Cliff Carroll Winds Down His “Enjoyable Adventure” in Farriery
It’s been quite a journey for Cliff Carroll. He’s been a jack-of-all-trades in the shoeing industry for more than a half-century in the shoeing industry — a farrier, supply shop owner, tool innovator and manufacturer. Now, the Larkspur, Colo., farrier is preparing for the next chapter of his life.
Cliff Carroll secures an anvil to a grinder at his Larkspur, CO., shop. Photo credit: American Farriers Journal.
Carroll is busy wrapping up his career by teaching the manufacturing ropes of his business to Well-Shod’s Timmy Snider and J.J. Armendariz. The Amarillo, Texas-based farrier Supply shop recently reached an agreement to buy the manufacturing arm of Cliff Carroll’s Horseshoers Supplies, which sits just off of Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs.
“It’s probably time,” Carroll says. “I probably should have done it 10 years ago, but it just didn’t happen.”
Putting Out Feelers
As a long-time distributor of Carroll’s products, John Harshbarger has been an admirer of his work.
“We’ve always been interested in adding manufacturing products to Well-Shod,” says the owner supply shop. “Cliff has built a reputation on quality with really nice products. He might do things the hard way a little bit, but the extra steps that he takes on some things shine through in the end. It’s something that we wanted for our business and they are all made in the U.S.A., which is also important to us.”
During a conversation about supplies, Harshbarger tested the waters to gauge Carroll’s interest in selling his manufacturing business. “I talked about it in passing with Cliff that if he was ready to retire, we might be interested in the business,” he recalls. “Then the day finally came.” It arrived earlier this year when Harshbarger and Snider, who have been business partners for nearly 25 years, sold Rancher’s Supply feed store. “We’ve known Cliff for a long time, buying his products over the last 20 years for the feed store, which Well-Shod grew out of,” Harshbarger says. “We let all of our vendors know what was going on. When I told Cliff that was happening, the timing was right and Cliff was ready to retire.”
Although Carroll and Harshbarger previously kicked around the idea, the latest conversation took the shoer by surprise.
“didn’t think anything was coming of it,” Carroll says. “We got together and managed to work it out to where everybody was pleased.”
Snider and Armendariz made the trek to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in early July to familiarize themselves with the machinery and processes for manufacturing each of the products that Well-Shod is acquiring. They include four anvils, the Pro-Forge, Anvil Stump, Ruidoso Hoof Gauge, hoof stands, propane forge swing-out arms and several tools.
“That’s what we’re doing as we speak,” Carroll says. “We’ll do that for another month, then break down the machines and surface grinders. It’s not the stuff you can put on a regular truck. They have to be chained
