Trial by Fire

By Max Esterhuizen

Two numbers illuminate how Michael Marciano earned his stripes as an elite farrier: 3,000 and 800.

As in 800 hours standing above a 3,000-degree forge over the course of eight weeks.

That’s how long Marciano, a senior in the School of Animal Sciences, spent learning to become a farrier at the prestigious Heartland Horseshoeing School in the summer of 2021.

Those eight weeks training as a farrier — someone who makes and fits horseshoes, checks the horse’s overall leg, foot, and hoof health, and trims and shapes the excess hoof growth — were among the hardest he’s ever had.

Marciano started this path as part of his goal of becoming a large animal veterinarian for horses and cattle. But it also happened thanks to one of his mentors, Thomas Massie ’91, ’95, who has a veterinary practice in Rappahannock, Virginia, and their farrier, Travis Burns.

“When I become a veterinarian, I will work with farriers. I will be able to understand what a farrier thinks when approaching a problem. I’ll be a much better teammate to that farrier and able to provide a better outcome for that horse under my care. That’s the real goal,” Marciano said

To graduate, Marciano had to shoe a horse in less than an hour – trimming, clips, shaping the shoe, everything – all while following the American Farriers Association standards. Of the six people in the course, only two graduated. Marciano was one of them.

His time in farrier school helped him increase his collaborative learning opportunities at Virginia Tech. He was able to have these experiences because of scholarships, which include the Jacklyn W. and William R. Jones, Jr. Experiential Learning Scholarship, the Mary Louise Spann Scholarship, the Cyrus Hall McCormick Scholarship, and the Fred H. Scott ’58 Memorial Scholarship.

“These scholarships have enabled me to have opportunities and experiences I otherwise would not have had,” Marciano said. “They have allowed me to pursue my academic passions and gain experiences that have set me on the path to career success.”

From the fires of the forge burned Marciano’s new passion – the challenging hobby of blacksmithing. He has since joined the Blacksmithing Club.

“At least weekly, I’m training other people to blacksmith themselves,” Marciano said. “It’s a challenging subject, but it is incredibly rewarding. You can learn a lot about yourself through it. I try to pass on the process.”

Marciano learned about failure from blacksmithing.

“Each time you fail at something in blacksmithing, you have the opportunity to learn and reflect and get better for the next attempt,” he said. “Blacksmithing teaches you a lot about life by learning to fail and then say, ‘OK, let's reassess, readdress, and try again.’”

As a thank you to Massie, who owns Rose Hill Veterinary Practice, Mariano used a steel stock bar as his canvas and fire as his brush, and worked his magic to craft the non-traditional work of art – a rose.

To further his student experience, Marciano became an ambassador for the School of Animal Sciences.

In that role, Marciano volunteers his time as a representative of the school and further develops his leadership skills while providing prospective students and their families with a student’s perspective of the school.

“Being able to help in this way makes me even more excited to be a Hokie,” Marciano said. “Whenever we work with either prospective or current students, I’ve learned from them as well. It’s been a fantastic way to give back to the wider Virginia Tech community all while helping future Hokies.”

From the forge to the classroom and beyond, Marciano’s experiences have truly been a trial by fire.