Farriery
is one of America's last free professions. As such, there are many
avenues to learning the trade. A multitude of schools with different
course lengths and curricula. Apprenticeships formal and casual.
Clinics, workshops, and symposiums. And individual study. Lots of
it. All in all, education in the art and science is a unique
experience for each farrier.
So
there are always gaps in our knowledge to be filled, whether we're
rookies or grizzled veterans. Always something new to learn.
Millwater
Publishing's lexicon project started with The Pocket Dictionary
of Farrier Terms and Technical Language in 1994. A humble
little glossary to help farriers, horseowners, and researchers
understand one-another better. Over the many print and virtual
editions which followed, it evolved to include more extensive
definitions and illustrations. With this, its 10th print
incarnation, the lexicon makes the jump to being an encyclopedic
dictionary.
The
encyclopedic format is particularly suited to the free-form learning
of farriery. Each article is designed to cross-reference with
others, so that readers can easily fill in the basics required to
comprehend a given topic, or follow on to more advanced information
as needed.
This
book is a collection and distillation of the ideas and observations
of many farriers I've learned from over the years. Some I've had the
privilege of knowing personally. Others, only through their work.
The names of several appear within the entries. Many more have made
contributions to the sum of hoofcare knowledge which have come down
to me without attribution. Famous, anonymous, or somewhere
in-between, these pathfinders are recognized and appreciated.
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