Fredrick, Colorado farrier James Downs ("J.D.") discusses the value in working with mentors and trainers, including his personal learning experiences, with American Farriers Journal managing editor Pat Tearney during a Shoeing For A Living outing.

California farrier James Jiminez, who has shod notable racehorses like I'll Have Another and Lava Man, covers working with Thoroughbred racehorses and certain issues with their feet that are found among other horses.

Time spent with farriers shows there are several approaches to get ahead.

Continuing a tradition started in 2001, each year SmartPak creates a top 10 horses' name list from among all the horses that receive their supplements each day. Custom packed to meet the needs of each individual horse, every daily dose is labeled with that horse's name not only making feeding mistakes virtually impossible, but also giving the Plymouth, Mass., company a unique insight into the most popular names among well-cared for horses.

A school for horseshoeing and blacksmithing has some special guests for the next few weeks. Soldiers from the Honor Guard stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas are attending Shurshod Horse Shoeing School in Grovespring. They're learning skills to help the Honor Guard maintain its own horses. Sergeant Christopher Frost has been to Iraq and Specialist Cody Abshire to Afghanistan. They'll be riding in the inaugural parade this year and need to learn how to care for the horses.

Canadian Association of Professional Farriers (CAPF) has been launched as an affiliate of the American Association of Professional Farriers (AAPF)

Listen as Travis Burns, farrier for the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, gives his thoughts on hoof evaluations.