George Goode explains the significance of farrier education through his nonprofit organization, the Native American Horse Education Foundation, which provides courses to Native American communities in Sells.
George Goode sits in front of his trailer on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Goode bought his trailer 30 years ago when the Native American Horse Education Foundation was still a dream. Now, he uses the trailer daily to help teach equine education to Native Americans. It houses materials necessary for horseshoeing, including burners, anvils, nails and shoes.
Antonio Lopez-Cooche, a student of George Goode's for four weeks, shapes a horseshoe in Sells on April 10, 2024.
George Goode takes a restless horse for a walk in Sells on April 10, 2024. Some horses can get impatient when he is changing their shoes and require a break.
George Goode guides his student, Jayson Juan, in Sells. Juan enrolled in the two-month farrier course to save money-with the skills they learn, students no longer have to hire someone to reshoe their horses-and to earn it, as the course can kickstart a career in horseshoeing.
George Goode instructs his student of five weeks, Jayson Juan, while working in the Tohono O'odham Nation.
A horse looks through a trailer on the Tohono O'odham Nation on April 10, 2024.
George Goode lines up horseshoes to see if any adjustments are needed.
George Goode uses a mallet and an anvil to shape a horseshoe.
TUCSON—At 83 years old, George Goode describes every day as a "blessing" as he makes the two-hour commute to Sells to teach local Native Americans farrier education.
It was 1972 when Goode started his horseshoeing school in Tucson. Over a half-century later, he retired and founded the nonprofit Native American Horse Education Foundation in hopes of bringing a new mindset to Indigenous communities.
"Out of all the years and all the reservations in the United States, there are no programs out there teaching our youth, our people that have horses, how to trim and shoe their horses' feet correctly," Goode said.
Despite horses being a vital part of Native American communities, few Natives know how to properly care for their horses to promote lasting health, he said.
George Goode takes a restless horse for a walk in Sells on April 10, 2024. Some horses can get impatient when he is changing their shoes and require a break.
"We like our horses but we don't know how to love our horses," Goode said. "Through time, we use horses sort of as a piece of machinery. If they didn't have a purpose, we'd get rid of them."
Goode explained that due to the added weight of a rider on a horse, horses' feet wear at a faster rate than if they were roaming free in the wild. If the horseshoes are not taken care of and replaced within an eight-week window, the horses can become crippled and lame. Often when this happens, the horses are killed.
A horse looks through a trailer on the Tohono O'odham Nation on April 10, 2024.
In recent years, it has also become more costly for horse owners to keep up with the constant replacement of their horses' shoes.
This is where the need for farriers comes in.
Goode and his students, most of whom are Indigenous, start at 9 a.m., working with horses brought in by locals for horseshoe replacement. Though currently teaching out of the rodeo grounds in Sells, Goode's use of a mobile horseshoeing unit allows him to teach and travel across Arizona.
George Goode guides his student, Jayson Juan, in Sells. Juan enrolled in the two-month farrier course to save money-with the skills they learn, students no longer have to hire someone to reshoe their horses-and to earn it, as the course can kickstart a career in horseshoeing.
The foundation offers programs ranging from three days to 12 weeks, in which students learn how to properly reshoe a horse, along with how to run their own business once they've completed the course.
George Goode instructs his student of five weeks, Jayson Juan, while working in the Tohono O'odham Nation.
According to Goode, it takes new farriers about four hours to finish shoeing one horse. By the end of the course and with experience, however, a master farrier can shoe anywhere from six to seven horses in a day. Since he started the foundation, Goode estimates he has trained between 120 and 140 students.
For student-turned-instructor Adrian Morgan, being a farrier has not only kept him employed but also living a "healthy" and "happy" life.
"I would have never thought of working here as an instructor. I just thought, OK, I'm just going to shoe horses the rest of my life. But now, this opened up a new door for me. ... I've got a new career path," Morgan said.
Morgan learned the farrier trade from Goode as a young kid in the early 2000s. Though not intending to make a career of the trade, he received the confidence boost and business skills necessary to become a successful farrier.
"He (Goode) taught me how to just really take this to another level," Morgan said. "It's not just shoeing local horses. I go all over these states shoeing for people."
Goode hopes that through his program, Native Americans will not only learn to care for their own horses but to pass on that knowledge to younger generations.
It's a unique trade and difficult work, Goode said, but is both a useful and financially beneficial trade to be well-versed in.
George Goode lines up horseshoes to see if any adjustments are needed.
George Goode uses a mallet and an anvil to shape a horseshoe.
"This is the only job you can get a kick out of," Goode joked.
Antonio Lopez-Cooche, a student of George Goode's for four weeks, shapes a horseshoe in Sells on April 10, 2024.
