Eleven years ago, American Farriers Journal President Mike Lessiter shared one of his dream projects with the editors during an editorial planning session.

He wanted to follow a horse for 1 year and chronicle the details of its hoof care over 8 issues within the pages of AFJ.

It’s an ambitious project. After all, the stars must align to find the right horse, the right horse owner, the right farrier and the right veterinarian.

Like any celestial event, it takes time for the stars to align. We just didn’t anticipate that it would take more than a decade.

The project, “1 Horse, 1 Farrier, 1 Year,” debuts on Page 15 of this issue. We’re partnering with a Hall of Fame farrier; a conscientious horse owner in the Southeastern U.S. who manages Jackson — a 15-year-old Clydesdale cross gelding; a collaborative veterinarian and Triple Crown, a well-known and respected nutritional company, without which this project isn’t possible.

Bumping into Obstacles 

Throughout the planning process, the AFJ editorial team was admittedly short-sighted. We hastily built several obstacles, real and imagined — although mostly imagined — that had to be hurdled for the project to become reality.

Initially, the prevailing thought was an AFJ editor would travel to the farrier and horse to document the hoof care. That’s not exactly cost effective.

What about closer to home? It’s certainly logistically easier. However, the project is a yearlong commitment. We found that finding the right horse, right horse owner, right farrier and right veterinarian was more difficult than we first thought.

Scheduling conflicts, apprehension from horse owners, farriers and vets, as well as other concerns stalled the project just when it appeared the stars were aligning.

Falling into Place 

Esco Buff has been a regular AFJ contributor for decades. The Clearwater, Fla., farrier is a skilled writer who meticulously documents each horse.

Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. After Buff submitted, “Coronitis & Canker: Distinct but Interconnected Equine Hoof Conditions,” for the July/August AFJ issue, our vision started to take shape. After all of the back and forth and mental gymnastics in previous scenarios, it suddenly became absurdly simple.

“Hey, Esco, we have this project. What do you think?”

“Sure, I’m happy to do it,” came the reply.

The Horse 

The first horse Buff considered was Jackson, a 15-year-old Clydesdale cross gelding. The rationale was simple.

“I chose Jackson precisely because he’s representative — not elite, not neglected, but typical,” he writes. “He’s not a showstopper but a working-class horse. And that makes him the kind of horse most of us see every day — and worth documenting in detail.”

Buff will follow Jackson closely over the course of the next year, sharing a living case study of his hoof care, veterinary visits and nutritional needs.

“It offers an unfiltered look at the triumphs and setbacks,” Buff writes, “the rhythms of routine and the subtle signals that guide our decisions as professionals and caretakers.”

It’s a dream come true.

Related Content: [Podcast] 1 Horse, 1 Farrier, 1 Year

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