“I don’t want my students to be as good as me, I want them to be better than I am,” says Monty Roberts.

“I have dedicated my life to the study of horses and their interactions with humans, and after more than 80 years of working with horses I’m still learning! I often say to my students ‘My way is the only way for me today, but if you show me a better way, that will be my way tomorrow.’ My techniques have morphed in such a way so as to improve right up to this very day. And I encourage my students to do the same.”

For over 20 years Monty Roberts and his team of Certified Instructors have been working to spread his non-violent horsemanship techniques through his International Learning Center in California and his instructors’ programs in many countries around the world. “Our instructor base keeps growing and now includes Certified Instructors on all 6 populated continents, with [Monty Roberts] courses in over 30 countries,” said Debbie Loucks, Roberts’ daughter and Legacy Manager. “Our instructors are doing some amazing work all over the world, for horses, and people too.”

Read more: Monty Roberts: I Don’t Want My Students to Be As Good As Me

by Danvers Child CJF

Although farriers advertise their services and clients occasionally respond to those advertisements, the vast majority of farriers establish their business through referrals. It’s the way things work in the horse industry; another owner, a trainer, a veterinarian, or whoever passes along a recommendation, and you call the recommended farrier.

It’s a hit and miss selection process. The person who makes the recommendation awards some value to the farrier, but…. “Is that value truly warranted?” and “Does it apply to your situation?” The fact is that most farriers get recommended due to things disconnected or minimally connected to their craft.

Rather than being selected for their ability, their skill set, or their knowledge base, they’re more often chosen due to concerns related to being personable and friendly, being reasonably priced, being known for not losing shoes, or for showing up on time.

While these are all good and desirable traits, they’re probably not the best selection criteria for the performance side of the job at hand. So people tend to add “experience” to the list. Unfortunately, however, experience sometimes doesn’t match up to skill, knowledge, or talent. The fact is that 20 years of experience can sometimes mean one year’s worth of experience repeated 20 times.

So, keep looking for the good traits, but don’t automatically award credibility for them. And consider adding some other criteria to your selection process. Things you might look for would include:

1. Someone who pursues and/or attains certification.
While certification is not generally required in North America, many motivated farriers will have voluntarily submitted to testing through the American Farriers Association (AFA). Yes, there are many excellent farriers who have not chosen to certify; nevertheless, when “flying blind,” it’s a good idea to look for someone who has earned the AFA’s CF (Certified Farrier) or CJF (Certified Journeyman Farrier) credential.

Read more: How to Choose the Right Farrier for Your Horse