Jan 2, 2025
Updates for January 2025!

We would like to thank Michael Wildenstein, CJF, FWCF for the very educational and insightful lecture he presented for our 2024 IPFA Fall Clinic. 

The clinic was hosted by Andrew Kempf, CJF and was well attended by many farriers from the surrounding area. The IPFA would like to thank Andrew Kempf and his family for all the work they did in providing such wonderful food and facilities for the clinic. For any of you unable to attend, we hope to see you at our next IPFA event!

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Jul 11, 2018
2018 IPFA Fall Clinic

We are excited to host former American Farriers team member and WCB stonewell striker of the year Joe Nygren CJF as our fall clinician. Make sure to save the date September 8th and 9th for this hands on clinic. The clinic will serve as a warm up for the 2nd and 3rd events of the Midwest triple crown. Whether you plan to compete or not this clinic will have great hands on education for all levels. The clinic will be at Iowa state in the arena outside of Doug Russo’s shop. The cost for the clinic will be $100 a day or $150 for the weekend. Donuts ant coffee will be provided and $10 dollars for lunch. Don’t miss this great opportunity to gain hands on help for the up coming contests and every day horseshoeing.

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Oct 3, 2017
American Farriers Association Region 3 Clinic

American Farriers Association Region 3 Clinic

Dynamic Approach to Balance

Mike Poe, CJF, AWCF

To view the flyer, click here

Mike Poe is an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers and an AFA Certified Journeyman Farrier. He is also an AFA provisional examiner.

An avid competitor, Mike was a World Championship Blacksmiths (WCB) Top Ten finisher in 2013 and 2014, the WCB Category 3 Champion in 2013 and the Match Play Champion at the 2016 WCB contest in Doswell, VA and the 2015 WCB contest in Madison, WI.

Since graduating from the Eastern School of Farrier Science in 1999 and studying in the Animal Sciences program at Virginia Tech University, Mike has shod horses in a dozen states on both the East and West coasts as well as in Great Britain and Canada. His clients include owners of performance and pleasure horses in multiple disciplines, as well as equestrian programs like the one at the University of Maryland, College Park.

His practice is based in Central Maryland and he has worked as a clinician for farriers and horse owners across the U.S. and Canada.

Clinic will start with a power point lecture about the balanced hoof at 9 AM. Following the presentation, there will be live shoeing demonstrations by Mike Poe, himself.

 

For any questions, please contact Donnie Perkinson at 314-288-9168.


 

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Mar 25, 2017
IPFA/ISU SCAAEP Spring Farrier Clinic and Competition

IPFA/ISU SCAAEP Spring Farrier Clinic and Competition                                    – submitted by Mike Hansaker, CF

On a rainy weekend in Ames, Iowa on March 25-26, 2017 the Iowa State University (ISU) Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (SCAAEP) hosted a joint farrier/veterinarian clinic with the Iowa Professional Farriers Association (IPFA). The SCAAEP sponsored lunch and breakfast both days as well as arranging for tables, chairs, the clinic flyers, the sound system and helped with the registration, preparation and clean up. The weather outside may have been a bit on the dreary side, but you would never know inside the beautiful, state-of-the-art facility at the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine.  Thirty farriers traveled to the event from Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Kentucky, Indiana, California and Iowa. Three veterinarians were in attendance along with twenty-six ISU, nine University of Minnesota and two Kansas State University veterinary students and an undergraduate student were in attendance. Three vendors; Stockhoff’s Farrier Supply, 3B Enterprises Farrier Supply and Chris Ludlow representing Dechra Veterinary Products; American Farriers Association (AFA) President, Donnie Perkinson, CJF, AFA Immediate Past President, Jon Johnson, CJF, and Jeremy McGovern from the American Farriers Journal completes the list of seventy-five enthusiastic attendees at the event.

