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What the wage survey shows

The national median is $35,360 a year and the bottom tenth start near $27,250. Read that carefully: the survey has no code for farriers, so it files them under animal caretakers, a group made mostly of kennel, shelter and grooming staff on an hourly wage. Nearly all farriers are self-employed and charge by the horse, so a busy farrier with a full book earns well above this figure and a beginner earns well below it.