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Registered Joruneyman Farrier™ Registration Guidelines

The RJF™ 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 RJF™ must pass all phases of the RJF™ exam are expected to have been practicing farriery as full-time professional farriers for a minimum of four years prior to applying for their membership as Registered Journeyman Farriers™.

Written Exam

The written phase may cover any and all technical aspects of applied farriery. The focus of questions asked at the Registered Journeyman Farrier™ level is primarily the treatment of diagnosed lameness. This written exam is scheduled to last 3 hours.

Forge Work 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 Candidate is to provide the appropriate nail for each shoe in the shoe board. All welded shoes must be forge welded.

The shoe board must include the following handmade shoes:


  • 3/4 Fullered Shoe w/quarter clips (made from aluminum)

  • Straight bar *

  • Egg bar *

  • Heart bar shoe *

  • Wedged shoe

  • Blocked heel shoe

  • Toe-weighted shoe

  • Patten shoe *

  • Side-weighted shoe

  • Fish Tail Shoe *

  • Mushroom Shoe *

  • Calk heal shoe

  • Rim shoe (concave stock)

  • Some device to immobilize the hoof wall (like multiple clips or a continuous clip or toe cap) on a shoe by itself. (Both multiple clip and continuous clip shoes are included in the reproduction drawing so the candidate must be ready to produce either if drawn) *

The candidate will draw one of the above shoes by lot and reproduce that shoe at the site of the exam made to fit a pattern provided by the Examiner.

* These shoes are therapeutic shoes and should be fullered appropriately.

Live Shoeing Phase

The shoeing phase of the exam is a real work 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.

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.