ISU Veterinary College Surgical Professor, Dr. Dane Tartarniuk, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS-LA, volunteered his entire weekend to present topics and discussion on various hoof pathologies. ISU Resident Farrier and instructor Doug Russo, CJF, AWCF, provided the farrier perspective complementing the presentation by Dr. Tartarniuk and leading the Round Table Discussion. Topics presented and discussed were Septic Bursitis and Street Nail Treatment, Subsolar Abscesses, Laminitis, Navicular, Heel Pain and the veterinarian/farrier partnership in the treatment of these conditions. Discussions moved to the lab where Dr. Tartarniuk demonstrated a Street Nail Procedure surgery, opening a window through the frog, digital cushion and deep flexor tendon to treat an infected navicular bursa. The multiple screens available allowed everyone in the room to have a close up visual of the procedure.

Throughout the weekend excitement was in the air as farriers from multiple states participated in the first leg of the first Annual Midwestern Triple Crown Farrier Contest. The second leg will be on October 12-14, 2017 at Grand Island, Nebraska, with the third and final leg completing the contest on October 27-28, 2017 in Minnesota at a location to be announced. Although anyone can compete in each leg of the Triple Crown and receive high point buckles and prizes at each event, the overall Triple Crown buckles and prizes will be awarded at the end of the third leg in Minnesota when the total overall points will be tallied. Richard Becker, CJF,  and Jennifer Horn, CJF, who have been very successful over several years in judging and conducting these contests in Michigan, were so kind to bring their experience to Iowa. The results of the Iowa Contest are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Novice Class High Point Champion – Randy Hoy, CF (Iowa)

The crown jewel of this event was the Vet/Farrier Classic Contest. Multiple teams consisting of one farrier and one to two veterinary students all evaluate the same lameness on an equine cadaver limb, and the team collaborates to determine treatment and shoeing.  In this contest the lameness was a proximal suspensory ligament strain. The veterinary students determine the treatment and work with the farrier to determine the best shoe to apply. The farrier forges the shoe and with the farrier’s guidance, the veterinary students punch and pritchel the nail holes, clinch and finish the foot. The team then presents their shod limb and their treatment protocol to the attendees. Dr Tartarniuk scores the team on their presentation of case history and diagnoses while Richard Becker, CJF, scores the team on their shoe selection, forging, fit and finish. Scores are then tallied to determine the winners. In some cases, one of the veterinary students acted as the owner of the horse to demonstrate the three-way communication. The presentations are highly entertaining and demonstrate how treatments and shoeing for the same lameness can differ, but still be correct. The best part is the demonstration of how vet/farrier relationships are critical to the best resolution to equine injuries and diseases. The results of the Vet/Farrier Classic are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Jenetta Porter is a third year veterinary student at ISU, a farrier and has also served as Secretary of the IPFA for the past two years. Jenny somehow finds the time in her veterinary studies to be a hardworking member of both the ISU SCAAEP and the IPFA. Here, in collaboration with the Executive Members of the ISU SCAAEP, Jenny shares the veterinary student perspective of this exceptional weekend.

“As young, aspiring veterinarians, we are all enthusiastic when we get the chance to work            with other professionals in the equine industry. Veterinary medicine is not only a                      collaboration with other veterinarians, but also with professionals from all branches of            the equine industry. Farriers are of particular importance when it comes to equine          veterinary medicine. Lameness and other limb diseases are much of what equine         medicine encompasses. No matter how old or what breed, all horses have one thing in            common, four legs and four hooves.

Working with the IPFA farriers and other farriers across the country has allowed us to      create a special network. The vet-farrier relationship has been ignited at Iowa State             University College of Veterinary Medicine, in a large part due to in-house farrier, Doug   Russo, CJF, AWCF. He has encouraged the students through lectures, clinics, as well as        life challenges. Doug is open to all the students’ questions and teaching us things we   cannot learn in the vet school classroom. The ISU SCAAEP- IPFA Vet-Farrier Classic             Competition at this spring’s clinic has been the largest yet, and it will continue to grow.              Students jump at the opportunity to learn about the foot and get hands-on experience. It is             invaluable the amount of knowledge we can gain from the experts that work on the hoof   and limb every day. One student said that this clinic was the best experience they had          acquired while in veterinary school. It is a great opportunity to view and participate in a        side of the equine industry that many of us are not accustomed to. It is encouraging to         come up with a treatment plan in which several facets can collaborate in order to better          serve horses and clients.

