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Registered Farrier™ Registration Guidelines

The RF™ exam is designed to test the knowledge and skills that a competent, full-time professional farrier should already have. Candidates for membership in the Guild as an RF™ must pass all phases of the RF™ exam are expected to have been practicing farriery as full-time professional farriers for a minimum of two years prior to applying for their membership as Registered Farriers™.

Written Exam

The written phase may cover any and all technical aspects of applied farriery. The focus of questions asked at the Registered Farrier™ level the maintenance of sound horses or the application of modifications to address conformation or gait faults. This written exam is scheduled to last 3 hours.

Shoe Modification Phase

Candidates should produce sample shoe board ahead of time. Front shoes should be the same front pattern. Hind shoes should fit be the same hind pattern. The shoe board must include the following shoes shoe modifications:

  • Clips (Toe and Quarter)
  • Square Toe
  • Rolled Toe
  • Rocker Toe
  • Hind Shoe Extended Heels
  • Shoe to raise hoof angle
  • Shoe with Pad (finished as if applied to foot)
  • Two Types of Traction Devices (applied one type of device per shoe)
  • Trailer
  • Punched Nail Hole

The shoeing phase of the exam is a real world practical exam. Candidates are scored on each phase of the exam.

The candidate will do a standardized intake of the horse and document the intake to the Guilds Standardized Intake Protocol. In the event that the candidate judges that the horse has a lameness that requires specialized shoeing the candidate should note the lameness and work with the examiner to develop the prescription or to arrange to be given another horse for the exam.

The Candidate will design a shoeing prescription based upon the information gathered in the intake and document the prescription in accordance with the Guilds Shoeing Prescription and Documentation Protocol.

The applicant will be required to shoe a horse in accordance with the approved prescription. Ample time will be allowed to complete the prescribed work.