Looking to get into this trade, help me out with some info?

I had never touched a horse till my first day of horseshoeing school.

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So what made you decide to shoe horses Zach?

....that's called wanting it bad ...that's a huge hurtle to over come.. good on you for not letting anyone take your eye off the prize..

I seen a guy at the race track shoeing a horse and though it looked fun

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How long before ya realised ya were wrong

10 farriers for a county of 100,000. That actually seems kind of saturated to me, also that's about how many people live in my county.

So, takes about 4-5 years to learn, during which time you don't get payed. Then 5 years to establish a business. (so forget about ever being able to move once you get that established) AND you have a ton of competition.

I know this is something I would like doing, I don't have a lot of head knowledge about horses and I didn't grow up with them, but alot of my friends had horses so I do have some amount of experience working around them. Like I said I was actually a groom at a horse farm for awhile. So I don't know NOTHING. I feel like maybe I did not give myself enough credit at the begining in an effort to say that I have alot to learn. (which i do)

I am fine with paying my dues and putting in time to learn a trade, but if on top of that I won't be able to find work and have to compete with, lets say, an average of 9 other farriers for the little work that there is, then its not worth 10 years of effort. If I know that there is a demand for this and not to many people know how to do it, then it is certainly worth the time and effort and I am up to the challenge.

Lee, you said you were 17. Do you live with your parents? If so, try to stay there for a couple more years. Don't plan on getting married or having a family for a few years, or on buying a house. That's good advice no matter what career you're trying to enter.

First off, as has been said, ride with a farrier for at least a couple of weeks, maybe during your summer vacation. Do what he says, sweep up, set up, and shut up. Find out if you really like it. If so, find a good school and go. If you get to the point of looking for one, come back on here and ask for recommendations. After school, try to find a farrier to apprentice with.

If you don't have another source of funding, you'll probably have to take a second job for a while.

If you decide to try it on your own, decide where you want to live, then if possible go somewhere else for a couple years and make your mistakes there - believe me you'll make plenty. Then move to where you want to live. It took me two years after school and apprenticeship before I was actually making enough to live on. I had some savings and investments to rely on. At 17, I'm guessing you don't have much.

As has been said, it's a great career and you can eventually make good money if you want to work hard and do your best. You will probably get lots of help from other farriers along the way, if you have the right attitude and work ethic, but don't expect any free lunches. You'll have to earn it, but it's there to be earned.

Compare the time and money you'll need to spend to get started to what you would have to spend to start any career in which you are self employed, and I think you will find that farriery will stack up quite well comparatively.

Or you could just get a job working for someone else for the rest of your life. Best of luck.

Regards

I love the job just sometimes i hate the people lol o and when i finished the Horseshoeing school my dad told me his granddad and great grand dad were farriers also so i guess its in my blood

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So that's what I was missing....

Don't worry it will be legal before long!!!

This topic is always a good topic ...and there is so many reasons for farriers that don't make it but it norm comes down to one thing and that's the abilty to weather the storm and handling it with class and then knowing when to capitalise when things are going good.. some people are hard wired to be self employed..those kind don't mind working long hard hours and can take hard knocks ..they can eat beans seven days a week if that's what it takes..they can live in a horse trailer if that's what it takes.. and some just need to work for a big corp and do 40 hrs a week and help make someone else money ..and there is nothing wrong with that ..there's really not..... I seen an spat on Facebook the other day ..a friend commented that its odd that guys being in the trade for so long never learn to shoe without turning cams.. his point being learn to do it all ways ..much like cody a bit back asking what others pull clips with.. cody can pull clips just fine but he's figuring out how to pull them on the damn bumper of his truck if takes a notion to do so..on that Facebook post a few seem to got they panties in a bunch saying when you can only get 80 bucks a head you shoe them cold and use cams to hook the heels..and where they live that 85 is all they can get...bullshit ..I live damn near rock throwing distance from those saying that... There work is better that 80 bucks a head but that's all they feel its worth I quess.. my app of two years gets 125 although he does have to take less at times because its hard to get that on back yard horses when those guys with cf behind there name are only asking 80.. but he does get more that the 80 but less than 125.. at times...but we have a rule he gets what he ask on English large farm horses..he picked who he teamed up with wisely ..he did not jump in the first truck that come along..but he stayed after it and stayed after wanting to learn he had a clear plan of what he wanted to shoe..in his direct area he pick two guys and stuck with us ..he did not jump in and out every truck he ask more than once.. and that's key... I stop allowing anyone with me ..but if they keep showing up asking i will give them a go....so don't be disheartened when you get a few no..you will get them..

