Jeff Trask, APF

The discipline of the craft. The demands of the business. 

Jeff Trask believes there are two important milestones in a farrier’s career. That moment around year five when you’re convinced you know everything is the first, followed by that moment in year seven or eight when you realize you don’t. 

Jeff grew up around the business. His father, Ted Trask, was originally an auto mechanic who owned horses but became a farrier mid-career when he saw an opportunity in their part of Connecticut. Or more accurately, Jeff’s mom Cheryl Trask saw the opportunity and encouraged his father to take their family, including a two-year-old Jeff, with him to farrier school in West Virginia. The gamble paid off. Not only did Ted become an accomplished farrier, but all three of his sons entered the business, including Jeff’s brothers T. J. and Matt Trask.

By the time he was eighteen, Jeff had already spent a lot of time around horses, serving as a helper and unofficial apprentice. He liked the work. The money was good, and it was clear from watching his father help lame horses that the work mattered. But he just wasn’t ready to commit, opting to work in a glassblowing operation instead.  
 

From the forge to the fire—and back again 

Jeff knew of a glass-blowing studio in Mystic, Connecticut, Studio Jeffrey P’an, and wanted to try his hand at the ancient art. His work as a farrier and ease around a fire, an unexpected ally in learning to manipulate molten glass. Soon Jeff found himself at another crossroads. He loved the process and the craftsmanship appealed to him.  But he just didn’t see a way to make a living at it, especially since he was still splitting his time shoeing horses. 

With the confidence that only a well-tried adventure can give, Jeff committed full-time to horseshoeing, building a solid practice for himself. He now maintains a roster of about 250 horses, with an emphasis on hunter jumpers, although he does some western barns. He likes this focus. “The longer you spend working on one discipline the better you get to know it.” He works out of Connecticut but in the winter travels to Florida about five days a month. 

“I'm really happy with where my business is, the type of clients I have, and the type of horses I shoe.” And he can still spend time with his soon-to-be eight-year-old son, Daniel, and his incredibly supportive wife, Erin, an accomplished Cardiac MRI Tech in the area.  “I'm not so reluctant to take some time off during the summer, and these last few years, I've decided to just book a few long weekends to spend some time with my family while my son is out of school. It's the busiest time of year for us up here, but you have to do it. I've heard too many older farriers in the industry say, ‘one thing I regret is missing my son's childhood or my daughter's childhood.’” 

Happy, yes. Complacent, no.  

While Jeff is happy with his practice, his desire to learn hasn’t slowed down. As a young man, he first learned from his accomplished father, Ted, working later with Eddie Strain in Essex, Connecticut.  Now, despite his accomplishments, Jeff attends clinics as often as possible and can usually be found reading up on just about any horseshoeing material he can find.

Jeff’s relationship with self-improvement can be summed up in two simple but firmly held beliefs that a farrier can learn a lesson from just about anyone and that “you’re only as good as the last horse you shod.” Jeff suggests just being around other farriers as a good way to pick up new skills, which is why Jeff sought out Eddie’s son, Kevin Strain for an afternoon ride along.  “I asked him to come along with me just to hang out while I was shoeing some hunter jumpers, and he gave me some pointers. He taught me a lot about flares—the difference you can see in millimeters of the hoof wall.” 

Products that support his craft 

This focus on craft is apparent in how he talks about products, especially with Field Rep Kris Kibbey. The two met several years ago, reconnected at Northeast Farrier Supply, and have been discussing products ever since.  Jeff looks for a shoe with a breakover, so he doesn’t need to create it from scratch. He likes options—aluminum and steel, heavier and lighter, quarter clips and side clips. He especially likes the omnidirectional breakover on Equi-Libriums. “I try to get a decent number of horses done in a day. I’m going to use the shoe that has the rolled toe, instead of grinding half the shoe off.” 

Because of the sizing options available for Mustad LiBeros, he can use them on warmbloods from Europe with thick hoof walls. “I don't have to take as much of that hoof wall off to get a nice deep nail into the white line, preserving the hoof.” Mustad MX Nails (E Head) also help him preserve the hoof, because they have more reach and, as you get closer to the head, the shank is thinner. He also appreciates how they drive smooth, clench well, and don’t shear. And on account of the amount of rasping surface he can get on a larger hoof, Jeff opts for the Heller Big Hoof Rasp.
 

The fire and the passion 

Now that he’s an established farrier with a family, Jeff’s found other outlets for his artistic side. He works with copper to create jewelry and horseshoe ornaments, both of which you’ll likely only get if you’re a close friend. And between his time as a glassblower and work as a farrier, Jeff’s skill with a forge goes well beyond horseshoes, forging an impressive array of knives and farrier tools in his shop.  While his skill and craftsmanship are obvious, Jeff still prefers to think about these gifts as just hobbies, an outlet for some of his creative energy. By developing his own designs on his own timeline, he retains his passion for the craft.     

While he has an obvious fondness for blacksmithing and he’s not shy about making handmade shoes when it’s called for, competing isn’t something Jeff is interested in, at least, not right now.  “I do spend a lot of time in my shop, and I make a lot of shoes. But, I've never competed. In a sense, I'm still practicing.”

 All that practice has clearly paid off.