Jeff Kibler
Jeff Kibler here from Michigan and the Nov 06 class. Thought I would give you an update since I graduated from school. It has been almost a year now and I have been able to grow my business at a pace that far exceeded my wildest dreams. With my education and help from you both, I have grown J&J Farrier Service to a full schedule of clients every week. It was slow going in the beginning as I had figured but then came spring and it all changed very quickly. I have a full book clients/horses. Most of which are backyard horses who had not had care in a long time but now are on a regular cycle every 6 weeks. I was able to get into a few big barns as well. I was able to get referrals from my own vet which has really helped. Being connected to 4-H has also been a bonus to my business. Being a farrier has also helped with our training programs at our farm as well. We have been specilizing in working with and training young horses( weanlings and yearlings)particularly with their feet and manners. When I came down for school, I thought I was coming down to learn to be a farrier, but it has gone beyond that. Between my farrier business and my training business, I have been able to make a fairly nice living and helped to put my wife thru school so she could finish and get her degree. What a life changing thing!!!!!! One of the biggest things I learned from you and Max was that it was my responsibility to try and help educate the horse owners as to the importance of hoof care to the overall well being of their horses. It wasn't till after I got back home did I have this REVELATION. I hope to get back down later this winter if things slow up to try and upgrade my certification. Tell Max , Rosie and Crystal I said HELLO and hope all is well . Thanks again for the new education and new way of life.........
Jeff
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Paul Clark
Paul's story has been reported in farrier's magazines around the world. Below is a letter Paul recently sent to Shur Shod Horseshoeing School.
Kelly I am really very grateful to ShurShodHorseshoeingSchool and the BWFA for making my childhood dream finally become reality. Anything that I can do to help or support both organizations, l will gladly do.
I started working with horses in my teen years, taking tourists on moonlight rides in Tenerife. Along with the riding came the responsibility of looking after about 55 horses on a day to day basis. Feeding, Grooming, Training and of course Shoeing. After a few months of watching my boss shoeing the horses I decided that I was going to become a professional farrier. I was about 15 years old.
I convinced my boss to teach me the basics and I started reading, a lot.
Through reading books on horseshoeing from British publishers I came to the conclusion that I had to study in England, because in England they supposedly have the best schooling for farriers and so they must produce the best farriers!
I was 19 years old when I packed all my things up and headed back to England with a quest, to get that diploma.
I sat the farriery training service entrance examination and applied to Approved Training Farriers all over the U.K. for an apprenticeship. From about 60 letters I received 2 replies to say 'sorry, but no'. I was a little disappointed, but I didn't lose heart. I made contact with a very friendly local farrier who was unfortunately not an 'ATF'' but still he said I could ride with him, I couldn't officially touch the horses but I could observe and learn and he would also try to help me find somebody to take me on as an apprentice.
Life in England isn't inexpensive and with no sign of an apprenticeship in the near future, I took a 3 month contract to work in a foundry in Holland. I could save some money and keep applying for an apprenticeship in the meantime from Holland.
It is now 6 years later and I am still living in Holland and I am now married with a child and another one on the way.
I had given up the idea of ever becoming a certified farrier, a 4 year apprenticeship is just not realistic with a mortgage, and a family. That was until about 10 months ago. I heard that a lot of Dutch farriers go to the US for schooling, so I started surfing the internet and found SHURHOD HORSESHOEING SCHOOL in Missouri. The course times, length, price and more importantly the qualifications of the instructors made the choice easy. I booked time free from work, gave my wife and daughter a big kiss and headed off to Missouri.
I was picked up from the airport by Max Williams and Kelly Case's daughter Crystal. They made me feel really welcome took me back to the school where I met the other 5 students. That was another plus point from Shurshod, they take a maximum of 6 students for each course so you have real personal attention from Max and Kelly and there is never a big queue for the showers!
I found the course to even better than I had anticipated. At various times of the day Max would demonstrate how you do something and then we would do it. I found it to be a very effective way of teaching. The course went great and I had a lot of fun whilst learning and made some good friends.
