Todd Meister, V.M.D., CJF

This veterinarian found his calling as a farrier.

When an injury ended Todd Meister’s, V.M.D., CJF, running career at Penn State, he started down a completely new path—one he hadn’t expected. During his junior year of college, Todd took a job at the university’s horse farm, moved into a stall in the barn, and started caring for the 20 or so foals born on campus each year. 

“I would spend all day every day literally living with horses,” he says. It was a complete shift in perspective—and it reshaped his entire career path. 

By the time he graduated with his degree in biology, he’d decided to shift his focus to veterinary medicine. A few years later, he not only had his veterinary degree, he was also a certified farrier.

These days, both practices show up in his work, but horseshoeing has his heart. 

All kinds of horses, all around the world

Since then, Todd has worked with almost every type of horse in all kinds of settings. As a supporting member of the United States Equestrian Team, he competed worldwide, from the Dominican Republic to France and in three different Olympic games—in 2004, 2008, and 2012.  Now, he operates a multi-farrier practice with farriers positioned from Florida to Pennsylvania, having over 300 horses on his books, including jumpers, hunters, event horses, and more. 

“I work on every discipline. The only thing I don’t do much with right now is driving,” he says. 

He loves the challenge and variety of it all. “If you're just working on one type of horse, you're gonna have a limited view of what works; whereas if you're working on many different levels of horses doing different jobs, you're going to have to adjust what you're doing to each horse.”

We sat down to hear more about Todd’s work, in a rare free moment. Here’s what he had to say. 

Q&A With Todd Meister
 

Tell me more about working in Penn State’s barn. What was your job there?

The University would breed quarter horses, so every year there were about 20 babies born, and then they’d get sold at a silent auction when they were two years old. Those 20 babies had to be broken—just to walk, trot, and canter—by the time they were two. I didn't really know much about horses when I started. I mean, I knew a little, but not much, so I got screamed at a lot, ha. Basically I was the non-farm kid who didn't know anything about horses and who got yelled at every single day. 

But that was a great experience. I don't really ride horses today, but I think I'm an extremely good horseman as a result of that experience.

Do you have any guiding principles that shape your work?

Lots of farriers have 2,000 pictures of a horse's feet on their phone, and 20 pictures of a horse. I think we all need to remember there's a horse standing in those feet. By doing very subtle things, we can make a huge difference for that horse, but the first step is to realize there's a horse standing in the shoes. It’s important to look up. Don't just look at the feet. Look up.

What’s something that sticks with you about those early lessons at Penn State?

I had to learn how to hold horses effectively for the farrier there. We would work the young horses in the barn aisle on the ground before we got them into a stall, and you’d better be in position—you better learn really quickly where the safest place to be is—or you’ll be chasing the horses up and down the barn aisle. That experience led me to develop this method I call the “three-foot rule”. 

What’s the “three-foot rule”?

When you’re a horseshoer, and someone is holding a horse for you, most of the time, they're doing a pretty terrible job of it. People worry their horse is going to behave badly while you're working on it, so they grab hold of the horse's head, and then, because they're tense and nervous, of course the horse starts being extra bad. 

I basically explain to them to step back, and I tell them they need to stay three feet away from the horse. I say, “You can't control the horse by holding it; you have to trick it into thinking that the best thing for it to do is to stand still.”

I’ll tell them, “Okay, this is the place your horse is going to stand. We’re going to tell him to stand right there in that spot, and every time something goes wrong, we're just gonna put him back in that spot. And when he's there, it's going to be easy. And after a while, the horse is going to stand there, and he’s going to be rewarded by slacking the lead rope, and things are going to be easy.” And people seem to be able to understand that.

I learned that from Ward Studebaker, the guy who ran the university horse farm. I credit him for many things, including a safe career. 

Is he one of your mentors that stands out?

Yes. There are two people that I would give credit to for my success, and one of them is Ward. 

Ward Studebaker at Penn State was sort of a cowboy type. At one point, he’d run a shoeing school, and he was probably the absolutely best all-around horseman I've ever been around. I mean, he could lead a horse, shoe a horse, ride a horse. He was a pretty brutal guy to work for, but it was a great starting point for understanding how horses think. 

