Happy New Year! The New Year brings with it a determination to better ourselves through goals and resolutions. Sometimes it is easy to get into a rut or do “just enough to get by.”One of the wonderful aspects of this craft is that there is always an opportunity to improve.
I believe one of the main reasons we hear so much criticism of the lack of farrier skills today is due to a lack of long-term commitment to skill mastery. It seems that many people only want to put in the minimum effort needed to graduate from a farrier school or to make a living. […]
“The Butler Team” recently won the three-man draft horse shoeing competition at the Four Corners Contest in Castle Rock, Colorado. The horses were well behaved and were owned by a carriage company in Denver. (Apparently there are nine carriage companies in Denver). We drew a Shire horse with beautiful feet that stood perfectly. Everything went […]
The royal wedding in England has captured the attention and imagination of the world. As I watched, Adam Smith’s statement in The Wealth of Nations came to mind, “The chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches….” In spite of the occurrence of other significant world events, “the story book event” took precedence. […]
January brings a renewed hope for personal and family progress in the new year. Starting with New Year’s resolutions, this is the time of year when people tend to set goals and make commitments. Using this traditional time of the year to evaluate the past and plan for the future are worthwhile, healthy pursuits. However, […]
Driving horseshoe nails accurately, consistently and safely is a difficult task for the beginner. Some persons have abandoned horseshoeing altogether and become barefoot advocates because of their lack of confidence and skill in this area. It’s sort of like throwing out the baby with the bath. There are times when nothing but nailing on shoes […]
What value is farrier certification? If the horse owning public doesn’t know what it is, how difficult it is to do the accurate work necessary to obtain it, and the value it has for their horse(s) – it has little value. If it becomes nothing more than a fraternity initiation which includes hazing, it has […]
Foal limb soundness begins before a foal is born. It involves considerations of nature (genetic) and nurture (environment). Genetic factors include inherited conformation and behavioral traits from the stallion and mare. Environmental factors include physical space in the mare’s uterus, nutrition, training and disease prevention. Choosing a mating that has a good chance of producing […]
Learning to learn applies to every phase of life. Recently I became aware, through an article titled “Divided Attention” by David Glenn published February 28, 2010, in The Chronicle of Higher Education, that many students today are having greater difficulty learning and applying what they’re being taught due to inattention and the illusion of competence […]
“Doug, I attended your Horse Expo seminar this past March in Lincoln and really enjoyed your lecture. I never thought that I would have to bring out notes from what you talked about in such a short amount of time, but we ended up having a horse go lame on us this spring. We saw […]
Butler Professional Horseshoeing School
495 Table Road
Crawford, NE 69339
(800) 728-3826
jacob@dougbutler.com
If you think you want to become a farrier (or know someone who does), this book can help you make that decision. Horse owners will learn the importance of choosing a qualified farrier and how to select the “right” one.
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