Fortunately, the bill was killed in committee, thanks to the efforts of Bob Smith, a farrier and owner of the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in  Sacramento, Calif.

Proposed by the owners of an equine massage school, the bill would have established minimum standards of education and experience to protect the integrity of the massage therapy industry and the health and well-being of equines.

Smith says the bill would have restricted anyone from practicing equine massage therapy in the state who had not attended a California licensed vocational school. Certificates from schools outside California would not have been recognized and there was no “grandfather” clause to allow individuals already practicing equine message therapy to continue working.

The bill proposed education requirements down to the minimum number of hours for anatomy, biomechanics, equine handling and so forth. It would have established basic fees and continuing education requirements along with procedures for registration, citations, penalties, suspension and license revocation.

Smith says farriers need to be on the lookout for similar bills being introduced in their states. “For instance, if the words equine massage therapy and equine sports massage were removed from this bill and replaced with farrier or horseshoer, nothing else would have to be changed to force licensing on our profession,” he says.

Smith says most states have a Web site where typing in key words such as…