Instructions
Go to an accredited farrier school and learn to shoe all types of horses with flat shoes. These are the normal, everyday horseshoes that you find on the majority of equines.
Go to a few Tennessee Walking horse shows, and learn who the successful trainers are. Also meet the horse-show blacksmiths and talk with them. Ask the trainers and the blacksmiths who the best blacksmiths in the business are.
Get in contact with the blacksmiths whose names came up the most frequently. Ask a couple of them if they'd mind your shadowing or apprenticing with them. Try to set it up where you can work with at least a couple different blacksmiths to learn their styles and techniques.
Decide which farrier you'd like to shadow longer and ask her if she's O.K. with it. You want to apprentice with a farrier who has ethics, is knowledgeable and uses up-to-date techniques.
Start to do some pad work on your own. Take what you've learned and apply it. Most trainers say that four pounds per pad is a good weight to start with but, depending on the horse, the weight can go as high as 15 pounds per pad. There's only one rule (as per the Horse Protection Act) you must follow, which is that you should add only half the horse's toe length in padding. For instance, if the toe is four inches long, your pad should be only two inches long. Know what's considered ethical and understand why as you start to do your own work.
How to Learn to Pad a Walking Horse
To pad a Tennessee Walking Horse is to add a weighted pad to its shoe. These pads can be made of rubber or plastic; some are even hollow. They're usually put on a walking horse only if it's a show animal; the pads help accentuate the lift and gait of the horse, improving its show performance. You'll want to learn how to pad properly and humanely; improper padding can be detrimental to a horse's soundness and performance.