Shurshod Horseshoeing School and Farrier Service
Owner/Manager: Kelly Case (pictured right)
Primary Instructor: Justin Pate (pictured left)
Location: South of Grovespring, Mo., off of Highway 5
History: Kelly Case explained, “I actually attended the Shurshod School when it was still located in Kansas, started there by Max Williams. He retired after 52 years of shoeing horses. When Max started talking seriously about retiring, I realized it was too good of a program to just let it die so I talked about moving it here and that’s what we did.”
What We Teach: He continued, “Justin is one of my former students, originally from east Texas who came to this area to take over his grandmother’s place near Hartville. I feel like it’s important to train the next generation of farriers. We are teaching a special skill here. Half of the fellows in the horseshoeing hall of fame can’t tell you how they do it. It’s a hands-on skill, and it’s not one that just anybody can teach. It is definitely not a trade you can learn through lectures. We do some short lectures as part of our schooling here, on anatomy and pads (of a hoof) but the ones who come to us are farmers or from the building and construction trades. They are all hands-on people and that is what we do here.”
Horseshoeing in the 21st Century: Kelly concluded, “We train about 30 students a year, approximately four a month. It is a four-week program of five to six days a week. Even if a new student has never seen a coal forge when he walks in the door, before the first day is over he has made his first horseshoe.”
Story and Photo by Laura L. Valenti