Then, during veterinary school, I apprenticed for Steve Teichman, who's the other person I need to give credit to. He gave me a wealth of things to think about and some really good advice. Like, he told me, “You need to pass your journeyman. If you’re going to be a good horseshoer, that’s something you need to have.”  Best advice he probably gave me, because certification testing propels you to learn new skills and hone existing ones. Since then I’ve helped at least 10 farriers become AFA certified farriers, several of those moving on to become certified journeymen. 

Steve also taught me how to shoe horses efficiently—like, more-than-one-horse-at-a-time efficiently. He taught me how to evaluate things, to keep track of what's going on around me and what's going on with the horses that I’m not working on, that someone else may be working on.

Why did you choose to become both a farrier and a veterinarian?

The truth of the matter is I wanted to do both. And I had good opportunities to learn about both.

I started shoeing in college, and by the time I graduated veterinary school, I was an AFA-certified farrier. I was also $80,000 in debt. I could make some money as a vet, but not enough, so I started working Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as a veterinarian for large animals—sheep, goats, cows (I'm actually very good at calving)—and then I’d work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as a farrier.

Lots of people don't even know I'm a licensed veterinarian. If you ever hear me say, “I’m Dr. Meister,” that means I'm really aggravated, and you’ve probably disrespected someone—probably a horse. 

Is there anything about being a veterinarian that makes you a better farrier?

As a veterinarian, you have a different perspective. Vets come in, and they look at something once. That's very different from a horseshoer, where you're looking every four or five weeks or you may be in the barn every week, or every few days. 

I have these two very different perspectives. And we need to respect those perspectives, and realize there's value to both. 

You’ve worked on horses in a lot of high-stakes situations. Does the pressure make you nervous?

No, it doesn’t. I’m there to help the horse do his job. Every horse has a job to do, and every horse deserves to be comfortable doing that job. It doesn't matter to me if the horse is going to a local show or is at the Olympics; it's going to get the same effort out of me. If I just confidently do my job, we're going to get a good result. 

What do you enjoy about having a multi-farrier business?

My goal is to tell all my secrets to as many people as I can, so I can help people help as many horses as possible. Period. The more people I can help become good horseshoers, the better. In a multi-farrier practice, I get to see more horses, and I also get to work with more young people. I want to help them have a good career and also understand that it’s not just about making shoes or trimming feet. We have to look up and remember there's a horse there.  I personally learn more things about my job by the questions I get asked daily.

What kind of products do you commonly reach for?

Nails & Shoes

I use a lot of Mustad nails and Delta nails for sure,  but your endura-coated nails, they're great. I use Mustad’s Endura-coated Combo Five Slims in new shoes.

One thing that has really changed the way I shoe horses is the new footing. And that's affected my shoe choice. 

I like the Mustad LiBeros and plan to continue using them.

Hoofcare

Mustad’s dental impression material is a great way to get even frog contact on a heart bar shoe, because you can just put the product in there, nail them up, and then cut off what you don't want. Or under some of the new 3d pads, that's a great product that some horses really like. You can choose the firmness that you want, and then you can also get the amount of pressure you want, not too much or too little. I use the Comfort Mix Hoof Cushion Soft A25. 

Rasps

The first thing I try to teach people is that there is a proper and improper way to rasp. The foot is growing from the top down. You need to use your rasp at an angle straight down the horse's foot, not across the horn tubules.

I mostly use the Heller Black Legend. I like to hot shoe, which takes care of any rasp marks. I use it to trim, and I find that it does really well for me. It seems to do well whether the feet are hard or soft. If the feet are really soft, then I’ll switch to the Heller eXceL Legend, since the teeth are slightly finer. And that rasp is wonderful for the guys to finish with. When I'm done, I just give the horse to them, and they use the smoother side to finish. We also use the Heller Pro Finish. It works well if you need to clean up feet, and the other side leaves no rasp marks. 

Any final advice to other horseshoers?

I’d say just what I tell my kids: Surround yourself by the very best you can be surrounded by. Do whatever you need to do to be with the best—not just whoever says they're the best, but whoever is actually getting results. 

And then, be present in the moment. If you're not present in the moment, you're going to miss so much about what's going on around you.

If you’d like to learn more about Todd Meister, V.M.D., CJF, check out his website.