I graduated Shurshod and I am now a certified journeyman 1 farrier. 13 years after I started, I am finally a professional farrier.
I now know that the British system dosen't work. They are making it so difficult for people like me who are very good candidates and who want to become farriers for the right reasons. To get the training and to succeed in becoming good farriers.
I am so grateful that the BWFA has a different policy on schooling and I hope for everybody that wants to become a farrier in the future, that the British system will not be adopted in the US.
Thank you again, Paul Clark
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Diana Lynn Hempy
Kelly It has been over a year now since I left ShurShod Horseshoeing School and I just wanted to write you and let you know how my business is doing and to see how you guys are holding up. My name is sure getting around I am not even advertising it has just been word of mouth and many guys want to see me shoe their horses. Maybe it’s because I am pretty or a good farrier. I would like to believe it is because I am a good farrier. Over all I have sixty four clients that reschedule and I am riding and training on the side for people, so I am making a good start for me I guess. I am sure a lot stronger mentally and physically. I just got done doing my taxes and I made 25,342.00 horseshoeing and 7420.00 training, so I think that is a pretty good turn out for a years work not counting the cash in hand I got. But I did work hard for it and my body seems to hurt all the time but that is what comes with the job. I am planning on trying to come down there to visit sometime this spring again.
Hope too see you all soon Sincerely,Diana Lynn Hempy
(Tuffy)
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Randall Dennis
Dear Kelly,I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t believe Dan and I could have chosen a better horseshoeing school to attend. The facilities and the instructors were of the highest quality. My exposure to the forge work greatly increased my confidence levels in my ability to build a wide variety of shoes.
I would recommend ShurShod Horseshoeing School to ANYONE who is looking for a great learning experience. The atmosphere is friendly and the hands on training is incomparable.
Thanks for the continued support after our graduation. You have greatly assisted with my goal of increased knowledge and raising my certification levels.Thank you again for everything.
Sincerely,
Randall DennisWalkin’ Tall Farrier Services
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Israel Smith
Dear Kelly I just wanted to write and thank you for the wonderful experience I had at ShurShod Horseshoeing School. I’ve only been out of school a couple of weeks and my business has doubled. I’ve taken what you taught me to the field in all aspects (forging, hot shoeing, etc.) and have saved horse lives and changed owners lives and the way they perceive hoof care. Your course structure and methods work so efficiently that I progressed faster than I could ever imagine. The accommodations were good and the shop equipment, tools, etc were of top quality. Kelly you may not realize this but your lectures opened my eyes to the business side of this game and in my opinion were every bit as important as learning how to shoe the horse, or make a horseshoe from scratch. Without the knowledge of running a successful business it really doesn’t matter how good of a farrier you are if you really want to make a living out of this trade. Feel free to use me and my phone number as a reference because I truly believe that ShurShod Horseshoeing School IS the best school in the Northern Hemisphere. Take Care.Israel SmithSmith Forge
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Farrier ServiceHome: 304-275-4577
Cell: 304- 588-6537
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Zac Hickle
Hey Kelly, I have a few minutes so I thought I would send a quick letter and give ya guys a quick update. I seem to remember you guys saying something about how you like hearing how students are doing since their graduation. If I was mistaken just erase this e-mail and disregard. HA HA!Since I completed school at the end of February my expectations have been far exceeded on many levels.I will admit that it was slow for the phone to start ringing but now it rings off the hook. I am shoeing and trimming horses with much of my available time. The education I received down there readied me for the endless customer questions, requests and problems I have come acrossSince I have been home I have done lots of trims, a few shoe jobs and even some VETTEC and a VERY foundered mare. It is very reassuring to know that I am so well prepared before I arrive at a customers barn. So I just wanted to write and say thank you for the excellent education I received. Tell the current students to not get discouraged when they get home, the phone will ring. Thanks again,
Hope all is well,
Kelly don’t be afraid to pass my number out as a reference.
Thanks
Zac Hickle
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