Heard a new farrier say he only learned to hot fit from a video

I was at the feed store in Lexington last week and overheard a young guy telling the clerk he'd never seen a forge in person. He said his whole training was online, including a video on hot fitting. It got me thinking about my own start, back when you learned by holding the hoof steady for a guy who'd been at it for 30 years. The feel of the heat and the smell of the hoof are things a screen just can't show. For those of you who learned the old way, how do you make sure those hands-on skills get passed down now?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_burns951mo ago

Well that's a terrifying way to start a career. Guess the next video in his playlist is "How to Treat a Panicked Horse You Just Burned." Some things you just gotta learn by getting your hands dirty, literally. The muscle memory from holding a hot shoe to a hoof is something a tutorial can't download into your brain. It's like trying to learn to swim from a book, you're gonna sink the first time you hit real water. Hopefully he finds a real smith to shadow before he does any real damage.

william_henderson1mo ago

Yeah but that's how a lot of trades start now... you get the theory online then find a mentor for the hands on stuff. It's not perfect but it beats having no path in at all. The key is knowing when to stop watching and start doing with real help.

xena11mo ago

My cousin in Idaho learned trimming from YouTube during the pandemic. He used those videos to start a small hoof care business for local mini horses. It gave him a base when no one was taking apprentices. He saved up, bought a cheap anvil, and practiced on scrap metal for months. Now he works with a retired farrier twice a week to get the feel right. The videos got his foot in the door.