Joe Santos

With dedication and a fair bit of passion, Joe Santos transformed the family practice he bought from his uncle into a multi-state business which shoes two hundred horses a month. But that’s just the beginning of what he’s built with his wife, Melissa Santos.  

He comes from a family of rodeo competitors, and Joe’s uncles and cousins were farriers. “I’ve been handing off nails since I was 8 or 9,” he says.  Melissa was a trick rider and he got into trick riding because “it was the only way I was going to catch her.” 

As a young man, he moved from rodeo to horseshoeing with his uncle, who was shoeing 40-50 horses a month.  In 2000, he took the business over and quickly built his network into what it is today, with operations in Connecticut and Florida, two full-time employees, a ten-person blacksmith shop, custom-built rigs, and an impressive facility where he can host workshops for up to  200. Melissa is the impressive force behind keeping the businesses running smoothly and is also responsible for a farm for retired horses on the property, a full-time job that sustains balance for their family.

It’s Melissa that manages the business operations and life at home with Joe leading the team of farriers, traveling, and keeping the nonprofit moving forward. If you ask Joe, “Leading a horseshoeing crew is like being a pit boss at a casino. You have to know everything that’s going on. I enjoy that as much as I do shoeing horses. It’s more stress but I enjoy it.” 

With the strong team Joe and Melissa were building, this thriving business could have continued indefinitely. But then, eleven years ago, Joe got a call.  
 

“When they come to us, they’re broken” 

Fairfield Equine in Long Island reached out with a Karatoma case. 

“I got hooked. I now go to Fairfield 8 to 10 days a month to work on therapeutic cases. We look at all types of complications. What they have in common is that you have to come up with a solution on the spot—and out of the box.” 

He still thrives on stress. “The bigger audience, the more vets, the more surgeons, the better.” 

As it turns out, a big part of this philosophy comes from Joe's temperament. But a part of it is smart, uncomplicated practices. “Come up with a plan A and a plan B, and explain both to the team. Give them a voice in the process and a role in its success. And practice in low-stress, low-consequence situations—like workshops.”
 

“This is where you can make mistakes” 

A farrier asked for help gluing on a shoe. Joe was happy to help, but thought, “This is a tool you should have in your toolbox. That’s what gave me the idea of holding workshops.” He humbly adds, “I call them workshops because I’m not a clinician.” 

In his 200-person facility in Connecticut, farriers work on retired horses, in a casual, hands-on environment. The biggest challenge, he says, is that people don’t want to ask the wrong question. “I try to explain, this is where you’re supposed to make a mistake. In the field, that’s where you can’t make mistakes. Let’s do this, there are 30 farriers here who want to learn too.” Afterward, they often have a beer together. 
 

There’s more than one hero in this story 

Joe started a non-profit called Hammers and Heroes which offers therapeutic forging for veterans, some of whom are homeless, and first responders.  

He worries that it’s growing so fast, it could take over his horseshoeing business. “Just last week 5 people came to the shop. It’s not about what we make, it’s about where it takes them. In four hours, I can make the world disappear.”

“For the cops, we provide a place where they can take all those skills they learned in the academy and use them without fear of repercussions. They come here and you can just see their shoulders drop.”   

A rig full of solutions 

Although he has impressive forging skills, he says, “I'm not a hammerhead. I go to my truck and ask, what kind of foot are we dealing with here? What will help me solve this problem? I try to use the equipment that's offered to me to make my job easier, helping horses experience more longevity.” 

He connected with Mustad Rep Kris Kibbey at an event at North East Farrier Supply. Joe was helping co-owner Vin Giannetti—providing rigs, helping with the horses, and assisting the presenters. Kibbey was impressed, and after chatting, their connection and product talks continued. Right now, Joe is “using a lot of Liberos, a lot of 10 mm stuff,” and various nails from the Capewell Slim Blade and Endura Slim Blade 5s to Mustad MX Nails and E-Nails.

  “I especially like the clip sets on the Mustad Equi-Librium. No matter how much you point up an Equi-Librium, your clip set is always on a structurally safe part.”  

For rasps, he chooses the Heller eXceL Legend. “They stay sharper a lot longer and the width is nice. It covers more on a four-point trim. You can make a hoof look like glass with it.” 

These days, the biggest challenge he and Melissa face is keeping up with all their ventures. In fact, For Joe, winters in Wellington provide a bit of a break. “We’re working just as hard—we’re just not driving all over New England.” While Melissa stays to maintain the Connecticut farm, he sets his staff up to succeed in Florida. Though their son Mason is poised to help out, neither parent is pressuring him to join the business. It’s tough work, and Joe insists that Mason will need to have a passion for it, if and when he decides to join the team full-time.

Joe isn’t planning to retire any time soon. His passion and the difference he’s making in the horse community keep him moving forward. Joe explains his motivation through the story of a 17-year-old girl whose horse came up lame seven days before the state finals. Joe saw the horse at Fairfield Equine. “I spent 3 1/2 hours with the surgeon. Other farriers didn’t want to touch this horse. She went to the finals and did really well. Her father told me, “She worked all summer to make those finals and, when the horse came up lame, we had no solution. You gave us a solution.”

It’s no wonder he says, “If I won the lottery tomorrow, I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”