Our Farrier

It's no small wonder that Frank Urraro has been showing Morningstar's horses for over twenty years. This fine blacksmith has proven himself to be such an integral part of the care and maintenance of the equine athletes that reside at the farm that the Plympton's and boarders all consider him "part of the family".

Fortunately for Morningstar and many other Long Islanders, Frank limits his practice to Suffolk County where he has approximately 250 equine clients. In the 30+ years that he has been shoeing horses, he has worked on every size and shape of equine from Miniature to Draft, from pleasure horse to million dollar race horse. And every one the them has benefited from his lifetime of experience and devotion to his craft.

His love of horses began the first time he was introduced to them as a 4th grader when his father took him for an outing at a horse farm after Sunday School. Riding lessons followed and young Frank enjoyed being part of Squadron C with the Rice's. Mike Verdarosa eventually took over the farm and Frank stayed on with him gleaning as much horse education as he could.

Knowing that horses would always be part of hi life, Frank graduated from California's Polytechnic Institute shoeing program in 1958. However, his career had to be put on hold while he served our country in Vietnam in 1969.

Then is was back home on Long Island where Frank honed his skills, apprenticing for Joe Artego and Pete Neu, and building up a loyal following of satisfied customers.

Over the years, Frank has continued to keep current on the latest procedures in horse shoeing by attending clinics, workshops and seminars. He has mastered the newest techniques available such as foam block treatment for laminitic horses and glue-ons.

He also was one of the first Long Island farriers to attend continuing education clinics and has competed regionally.

Frank continues to give back to the horse community by training new farriers, and there are currently six of his "graduates" working successfully on Long Island.