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

by Hay and Forage Grower

Horses, as grazers, are different than every other livestock species. Notoriously known for being selective, horses can quickly turn a uniform pasture into a patchwork quilt that often results in overgrazing in some areas and nonutilization in others. Their selection habits are often difficult to explain.

University of Minnesota extension horse specialist Krishona Martinson and her co-workers have invested significant time and resources in researching horse preferences for various classes of forage species. A recent summary of that work highlighted these findings:

Perennial cool-season grasses

• Horse preference is important to realize more uniform grazing of pastures, improved forage utilization, and a reduction in pasture maintenance (clipping or mowing).

Read more: What Horses Like