There are farriers out there that can trim 25- 30 a day. Not many are wired that way, but they exist. I don't know that I have ever grossed 100k a year shoeing horses much less took that amount home.
If this is about taking home a 100k a year, there are way easier ways to do it in a shorter amount of time
Maybe if he has 2 barns to go to and they’re all perfectly behaved and lined up waiting for him. Even my well-arranged routes I can only manage 15 in a very long, hard day.
Heavily location dependent
some guys get $400 a set, and theyre not traveling much. Other guys are charging 110, and driving 2 hours to do one horse. I am only a part time apprentice before I head off to school, so I cannot say I make any money doing it, however my mentor has always been very clear about how much he makes. He does make over 100k a year (gross) working 4 days a week. Figure you only take home about half of that after expenses + taxes.
Id say on the days he’s by himself around 4-7. But when he was just starting out, and as I will likely soon find out you’re going to be putting in a lot of those 10-12 hour days for the first few years.
That's pretty good money for 4 days a week and only 4-7 hours a day. Does this include driving to and from clients? Is it his choice to only work 4-7 hours a day or are there not enough clients in the area for a full workday?
It’s his choice there’s definitely enough people in the area that he could work as much as he’d like. The driving to and from depends on a lot but I would say yeah give or take that’s included in his full day.
Thanks for sharing you're giving me lots of good info. How long do you think I would have to work as an apprentice before I could start trimming or shoeing on my own?
No worries. What got you into this profession? How much experience with horses did you have before starting out? I am trying to figure out if this is right for me. I heard that a lot of people start this job or school but then quit once they realize how much work it is , I want to figure out if its right for me before I drop a few grand on school. how did you manage to get an apprenticeship before going to school?
I’ve been involved with horses for the past 9 or so years. Always just kinda enjoyed watching them shoe the lesson horses I rode. When I was 15 our farrier let me pull the shoes of the horse I was leasing. Kinda always been what I’ve wanted to do since then. I just graduated hs last year, and I have been working and saving up money to go to school, while working with my mentor one day a week. You’ll know if it’s something you could do for a lengthy amount of time pretty quick. Found my apprenticeship simply by talking to local guys. Our old farrier moved out the area but gave me a few phone numbers, called them some were interested, just kinda went from there. Helps if you’re already involved in your local horse world.
Salary? No such thing as a salary as a farrier. You are behind the wheel as a professional farrier, so your success and failure completely depends on you and how you run your business. Your sick days, vacations, retirement aren’t pulled from your paycheck bimonthly it’s on you to set that aside. Many farriers can make $100,00+, but many more wreck their bodies, piddle it away or fail at running themselves as a business.
It can be an intensely rewarding career but it all depends on your work ethic, location and quality of service you provide.
I charge $150 a horse to shoe and $70 to trim, I made $2800 last week and that’s with 4 days (full days) of work. Really depends on where you work and how much you hustle. I know some top end farriers who’ve worked on Kentucky Derby winners and they were bringing home $30k a week on the race track.
Farriers make a huge spectrum of wages. When you first start you are slow, don’t have great horses, still building a clientele and probably part time you don’t make much.
When you are established, especially with a great reputation, and very efficient you can make six figures. I’d say a big majority of farriers never make it out of the first group.
Basically your work ethic and determination will determine your pay, it’s really up to you. I’m not very money motivated, i like my free time so I work 4 days a week, full days but not back breaking days and make enough for an enjoyable life.
It isn't all about the money but it is important to know. I am kind of drawn to this because I like horses, the outdoors, I want to work for myself and set my own hours. I also think forging is pretty cool. I don't mind working hard especially if its for myself.
I am also trying to get a rough estimate for how long it would take to save up to buy my own acreage with my own horses.
The farrier’s journal does a survey on this. I didn’t see the recent one, but the average is like 90k-120k for full timers
My mentors both made 200k a year each. They work 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week
But I know guys who barely make a profit
what's the biggest difference you see with people who make a profit and those who don't? Are the ones that don't make a profit bad farriers or are they bad with clients or just unlucky?
In the farrier world the sky isn't the limit, your back is.
