25/01/2025
**A Note from Riley Mickelsen, CJF**
Many prospective students watch our videos and think, “That looks cool! I want to learn that!” I would like to share some thoughts geared towards them.
Attached is a picture of one of my top students, now in week 16 of training. He’s working on perfecting the skill of pulling a clip. This image captures just a couple of days of practice. At this point, he’s probably pulled hundreds of clips. Lots of failures and self critique in one picture.
The reality is, many modern students expect excellence overnight. When they don’t hit that mark, frustration sets in, and the blame game starts—they blame me, the school, the weather, the horses, or their tools. Unfortunately, I see a lot of “victim mentality” in this newer generation, where responsibility for failure is often deflected elsewhere.
Here’s my message for them.
Most of the farriers who are considered truly skilled have failed far more times than you have even TRIED. Believe me, I know failure in this trade all too well. This is not a trade where you will find very much sympathy.
There’s a certain brutal honesty to shoeing horses: If you’re unskilled, the horse suffers. If you’re out of shape, your work suffers, and the horse suffers. If you haven’t put in the hours to hone your skills, you won’t be able to assist with what the horse may need. If you are a poor horseman, everyone suffers.
This is not a trade where good effort alone counts. If you miss the mark, it’s the animal that pays the price. Not very much back patting for a good effort.
I know that this is hard to hear, but If you have never been told that you are anything but amazing, please avoid the headache of coming to our school. If you feel that the world needs to cater to your feelings on a daily basis, it’s nothing personal, but farriery is not for you.
However, if you are a go getter, have always held yourself to a high standard, and aren’t afraid of humble pie, you will find farriery and our school is a perfect fit.
Just some things to think about.
