Our Courses
Basic Farrier
The Basic Farrier Education Course familiarizes students with the principles, procedures and skills necessary to develop a professional farrier practice. Cases will be taken as they present themselves in class. Given that it is impossible in an 8-week program to physically work on every type of case one may encounter, all cases will be discussed via instruction in the most up-to-date and relevant hoof science available. Principles covered are: Basic barefoot trimming, basic shoeing, performance shoeing, corrective shoeing, anvil/forge work – shoe modifications and hand-made shoes – learning to move the steel, horsemanship skills, equine conformation, diseases of the foot, lower limb anatomy, biomechanics of the horse, dissections, and much more. This is not a simple “cut off the long and nail something onto the short” horseshoeing program. Likewise, we do not teach using numbers. This program is heavily science based and focused on the bio-mechanics of healthy equine movement. Our goal is to teach you to read a foot and think thru a protocol by developing a “feel”, using the 5-Guidelines for evaluating hoof function, hoof-mapping, common sense, knowledge and your skill as it develops. Students will be exhausted both mentally and physically, but if the student applies one's-self, you/they will learn more than they thought possible. The most successful graduates learn how to explain to the client what you are doing and more importantly WHY you are doing it.
The course offers 320 hours of horseshoeing instruction over an 8- week basic farrier course.
Tuition: $12,000
TOOLS INCLUDED
We provide large tools such as forges, anvils, grinders vices etc.
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TOOLS YOU BRING
Download our tool sheet for a list of tools you will need to buy and bring to class. These are your basic hand tools you will need to start your career as a farrier.
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Class meets 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Maximum time to complete the class is 8 weeks. After hours study and forge practice are encouraged.
Practicing Farrier
The Practicing Farrier continuing education course builds upon the knowledge and skills learned in the Basic Course. The Practicing Farrier course may be taught concurrently with the Basic course, with the expectation that Practicing Farrier students will be given the more challenging podiatry and horsemanship cases and will be expected to be up to speed on their forging skills (specifically as it relates to shoe shaping), recognition of distortion, and focusing on the skills of communication explaining the “language” to clients. Advanced students will be expected to become efficient in their time management and in making most of the decisions for the horse. Students will be presented with practical work, as they might find in their clientele and cases will be taken as they present themselves in class. Given that it is impossible in an 8-week program to work on every type of case one may encounter, cases will be discussed via instruction in the most up-to-date and relevant hoof science available. Students will be expected to work more efficiently on hoof mapping, trimming, shoe shaping, nailing and finishing feet. They will be expected to demonstrate these skills to the instructor and show that they are able to think thru a protocol by developing a “feel”, using the 5-Guidelines for evaluating hoof function, hoof mapping, common sense, and knowledge. To be eligible to take the Practicing Farrier Course, applicants must have graduated from Mission, or any other recognized school, or have 2-years of experience as a farrier.
This course offers 320 hours of horseshoeing instruction during the 8-week program.
Tuition: $12,000
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TOOLS INCLUDED
We provide large tools such as forges, anvils, grinders vices etc.
​
TOOLS YOU BRING
Download our tool sheet for a list of tools you will need to buy and bring to class. These are your basic hand tools you will need to start your career as a farrier.
By encouraging study partnerships, Advanced students will deeper their understanding of the science of these horseshoeing principles.
Our Three Pillars of Farrier Education
Horsemanship
One of our key pillars of education is horsemanship. We believe that in order to be a good farrier, one should strive to be an excellent horseman. This means communicating to the horse in a way that is meaningful to that horse. It means understanding how they think and how to influence their mind rather that force them. MFS is one of the only farrier programs around that teaches an advanced level of horsemanship.
Craftsmanship
The word "farrier" is derived from the word farrous referring to iron content. Traditional skill on the forge and anvil are still key to having a multitude of solutions available. Students learn to build and modify steel and aluminum shoes from bar stock. Part of craftsmanship is also knowing when to forge, and when a more modern solution such as a composite is the right option.
Hoof Science
Students gain in depth understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb. We discuss in detail a wide variety of lameness pathologies, and give guidelines for good evaluation. We place a high emphasis on seeing and understanding functional sound biomechanics. We use the feral horse in an ideal environment as a model for good foot function and work to simulate that function in our domestic horses.
ATTENTION VETERANS
Mission has been an approved facility for VA benefits for many years. However due to our recent move to Oregon there is a waiting period before we can offer that option for funding. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to resume our approved status sometime in 2023.