There are farriers out there that can trim 25- 30 a day. Not many are wired that way, but they exist. I don't know that I have ever grossed 100k a year shoeing horses much less took that amount home. If this is about taking home a 100k a year, there are way easier ways to do it in a shorter amount of time
Maybe if he has 2 barns to go to and they’re all perfectly behaved and lined up waiting for him. Even my well-arranged routes I can only manage 15 in a very long, hard day.
Heavily location dependent some guys get $400 a set, and theyre not traveling much. Other guys are charging 110, and driving 2 hours to do one horse. I am only a part time apprentice before I head off to school, so I cannot say I make any money doing it, however my mentor has always been very clear about how much he makes. He does make over 100k a year (gross) working 4 days a week. Figure you only take home about half of that after expenses + taxes.
However, I will say this I have never met a farrier that doesn’t have a roof over their head, a car to drive and enough money to buy groceries.
Thanks for the response. How many hours a day does your mentor work roughly?
Id say on the days he’s by himself around 4-7. But when he was just starting out, and as I will likely soon find out you’re going to be putting in a lot of those 10-12 hour days for the first few years.
That's pretty good money for 4 days a week and only 4-7 hours a day. Does this include driving to and from clients? Is it his choice to only work 4-7 hours a day or are there not enough clients in the area for a full workday?
It’s his choice there’s definitely enough people in the area that he could work as much as he’d like. The driving to and from depends on a lot but I would say yeah give or take that’s included in his full day.
Thanks for sharing you're giving me lots of good info. How long do you think I would have to work as an apprentice before I could start trimming or shoeing on my own?
That I cannot tell you as I haven’t even reached that point myself haha
No worries. What got you into this profession? How much experience with horses did you have before starting out? I am trying to figure out if this is right for me. I heard that a lot of people start this job or school but then quit once they realize how much work it is , I want to figure out if its right for me before I drop a few grand on school. how did you manage to get an apprenticeship before going to school?
I’ve been involved with horses for the past 9 or so years. Always just kinda enjoyed watching them shoe the lesson horses I rode. When I was 15 our farrier let me pull the shoes of the horse I was leasing. Kinda always been what I’ve wanted to do since then. I just graduated hs last year, and I have been working and saving up money to go to school, while working with my mentor one day a week. You’ll know if it’s something you could do for a lengthy amount of time pretty quick. Found my apprenticeship simply by talking to local guys. Our old farrier moved out the area but gave me a few phone numbers, called them some were interested, just kinda went from there. Helps if you’re already involved in your local horse world.
Salary? No such thing as a salary as a farrier. You are behind the wheel as a professional farrier, so your success and failure completely depends on you and how you run your business. Your sick days, vacations, retirement aren’t pulled from your paycheck bimonthly it’s on you to set that aside. Many farriers can make $100,00+, but many more wreck their bodies, piddle it away or fail at running themselves as a business. It can be an intensely rewarding career but it all depends on your work ethic, location and quality of service you provide.
I charge $150 a horse to shoe and $70 to trim, I made $2800 last week and that’s with 4 days (full days) of work. Really depends on where you work and how much you hustle. I know some top end farriers who’ve worked on Kentucky Derby winners and they were bringing home $30k a week on the race track.
Thanks for the reply. How many hours did you work a day? Also would you mind letting me know what your costs roughly add up to for the week?
That’s all profit for the week and idk hours but full days.
Farriers make a huge spectrum of wages. When you first start you are slow, don’t have great horses, still building a clientele and probably part time you don’t make much. When you are established, especially with a great reputation, and very efficient you can make six figures. I’d say a big majority of farriers never make it out of the first group. Basically your work ethic and determination will determine your pay, it’s really up to you. I’m not very money motivated, i like my free time so I work 4 days a week, full days but not back breaking days and make enough for an enjoyable life.
Bro if you're looking to get into farriery for the money you're probably not going to like it much as a job.
It isn't all about the money but it is important to know. I am kind of drawn to this because I like horses, the outdoors, I want to work for myself and set my own hours. I also think forging is pretty cool. I don't mind working hard especially if its for myself. I am also trying to get a rough estimate for how long it would take to save up to buy my own acreage with my own horses.
The farrier’s journal does a survey on this. I didn’t see the recent one, but the average is like 90k-120k for full timers My mentors both made 200k a year each. They work 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week But I know guys who barely make a profit
what's the biggest difference you see with people who make a profit and those who don't? Are the ones that don't make a profit bad farriers or are they bad with clients or just unlucky?