About
Let me introduce myself. My name is Craig Campo and have been a resident in the Pacific northwest since 1977. I graduated from one of the first Farrier Schools back in 1970 in a little town of Porterville, California. The founder of the school was also the head of the Farrier Science class at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. His name was Ralph Hoover a true pioneer in Farrier Science and Horseshoeing.
After some 12 years of shoeing horses I became restless with not putting what I had been learning to good use. You see I am a type A personality and am constantly striving to be better and to continue learning no matter what I do. So I started to see some things that I wanted to change. Understand that I love horses and enjoy meeting the people that I serve. My ideas were always ahead of their time but I am finding that the wagons are finally circling as people understand more about their animals. I was ahead of my years trying to show people new natural ways to do things when the established show people, judges, veterinarians, and the like always fought what I had brought to the table. I started putting things in place after seeing horses coming in from BLM. Horses that roamed freely as their ancestors once did with little hoof problems and certainly none of the lameness and diseases of ‘kept’ horses. Once you put a shoe on a hoof the structure of the hoof becomes weakened by the nails. The shoe now protects a sole that has been rasped down and no longer protects the hoof…elevates the frog so it no longer has contact with the ground and healthy blood flow to the hoof. Chances of punctures, canker, corns, contracted heels, white line disease, and a host of others all for the protection of a shoe? Even judges at halter want the fronts of horses shod! If you haven’t caught on by now…I specialize in Lameness. I work with synthetics to rebuild hoof walls when necessary and use boots for sanitary reasons when treating punctures, frog problems, etc. I cannot cure a rainy day but try so hard to bring the animal less pain through an easier and more humane treatment. I was taught to always go from the easiest to more extreme measures to achieve results. It has been MY experience that moving too quickly promotes more damage and injury then what it cures. I had always believed that my job was to SERVE the Horses with the best I could do and to give the owners value for the services I can and do provide! In the end for me…it is not about money…but about the animals. I have done and will continue to do those horses to the best of my ability and knowledge as long as the good Lord has me working! Thank you to all my new customers…and may we become good friends over the coming years! Cannot wait to take a picture with your horse and add them to my wall of accomplishments…the rebirth of the Barefoot Farrier! |