Doug Russo is passionate about his profession.
As a certified journeyman farrier in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Russo provides routine trimming and shoeing to equine patients and their owners.
But he also does therapeutic shoeing as well and that skill was prominently highlight during a recent trip to Mexico where he volunteered to help train Latin American farriers.
“The program is organized through Ivan Gomez, a farrier in Columbia,” Russo said. “He has been organizing several clinics a year throughout Latin America because he recognizes that the level of farrier work needs to improve so horses can benefit.”
The clinics feature American Farriers Association (AFA) certification examiners. As an AFA examiner, Russo recently conducted a clinic in Mexico.
“We worked to increase the farriers’ knowledge of anatomy and their ability to forge therapeutic shoes,” Russo said. “Farriers must have a firm understanding of equine distal limb anatomy, because how horses are trimmed or shod can have lasting positive or negative effects on their comfort and well-being.”
The volunteer experience so impacted Russo will be heading back to Latin American next summer. He will be conducting a clinic for farriers in Colombia.
“The farriers we worked with in Mexico were excited to learn and were very appreciative of the opportunity,” Russo said. “That clinic showed me how good we have it here in the U.S. and how much I and other farriers often take for granted, such as access to good tools, supplies and continuing education.”
October 2025
