How To Become a Farrier

Choosing the best farrier school for you schedule and budget is an important starting point.

Farrier Certification 

Becoming a farrier in the U.S. does not require a certification. However, the American Farrier Association (AFA) does have a certification testing program for rating levels and people with horses will be more likely to hire you if you are certified.

The first two levels are;

• “AFA Farrier Classification (FC)

The entry-level component of the Farrier Certification Program, this classification focuses on basic concerns associated with safe, sound farriery, relieving the candidate from certain time constraints and higher level forge work associated with certification. The AFA Farrier Classification requires that candidates successfully complete written and practical testing, including the creation of a brief horseshoe display. This classification is not a prerequisite for any subsequent certification level.

• AFA Certified Farrier (CF)

The Certified Farrier exams, which constitute the first level of AFA Certification, are open to farriers who have at least one year of horseshoeing experience, and have demonstrated knowledge and skill to perform hoof care on a professional basis. The Certified Farrier process requires successful completion of written and practical testing, as well as the creation and explanation of a horseshoe display.”

The Arkansas Horseshoeing School teaches and trains towards the AFA standards and hosts AFA certification testing periodically. After successful completion of any of the AHS farrier training courses, you receive a certificate of completion from the school. The owner and head instructor, is Paul Dorris, Jr CJF, AFA (Certified Journeyman Farrier)

Farrier Salary – How Much Does a Farrier Make?

This is a difficult question to answer, but it will vary based on your location, experience, level of skill and client base. Staying on top of the constantly changing materials available and continued education through clinics and courses make a farrier able to command a higher rate. 

When getting started, some graduates might do apprenticeship full time for maybe a year; others may only apprentice a couple of days a week for a longer period. Every farrier is different when paying an apprentice; some pay a percentage, some pay so much per job, some a flat rate per day and some don’t pay anything. 

You can make a very good living as a farrier if you’re also good at running a business. The Arkansas Horseshoeing School includes business management in the course content, but we want to stress that you need to be a self-starter and willing to work hard. If you are out on your own, starting out, if you can do five or six horses at $60 to $65 a horse, you’ll do OK. After an apprenticeship, a student can get $150 an animal. If you want to join the ranks of farriers earning over $100,000, you’ll need to work long hours and then often go home and spend time catching up on your paperwork.

One of the great things about being a farrier is that there is a lot of room for growth in terms of income. As you gain more experience and build a reputation for being a skilled farrier, you can charge more for your services. Additionally, farriers who work in areas with a high demand for their services, such as urban or equestrian communities, can often command higher prices.

“Data from the latest Farrier Business Practices Survey shows an 11% increase in yearly gross income compared with 2 years earlier

Do you need a degree to become a farrier?

No, a degree is not required. Attending a horseshoeing school is highly recommended for the training and hands-on experience to help you get your business started.

• There’s a fair amount of classwork and studying involved in learning to be a farrier. Horse anatomy is an example of a subject that requires you to crack the books a fair amount.    You may not love this part of it in the beginning, but it’s essential to being a competent farrier.  Once it all begins to come together, for instance in therapeutic shoeing, you’ll find it very interesting.  Put in as much time as necessary with the books so you have the foundation knowledge you need.
• If you want to be a farrier, you need to learn how to use a forge. There are a few people shoeing horses who insist cold shoeing is easier and just as effective as hot shoeing.   That’s not true.  Hot shoeing takes less muscle power because the shoe is softer and easier to shape.   More importantly, you can do a much more precise job of achieving a perfect union between the shoe and the horse’s foot.

Is it hard to be a farrier?

You’ve probably got what it takes to become a farrier. People of all ages and with widely different backgrounds become successful at horseshoeing.   You need to be in reasonably good health (horseshoeing is physically demanding) and you need to be able to read and understand written material.  We hope you come to a horseshoeing school with a love of horses and a desire to work with them.   We can’t think of a better reason to become a farrier.

There’s no greater predictor of success than being very motivated and willing to work hard.  Add perseverance to that and you’re almost certain to have great success.   When you’re getting started your body will take some time to get used to the new activities, but it’ll get easier pretty quickly—your hands will toughen up, muscle memory will kick in and you’ll become much more fit with all the exercise.

Can a woman be a farrier?

Strength isn’t as important as you might think. Some people still have an image of farriers as the large, muscular blacksmiths in old pictures.   More and more women of average stature are becoming farriers and doing a great job. We even have students under 18 years of age who have successfully completed courses.

Trying to rely on brute strength alone creates problems for farriers, putting more strain on their bodies and increasing the chance they’ll get hurt.   They’ll often create behavioral problems with the horses they work on as well.  At the Arkansas Horseshoeing School, we teach you how to “work smart” so  you get along with horses and preserve your physical health.

Farrier Apprenticeship 

The vast majority of graduates of horseshoeing schools who do an apprenticeship will succeed as farriers. There’s a pretty poor success rate for farriers who try to go straight from school into business.   We feel so strongly about the advantages of an apprenticeship that we’ll use our network in the field to assist you in finding one.

You have job security.  As long as there are horses around, their owners will always need a farrier with the skills to care for their horse’s feet.   There will always be a demand for skilled, professional farriers.