Have ya ever watched a young shoer work and damn near bite your tongue off because advising them is a waste of time?

I have long referred to that as "The arrogance of ignorance..."

Lee all i can say is the lads that went through me all wanted
to be a Farrier.
thats very important ,money never realy came in to it
money will come later.
the only qualitys i would like to see you have
is that your honest ,willing to put effort in,
a good time keeper and good with people.
Finding someone that can teach you this profession
well maybe your bigest problem
if your lucky to find a good master put your best efforts
in the time you have with him/her .
i would like to see you do a 4 year Apprenticeship
give it your best shot







finding some one that can teach you to be a farrier
could be your bigest problem

............norm I don't disagree with much of what George says..but more often than not its all about knowing when to strike this below is just one of many reason why the cream rise to the top.. its my experience most are nasayers
Regardless of what people around you (including the media) may say, right now is the best time to get into business. Just go back and look at the economic slowdowns throughout history. Most recessions in the post-World War II era last an average of 10 months, followed by growth cycles that last an average of 50 months.

What this means for the startup is there's no better time than right now to get going and start pursuing your business dreams--in anticipation of the next period of growth.:.....

Yes, most businesses don't last more than 5 years. I have first hand experience of this. In Oklahoma, our family had a business, lasted 3. And yes it is also true that during hard times many of business go under, allowing room for new businesses (if they are smart) to come in.

I just have to ask, did I do something to make you guys think I am in this just for the money? I came here asking if it is possible to make $2000 a month, later I find out that some make much more than that. You can make good money doing security installation, even better if you do it on your own. A $20,000 job takes one week of work. I just wanted to know if this is a reasonable thing to be thinking about.

Which is still unclear to me, and may not be able to be answered on this forum. I really need to find out more information of the supply and demand of different areas. Does anyone know how I could find this information other than just talking to farriers from that area?

But I really do appreciate everyone's input on this, thanks for the advise and taking the time to write it out.

Lee, if you are a Horseman you will know the state of affairs in the horse industry...

Is there something wrong with doing it for the money ..... Hey I make about 40 more k a year doing this than I ever did working in construction and at times baby sat up to 40 men across 3 states..I kept a headache and high blood pressure...keep in mind how much more I make as I lay out my day for ya...I arise at say 9 ish I watch two shows of Dr Phil while I eat my morn snack..I head out around 10 ish...shoe till 7 ish.. during duck season I hunt darn near 7 days a week because I make my own route ..if I'm sick I take off and double up next two days... You bet your sweet ass I do it for the perks and the money.. did it start that way ...you bet your sweet ass I would not have kept pushing along if all I thought I could make say 25 or 30 k a year..hell yea I do it for the money and I will never say I'm sorry..Shoeing horses ain't that damn hard of work who are we kidding...if you think its hard work then your ass ain't never had a hard days work..

Lee i don't know of your gonna have what it takes to hold for the long haul..lol.. you keep worry with supply and demand of the industry...people who do this and make a full blown living at it never questioned that I bet..they knew from the start they would be one of the few to pull it off..you keep talking about this ADT installation thing and you can make 20k a week..bullshit ..every peker head this side of the sippii be in line for some of that action..from someone who know a good bit about running a business ..and not from text book...you ain't even come close to real cost of overhead nor supplys..and a pile of other fees..and just who are all these folks putting in a 20k systems a week..well maybe it bid work and commercial contracts ..if that's the case right now bid work is going for 20% markup..that ain't much guys...about five years or more it was in the 40% range.. so unless you are the head chezz your just makein a living trying to hang on until an up swing in the economy..even the big chezz these days is looking for a special or nitch market to turn more cash flow...if you got a hot lead on a 20k a week gig ..52 weeks a year ..I'm in ...where do I fly to...