When I was young, my grandpa taught me how to shoe out of necessity, because he always had a large herd of horses. When I worked at Philmont Ranch in New Mexico, that was part of the duties as a wrangler to keep your string of ranch and dude horses shod. When my wife and I got married and had our daughter, Cheyenne, it became a side hustle to make sure we didn’t starve to death because babies are expensive. From there, the side hustle grew while I worked in town as a mechanic and later as an HVAC Technician. One day Laura said to me to pick one, because me having two full times jobs was hard for us as a family to juggle. So, I chose to be a full-time farrier.
My first mentor was my grandfather. He knew how to shoe but liked having someone else do it, because it was physically easier on him. Ben Vargas was the livestock/ ranch foreman in New Mexico. He taught me a lot about how horses move and what to look for when shoeing a horse. One of my greatest accomplishments as a farrier was building my business from the ground up and being able to support my family as a full-time farrier.
My wife, Laura, and I have three daughters, Jacy, Cheyenne and Braxtin. My personal hobbies are mostly spending time in my shop making spurs, knives and some hoof knives for my own use. I like to jump on my dirt bike and cruise the gravel roads along the Iowa River. Our family has spent years in high school rodeoing, but now that has come to an end with our youngest graduating high school in 2025. I still chase the girls around to amateur and college rodeos, as well as making as many trips as possible to South Dakota, so I can spend time with our daughter Jacy and her family.
My best experience shoeing has been serving as a mentor to younger farriers over the years. Allowing them to ride along, see what I do on a day-to-day basis, and encouraging them to do what is their passion. I have yet to have a worst experience as a farrier. Or if I have, I can’t remember it. Cheyenne says there are a lot, like the time in New Mexico when a horse kicked me & broke my ankle.
What I like most about being a farrier is the lifestyle, and the freedom to work for myself. I very much enjoy working on a horse with a problem, and through the cycles seeing it improve to the point it is comfortable and happy again. Watching my daughter choose this path has also been a great joy. The weather in the winter is my least favorite part of being a farrier. The extremely cold weather is awful. It makes me wish everyone had a heated barn.
There are so many lessons I have learned. They also fall into the advice for new farriers:
Don’t give up! Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it! Continue to learn new things!
The IPFA has given me the opportunity to learn from so many different instructors and speakers. Each one has given me something to take back to my work every day. It has given me a great support system, and lifelong friends!