OK Here we go, please explain why you feel the AFA is relevant to the FARRIER INDUSTRY>

Also Please note, I am adding one more aspect to the questions I have asked.

If you say, NO. please expound with a short note why you feel that way, do the same if you say YES.

Then if you say NO, please ad what you feel would make the AFA become relevant!

This is a VERY simple exercise, and I will shut it down as soon as it gets off track.

Have at it!

Fourty or fifty thousand farriers? twenty five hundred or so AFA members?

Again, do the math. The answer the AFA is not very relevant.

Interesting how this thread did not go anywhere, and the other 2 have been very active and some very good stuff coming out of them.
To me, it speaks volumes!!!

I think the "equipment and supplies industry" is beginning to shift away from supporting the AFA and starting to pay more attention to the IHCS.

Perhaps Ray Steele can help quantify this trend and explain it from a manufacturer's point of view.

Martin Kenny wrote:Seems it's NO.

Or else all who want to be farriers would be CJF farriers at least and members.
A programme of accredited education, regulation and registration and with animal welfare legislation to back it up.
How comes? Can you do that?

I would say that the AFA is not relevant to the industry,however cirtification is on an individual/personal level.I would be inclined to think that apprenticship would be more relevant.Especialy as a means to aquire larger barns or higher quality clientel.I am a member,but find just as much(or more) through my local chapter by building relationships with local farriers,as well as my local shoe supplier through support and clinics.Though I haven't been to either,the Int. Hoofcare Summit appears to have alot more to offer than the AFA convention.The only way any association would be relevant at this time, would be if there was a manditory licencing or registration,nationally

OK so here we are.......... Seems that one can look at the 3 threads we have going here and surmise the following...
#1 The AFA must not be relevant to the Farriers, as there has been very little going on in that thread, and what was going on, stated clearly that it was not relevant to those joining in.
#2 The AFA seems to be not relevant at this time in this thread either, but here we see some REALLY good stuff that the AFA should use to help with their process to make it relevant.
#3 The AFA MAY be relevant here, but there is no strong consensus here either.

So lets see how it goes in the upcoming week, maybe we will see some really neat stuff come forth this week............ But PLEASE play nice, as always we have seen the same old group try and bring descent on this type of topic. I for one think it shows one's true character, but even worse than that, it shows one thing that a lot of my clients tell me regularly....."Farriers, as a group, are not professional."

Have a great week ahead, and stay warm. Those going to ICHS, have a great week and learn a lot!

mr kenny,is afa relevant to farriers?that answer is the same as the horse owning public question.it is relevant to those who pursue it or otherwise take advantage of it.-gary

Gary,

I think the intent of this particular thread was to question whether or not the AFA is relevant to the manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, etc who make up the FIA and related individuals and companies.

Anymore, most every major convention/conference/summit/whatevah has a marketplace where vendors display their wares. At one time, the AFA was really the only place that happened. But, no longer. Factor in the advertising that vendors do in the print media, on-line and through mailings, and it becomes clearer that while at one time the AFA was truly relevent to the FI, the same cannot now be said.

At one time there was even talk of the FIA holding its own convention/marketplace separate from the AFA. I really don't know the status of that idea now, but the mere fact that the FIA was/is willing to distance itself from the AFA is rather telling.

Is the AFA relevant to the farriery industry? Sure, on several levels.

First, without the AFA (and I should add, this forum!), I would not have met many of the experienced farriers that have so generously helped me along in my own practice. I have found no farriers in my local area that are willing to assist someone in acquiring farriery skills; even when I have offered to pay them! My story is not unique and I'm quite confident that the AFA and it's members have helped many farriers in their careers.

Second, the AFA and it's members participate in and are relevant to the industry by virtue of product purchases, product offerings, advertising, clinics, their relationship with farriery schools around the country, and of course, servicing the horses owned by AFA member customers.

Finally, the AFA is one of the associations that provide a certification mechanism whereby farriers can test their skill set against a standard. Farriers interested in certification have the AFA available to them as an option.

Mark

Mark_Gough wrote:
Fact is, AFA or not, those very same farriers would be making purchases, etc just the same. Considering the current relationship between the AFA and many of the horseshoing schools around the country, do you really think the AFA is actually relevant to them?

The FI provides goods and services to some 30-40,000 full or part-time farriers of which, less than 2500 are members of the AFA. So, really, how relevant is the AFA to the FI(meaning those that provide goods and services to/for farriers)?

Rick Burten wrote:
Hello Rick,

In fairness, the question asked if the AFA, which should includes its members, was relevant. Martin didn't ask for anyone to quantify that relevance.

Yes, those same farriers would likely purchase tools if they were not members; but, they are members.

Yes, there have been problems in the relationships between farriery schools and the AFA, but, there are relationships nonetheless (e.g. New student membership program).

So, I believe I'll stick by my answer. Now if I was asked to quantify that relevance, the answer would a bit more complicated.

See you at the summit!

Cheers,
Mark

Mark_Gough wrote:The student membership program is not new its been arouond for sometime. I became a member throw the student membership program at the time is cost $35 and all I had to do was show I was enrolled in school. Now the change is it free but you have to be enrolled in a 6-week or longer farrier course to be eligible. Under the new rule I don't think I could of qualified for the student membership due to I was only enrolled in a horseshoeing class and not a farrier course.

Martin,
If you had not worked with the legends you have, pursued and acheived your CJF and went on from there would you be the farrier you are today?
If a read between the lines in your posts, the AFA, or atleasts many of its founding fathers, were integral to your becoming the farrier you are today. If it is not relevant to you today, I think its patently obvious by your credentials and the folks who you learned from it was important in your past.
I think it is as important to remember where we came from as it is to know where we are going. You obviously came from a blue blood AFA "family". Why do you claim these experiences and people are not relevant now? Why would you discourage people from following the path that lead to your success?
Jason

Jason,

I think you are missing something. Martin is trying to help us discover what is discouraging people from following the path he followed.

I think part of what you are missing is that the new farriers of today are not the same people as the new farriers of yesterday. Used to be that folks went into horseshoeing at a youg age - like Martin did. Now most new farriers are coming to the industry as second or third career people.

In the past, people "grew up" with the AFA. Now mature grownup adults with business savvy, college educations, and years of LIFE EXPERIENCE are becomming farriers. Their "identity," (inner self confidence and self reliance) is already established. They don't need the AFA to tell them "who they are." and the AFA will never be the organization that "made them who they are." These folks want a professional organization, not a family. For them the AFA will be business, not personal.