Educational  Process .... a never ending project. The following list of men have played important roles in bringing me to where I am today. This process of learning a trade and then continuing to "hone" those skills is one that is never completed.  A friend of mine once said:   "....... a true seeker will never stop seeking."   (And .....I will never turn away from the books til the day that I die.) Jim Thomas ..... graduate of "Porterville Shoeing School" in one of the first classes as Ralph Hoover opened the school in 1964 ...... While I was of Junior High age; Jim was the farrier that took care of the show string belonging to our family. It was Jim who gave me my first instruction as I helped around the ranch and had the responsibility of trimming feet on the brood mares. These projects took place in mid 60's. Ron Koch ..... graduate of "Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo"  in 1963. ( Ron was in the last class under Ralph Hoover before Mr. Hoover moved to the San Joaquin Valley and opened up "Porterville Shoeing School"... that school eventually being known as one of best in the nation. ) Ron was a farrier out of San Benito County and he later became the instructor at Gavilan College in Gilroy. A very good local farrier in our community .... it was Ron's heading up that local Junior College class where I received my first "classroom" instruction. Though I had already been "under" quite a few horses belonging to my family; Ron brought me to a place whereby I was ready to step out and offer a bit more care to the public's horses and readied me to serve as an apprentice with other qualified farriers. My formal college classroom agenda and learning experiance took place in the Spring of 1975. Fernando Icaza ..... Graduate of "Porterville Shoeing School" ( 1970 ) ...... also working under the direction of Ralph Hoover, as did Ron Koch. Fernando (see picture, above) was the first farrier that I apprenticed under. Such an articulate artist with trimming tools in hand .... teaching me that:  .....the "trim" is the most important step. Charlie Mell ..... Graduate of "Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo" ( class of 1959 ) under the instruction of  Ralph Hoover. Charlie had been a local talent, very respected in our community for many many years ..... and a great horseman. Taught me not only a bit about shoeing but also how to get around "bad" horses.  Chuck Kolb ..... His initial education was a five year Apprenticeship under Hall of Fame Farrier, Ernie Hoehn of Scottsdale, AZ.  (also time spent working with "Burney Chapman"). Chuck came to the Central West Coast of California in the late 70's and began "carving" out a "niche" for himself. There is not a doubt that Chuck Kolb is the "Best Farrier" to be found on the West Coast today ...... with his time spent as an understudy of "Burney" lifting him to a place in the world of "clinical farriers" that is not often visited by many of us. In furthering my educational process; Chuck has probably been the most helpful of all as I spent a 5 and 1/2 year apprenticeship under him. We attended to some of the Best Show Horses on the West Coast while at the same time dealt with some of the "toughest clinical cases" ..... the majority of those issues in the ugly world of ........  "Laminitis"  ......  the leading cause of death in our domesticated horse world ..... being an area that I have devoted a large portion of my study time towards. Bob Marshall ..... Bob has "Won the World" a total of Five Times  !!!  ...  being named  as #1 Farrier in the World .....  (An Honor accomplished at the Calgary Stampede) ... originally from Wales & now residing in British Columbia, Canada. He also has coached the Canadian and the American farrier teams as they competed at "World Level Competition". I have spent a considerable amount of time attending numerous Bob Marshall Clinics ..... allowing him to guide and direct me in the areas of "forging" and iron work. It is through his teaching that I have arrived at a place whereby I can say:    "..... all shoes are hand-made ..... no store boughts." ******************************************************************************************* "THERE IS A GREAT NEED FOR A FARRIER TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE HORSE  ABOVE  THE HAIR-LINE IN ORDER THAT HE CAN WORK ON THAT PART OF THE HORSE BELOW THE HAIRLINE ......" I do hope that you understand and hear me when I say that there is more for a farrier to do than to show up and put shoes on the bottom of your horse's feet.  Oh yes .... there are a bunch of fellas that can do that .... but our job is a bit more involved than that .... "I"  shoe your horse ... "NOT" his feet !!!  Now .... just stop and think about that for a moment. That WHOLE horse comes into play with those feet ..... and if the farrier does not understand how to read "the whole horse" ..... he better just leave the feet sitting on the ground !!!  I started studying horses a long time ago .... about the time that I was big enough to pick up and clean feet...... and today I so fully understand the fact that we need to see the rest of this creature as we lay that rasp upon the bottom of that foot...... and that concept is considerably more involved than the "angle" of his stance. I was showing horses and learning from a young age what "conformation" meant. We hauled a lot of halter horses years ago. Many will scoff at that and state that winning at halter is a matter of somebody's opinion. I am here to tell you that understanding conformation and winning at halter is a "matter of fact" ..... along with the need for "heart" and a brain; conformation is the whole and real truth about the creation of an equine athelete. In some cases, a horse might come up short in this department ... and that is OK .... we just need a farrier that understands how that complete horse moves ..... and then he can keep moving soundly for a lot of years to come. My past in this area includes spending a lot of time around men like:  P.W. "Buster" Naegle  and  Dale Flournoy  and  Harry Stickler. They are all gone from this old world but all left behind a legacy and are known by many as some of the greatest horsemen of our era from a time gone by as they led and campaigned some mighty fine horses in their day. I owe a lot to these men and many others as they pointed out to me the good and bad points of a horse and how those situations would help or hinder that critters "way of going". In closing ....... "The understanding and ability to read Conformation does matter to a well versed farrier ..... as we need to understand the needs of the whole horse". ******************************************************************************************* I have furthermore continued on with my advanced and voluntary studys. The majority of my free time is spent reading published articles that have been written after years of study by some of the leading "Equine Practioners"  ( Veterinarians )  and Farriers in the world . You would probably be so surprised to learn just how slim the required curriculum is to enter the field and become a farrier. There really needs to be some reviewing of this short fall ...... but in the meantime, it is up to the individual farrier to seek out his educational path ..... please understand  and see that I am accomplishing that responsibility as I take care of your horses..... Laminitis  West  Conference .... 2008 .... have attended both of these seminars (more notes to follow) Laminitis  West  Conference, 2010 ... Link:   ( Report / the Horse.com / Terry Gantz ) Published Reports by Authors that I have followed ..... Include, but NOT limited to: James Rooney, DVM ( University of Kentucky, deceased )    "THE  LAME  HORSE" ......  ( see: Farrier & Hoofcare Resource Center )         Professor Chris Pollitt  and Dr. Brian Hampson  ( Australia & New Zealand ) LAMINITIS  RESEARCH     /    THE FUNCTIONAL HOOF ********************************************************** In closing out this page pertaining to EDUCATION;   I would like to add that the second phase ( and most important ) of this process has now started to unfold. We need to pass the wisdom on down to the next in line .....  to "keep it alive". We must now share it with those who will carry it on as we exit the scene.......  The "thumbnail"  picture at top of page was taken on May 21, 2011 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds at the .......  "AG HISTORY PROJECT"  where I made the debute of my presentation of: "5500 Year History of the Domesticated Horse and The Evolution of Horse Shoeing" ..... which included the  "live shoeing"  of a horse utilizing  "hand made shoes". Those attending felt that the day was a success. I am looking forward to more oppurtunities to share all that I have gathered with Horse Owners and Enthusiasts. **********************************************************