AFA Farrier Certification in Colombia 2025: This is what hard work looks like.

On September 4th and 5th, 2025, the American Farrier’s Association held a horseshoeing certification in Pereira, Colombia. Organized by Dr. Edward Daniel Calle, CJF TE, this was the first AFA Farrier Certification held in Colombia in since 2015. The success of the candidates was a testament to the dedication of the participants and the instructors that have worked tirelessly to bring farrier education to Colombia in the last 10 years.

In much of Latin America, hoof care and farriery is a trade that is passed by word of mouth from generation to generation with minimal structure and no established standard of care. These are also countries with large numbers of working equids that depend on their feet. Colombia is aiming to set the bar for Latin American farrier education.

Dedicated Instructors Elevating Education

The dream to establish farrier training and education in Colombia began with Dr. Edward Daniel Calle CJF TE and Ivan Gomez, CJF TE. Dr. Calle completed farrier training in Spain while Ivan Gomez attended farrier school in the United States. Both returned to Colombia start the first two farrier programs in Colombia in the early 2000’s. With the help of Steve Sermerschein, CJF TE AWCF, these programs began to grow. Since then, a few other schools have been established. Dr. Jorge Sanchez CJF TE FE began teaching in 2019 and recently established a program dedicated to learning forging technique. All three farriers have sought the highest levels of farrier education available through the AFA. This has enabled them to excel as instructors in Colombia.

What it Takes to Teach

The AFA has a 5-tier certification system in which participants achieve a qualification like “Certified Farrier” or “Certified Journeyman Farrier” based on the degree of the difficulty of their examination. Each examination has three parts: written (anatomy, physiology and pathology), blacksmithing demonstration (shoe modification or creation) and a live horse demonstration. The examination system is well-established and widespread in the United States and Canada. AFA certification has received a lot of interest in Latin America in recent years. This recent Colombian Certification not only had participants from Colombia, but several others traveled from Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and Chile showing the potential for the growth of the project in those countries.

AFA Farrier Certification is difficult, and success requires resilience and determination. All of these Colombian instructors have been able to cultivate a mentality of dedication and hard work in their students over the years as they have worked for this 2025 Certification.

At this Certification, Colombia had some of the highest passing rates that the AFA has recorded. Those that passed did so with high scores on the written exam and impressive demonstrations of practical ability.

AFA Supporting Farrier Education in Latin America

The AFA’s International Outreach Committee (IOC) is different than many traditional development projects in that it seeks to train an existing population of farriers to a higher standard with the goal of expanding the network of trained farriers. The IOC focuses on education and creating a self-sustaining, multiplying effect rather than providing one-time trimming services. The Colombia project is a perfect example of how training educators creates a lasting effect for people and horses in a country or region. Based on a small survey done at this Certification, a full-time Colombian farrier will travel anywhere from 10- 50+km from their home and maintain between 100-250 horses per year on a recurring schedule in their practice. We currently have projects in Mexico, Colombia and Cuba that we are looking to support. Funds are invested in the American Farrier’s Association Foundation with the goal of sustaining support for these projects for years to come.

For more information on this project and information on how to make a tax-deductible donation please visit: https://americanfarriersfoundation.org/areas-of-support/international-outreach/