AFA Certification

What to Expect

The Ontario Farrier Association hosts one AFA Certification event per year in the fall. The schedule you can expect to see goes as follows:
8AM Registration
8:15-9:30AM Forging Warm-up and Question & Answer period with testers /examiner
9:30-11AM Certified and Journeyman written test
11:25AM-12PM Journeyman bar shoe and Certified shoe board presentation
12-1PM LUNCH
1-3PM Journeyman live shoeing
1-2PM Certified live shoeing Heat 1
2:30-3:30PM Certified live shoeing Heat 2
4PM Closing remarks

How to Prepare

AFA provides a study guide specific to its requirements for certification. The EOFA suggests utilizing the following texts in addition to the AFA Certification Guide:

The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3) by Dr. Doug Butler, CJF, FWCF and Jacob Butler
Let’s get Practical Study Guide by Dusty Franklin, CJF, ASF, DipWCF
Gregory’s Textbook of Farriery by Chris Gregory, CJF, FWCF, ASF.

Several schools also provide a week long pre-certification course that includes access to study guides specific to the AFA Certification process.

How we can Help

The EOFA offers a Mock Certification Clinic a few weeks before the official AFA certification event. The 2 day clinic includes 4hrs of classroom review, 4hrs of forging, and 4hrs of live shoeing, including a mock certification live shoeing run. The clinic will also give attendees access to an AFA certification tester or examiner to guide you towards success.