A special thanks to all the members of the IPFA for working so closely with the    veterinary students. It is very encouraging to know that the “rift” between farriers and   veterinarians is lessening, and based off the foundations the ISU Farrier Clinic continues       to lay, the relationship will become stronger. Instead of thinking of ourselves as separate        entities, we should consider ourselves to all be part of the equine professional industry with the common goal of helping horses and educating owners.  We cannot survive, one      without the other, nor should we.” – Jenetta Porter

That sums up an extraordinary clinic that in combination with the clinical lectures, initiation of the Midwest Triple Crown Contest and Vet/Farrier Classic that has made great strides in building the bridges to a bold future in equine health and hoof care! Thanks to all who attended, our sponsors, Dr. Tartarniuk, the ISU SCAAEP, those who donated auction items and all those whose hard work contributed to a wonderful weekend!

 

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Dec 19, 2016
Doug Russo First in Iowa to Achieve AWCF!

Doug Russo First in Iowa to Achieve AWCF!

– Submitted by Mike Hansaker, CF

(Click to enlarge)

Doug Russo, CJF, has become the first in Iowa and the eighteenth in the United States to achieve recognition as an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (AWCF). The  British Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF) has origins dating back to 1356 and is regarded by many as holding the highest standards in farrier examinations.

The examination has two modules. The first is the practical module, which tests farriers on an exhibition of shoemaking, a live shoeing and an oral discussion of farriery. The second part is the theory module, which consists of a written paper in which farriers answer five questions on anatomy, physiology, function and farrier theory. For candidates who pass one module, the failed part can be retaken independently. It is important to note that all testing in the Worshipful Company of Farriers is written in the King’s English, which does have different terminology than the English we speak in the United States. Candidates are well served to study the UK Study Guides and recognize these differences in terminology prior to testing. Detailed information can be found on the WCF website: http://www.wcf.org.uk/awcf.php.

A United States (US) based candidate for the AWCF must first be an American Farriers Association (AFA) Certified Journeyman Farrier (CJF) for a minimum of two years and be a member in good standing with the AFA. This and a payment of approximately $530.00 earns a reciprocity exchange for a Diploma in the WCF (DipWCF). The two-day AWCF examination, if held in the US, currently costs $1,600.00. For overseas candidates only, such as the US, there is now a Fast Track Option where the candidate, who does not hold the DipWCF or equivalent (the AFA CJF with two years experience), supplies evidence of six years of qualified gainful shoeing in the farrier’s own country and pays the ‘Fast Track’ Fee, may also be granted acceptance to present for the AWCF examination.

Those achieving the AWCF qualify to test for the highest examination level of the WCF, Fellows of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF). Testing for the AWCF is held over a period of two to three days and have been held at both the Heartland Horseshoeing School and the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. The Kentucky Horseshoeing School has tentatively scheduled AWCF examination dates of October 20-22, 2017. Iowa State University is also planning an AWCF Pre-Certification Clinic with Travis Burns, CJF, TE, EE, FWCF, Chief of Farrier Services at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, with dates soon to be announced.

Doug Russo, CJF, AWCF, is the Resident Farrier of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine and is the Instructor of their Farrier Course. Doug is a Past President of the Michigan Farrier’s Association and has been exceptionally active and supportive of the Iowa Professional Farrier’s Association. He is an active participant in several committees of the American Farriers Association and is currently Chairman of the AFA Equine Research Committee.

Congratulations Doug and thank you for all you do!!

 

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Aug 27, 2016
IPFA Members Helping Horse Haven at Iowa State Fair

This year at the Iowa State Fair, members of IPFA were helping out with the Horse Haven event. Here are some of the pictures from this year’s event.

 

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Apr 20, 2016
Spring Clinic at ISU – April 7th – 10th

Image unnamed unnamed (1) Image 6 Image 5 Image 3 Image 1 (1) Image 1We had a good spring clinic at ISU!

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Feb 2, 2016
State Fair 2015

 

 

 

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