24 Week Farrier Course
960 clock hours
This course cost – $20,900.00
Tool set: New farrier tool set provided for use during training, a $3,500 value.
The 24 week course is the longest path within the school’s training program.
Course includes:
GREGORY’S Textbook of Farriery- 2011 Hardcover edition
960 clock hours – This Course is designed for students who wish to obtain a skill level such that they can competently shoe a horse with therapeutic issues considering its confirmation, therapeutic problems and do so within two hours, make a pair of handmade therapeutic shoes from beginning to end within an hour and a half to a specific pattern, correctly identify and have a firm grasp of the many different foot diseases, injuries, and conformation problems, and begin work as an independent farrier, though apprenticeship is still recommended.
This course builds upon everything that the sixteen-week course teaches plus adds time with the instructors to learn more about anatomy, forging, and shoeing.
- AHSS 1000: Hot Forge 110 hrs
- AHSS 2000: Trimming 260
- AHSS 2100: Fitting 330
- AHSS 3000: Hoof Problems and Diseases 260
Total – 960 hrs
Some topics covered in the course includes;
- Introduction to Farrier Science
- Horse Handling
- Equine Anatomy and Physiology
- Hoof Trimming and Balance
- Using the Forge and Anvil
- Basic Horseshoeing: Putting It All Together
- Handmade Shoes
- Hot Shaping
- Lameness
- Therapeutic Horseshoeing
- Introduction to Bar Shoes
- Creased bar shoes
- Alternative methods of treating various lameness’s
- Use of concave material in shoe building
- Business Management
Sep 2025- August 2026 Class Dates
Farrier Classes: See our school calendar for each course beginning and ending dates by month.
Graduates of the 24-week horseshoeing course are able to:
- Shoe healthy horses and horses with chronic lameness issues
- Handle most problems in everyday horseshoeing
- Treat basic lameness issues and more advanced lameness issues
- Recognize more complex problems and be able to discuss them with the owner, along with possible options for referral to another equine professional for treatment
At the end of the 24-week course, students will take a final exam that is based closely on the Farrier Certification exam of the American Farrier’s Association with a more rigorous forging requirement than the 16-week course and more in depth practical anatomy exam. This course is designed to cover all the skills a traditional farrier would need. We strongly recommend an apprenticeship and the faculty will use their network to help you find an appropriate one. We think it’s the best thing you could do to guarantee success. We promise you we’ll always be here to offer support along the way as well.
Upon successful graduation from the course you will receive a course completion certificate and will also have acquired a strong foundation with which to take the next step in your farrier career.
Administrative Notes
- Course Schedule – New courses start the first Tuesday of each month
- Class Schedule – Training is 5 days a week, Tuesday through Saturday starting at 8:30 am and ending at 3:30 pm (if an early day), but some days might run until 8-9 pm.
- Boarding – Boarding is not included in the course fee. Separate men’s and women’s bunkhouse boarding with cable TV and WIFI is available for just $50 a month.
- Tools – See below
- Financial Assistance – Post-9/11 GI Bill® Veterans Benefits and VA Voc Rehab Benefits accepted. Please check with your local VA office to see if you qualify.
‘‘GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.”
Note: The $500.00 deposit is not required is using is using VA benefits.
New Farrier Tool Set Provided for Use
Students in the 24 Week Course use a new farrier tool set during training. The tool set includes a forge, anvil, and the core farrier tools, a $3,500 value.
*If you successfully complete your course, the tool set is yours to keep to help you start your farrier career.
Tools you will use;
Forge
Anvil
Rasp & Handles (2)
Nippers
Clinchers
Crease Nail Pullers
Rounding Hammer
Driving Hammer
Pull offs
Nail Cutter
Tongs (2)
Apron
Hoof Knife
Hoof Gauge
Tool Box
Hoof Stand
Creaser (24-week course only)
Course Hours
Note: Lab time is non-classroom hands-on work with the forge, trimming, fitting, etc.
This course develops forging skills through hands on instruction and practice, by completing several hands on assignments. Students first get comfortable with the forging tools which include safety precautions and then take those skills to the next level by building custom shoes that properly fit the horse’s foot.
24 Week Course:
- Introduction and safety lecture 8 hrs.
- Tool Building 8 hrs.
- Forge Welding Rings 8 hrs.
- Forging Squares 8 hrs.
- Forging Toe Bends 8 hrs.
- Forging Quarter Bends 8 hrs.
- Forging Heels 8 hrs.
- Forging a Complete Shoe 8 hrs.
- Punching Nail Holes 8 hrs.
- Shaping Keg Shoes 44 hrs.
- Drawing Clips 8 hrs.
- Hammer Finishing Shoes 4 hrs.
- Bumping Stock 8 hrs.
- Forging Draft Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging Straight Bar Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging Traction Devices 8 hrs.
- Forging Egg Bar Shoes 8 hrs.
- Extended Heel and Trailers 8 hrs.
- Forging Creases 8 hrs.
- Forging Heart Bar Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging W Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging Z Bar Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging Salad Bowl Shoes 8 hrs.
- Forging Slide Plates 8 hrs.
- Forging Pencil Heels 8 hrs.
- Jump Welding Steel 8 hrs.
Total Clock Hours 240 hrs.
This course develops trimmings skills through teaching the students anatomy which will allow them to properly trim the horse’s foot. They will learn how to properly balance a horse’s foot, which is necessary to performing farrier work properly.
24 Week Course:
- Introductory Lecture Tools and Safety 8hrs
- Horse Handling and Proper Posture 8hrs
- A/P Balance 8hrs
- Medial/Lateral Balance 8hrs
- Sole and Frog Paring 8hrs
- Rasping Technique 8hrs
- Proper Nipper Technique 8hrs
- Flatting Feet 12hrs
- Addressing Flare 12hrs
- Addressing Cracks 8hrs
- Addressing Splits 8hrs
- Dressing for Clip Fit 8hrs
- Trimming for White Line 8hrs
- Hoof Resection 8hrs
- Trimming Draft Horse 10hrs
- Trimming Miniature Horse 10hrs
- Trimming for Laminitis Horses 10hrs
- Trimming for Founder 10hrs
- Trimming Non-Equid Live Stock 10hrs
- Trimming for Injuries 20hrs
- Trimming for Dropped Soles 10hrs
- Floating Cracks 10hrs
- Dealing with Abscesses 10hrs
- Trimming Club Feet 10hrs
- Trimming the Navicular Horse 10hrs
Total Clock Hours 240 hrs.
This course is an extension of the Trimming and Hot Forge. It adds to the anatomy learned from Trimming and takes the skills learned from Hot Forge and combines them to allow the student to properly trim the horse’s foot and build a custom shoe that properly fits the horse’s foot.
24 Week Course:
- Lecture Introduction to Horseshoe Fit 8hrs
- Setting Up the Foot 12hrs
- Type A Fit (Practical) 10hrs
- Type B Fit (Practical) 10hrs
- Type C Fit (Practical) 10hrs
- Placing and nailing shoes 88hrs
- Clip Fit 10hrs
- Fitting for Missing Hoof 10hrs
- Fitting for Break over 10hrs
- Fitting Straight Bar Shoe 8hrs
- Fitting Egg Bar Shoes 8hrs
- Extended Heels 8hrs
- Fitting a Square Toe 8hrs
- Fitting Heart Bar 10hrs
- Fitting Z Bar 10hrs
- Fitting W Shoes 10hrs
- Fitting for Center of Articulation 10hrs
Total Clock Hours 240 hrs.
This course develops skills that will enable the student to diagnose possible hoof problems and diseases. This course teaches students how to work with Veterinarians (such as reading x-rays) to better help the horse with foot problems and diseases.
24 Week Course:
- Terminology and Hoof Structure 22hrs
- Vascular System of the Foot 10hrs
- Bones and Joints of the Lower Limb 10hrs
- Ligaments and Tendons 30hrs
- Limb Dissection 8hrs
- Biomechanics 10hrs
- Conformations 10hrs
- Gaits 10hrs
- Gait Faults 10hrs
- Bruise, Abscess, and Corns 10hrs
- Thrush and White Line Disease 10hrs
- Cracks and Quarter Cracks 10hrs
- Coffin Bone Fracture, Pedal Otitis 10hrs
- Club Foot and Navicular 10hrs
- Founder and Laminitis 10hrs
- Bowed Tendons 10hrs
- Broken Bones 10hrs
- Capped Hocks and Elbows 10hrs
- Ringbone 10hrs
- Splints 10hrs
- Stifle Lameness 10hrs
Total Hours 240 hrs.
Request Information