winter work and Merry Christmas (repost from last year)

I got this phone call, still don’t know if he got my number from our local horse newspaper, craig’s list, my card at the local feed store, or perhaps word-of-mouth.

My phone rang and caller ID read ‘private number’, I answered and through a scratchy connection I hear a low laughter, kinda like a Ho Ho Hello. I thought I heard phones jingling in the background and thought, “great, it’s a telemarketer”.

The guy on the other end asks if I only do horses and I replied I do ponies, donkeys, and mules too. He gently asks, “How about animals with feet like…. goats” I thought , “okay, I told those people not to tell anybody I trimmed their goat for them. I only did it because they were desperate and were regular horse shoeing clients”. But being winter and short on work I asked what he had. The answer was “Ho, Ho, Of course reindeer.”. And he would be willing to pay for mileage or provide transportation to his place. Because he lived way North of me. Well, there is a wildlife zoo somewhere about 100 miles North, but he said he lived further. And to meet him at the Minden airport with my trimming tools and he’d fly me up to his place.

Well, you can imagine my surprise flying on a sled behind 8 tiny reindeer to the North Pole. I nipped away on a cavvy of over 30 reindeer! I found out that they only needed done about this one time a year. Normally, their large, spreading hooves enable them to travel on snow-covered areas and they naturally wear them off when they scrape away the snow cover to feed on buried vegetation like grasses, mosses, and lichens. But soon he would be making a big circle, periodically changing out critters and they would be traveling to places without snow and eating on fodder such as hay, sugar cubes, and oats set out at various stops by folks with good intentions, but the ease and richness of the feed will play havoc on the hooves.

Why me you ask.? Well, he picks seasoned farriers of over 30 years experience. So if you are just starting out in this wonderful trade, hang in there for not only years of working in a great occupation, but someday….down-the-road, your phone may ring from a private number and when you answer, by-the-way those are sleigh bells in the background, don’t turn down this new one time client!! And those of you who have been in the trade for a while, I’d love to hear about your story of finding the correct balance for those critters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY SHOE YEAR

Holidays

I am sure I am not the only farrier who loves the holidays.  Some of holidays like Veteran’s Day, Presidents Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day I can catch up the shoeing for my customers who work for the government.  My clients who are in the private sector still tend to work those days.  Now on Thanksgiving, July 4^th, New Year’s day most everyone is busy  celebrating with food and family, even  if some work they will still take any remaining hours to celebrate.  But I am grateful for these holidays because I can catch up on shoeing my own horses.  Now Christmas is the holiday I like best because I actually may not shoe any horses. 

horseshoe nail

Well, it is summer and I don't usually post much during the summer because, well just because. But this year we were finishing a new house and just got moved in about 1 month ago.  Now there is an excuse if ever there was one.  now I have high speed internet which will help.  I went about 4 weeks without any and it was actually quite nice.
okay so something about shoeing.....I have been thinking lately about nails.  when I first started shoeing we were taught and practiced using all 8 nail holes.  And I was told if I had to leave out a nail or two it should be the toe nails.  the heel nails were considered essential for hloding a shoe on.  This also could have been because I was shoeing using horses that were rode in the Rocky Mountain region.  Now the "fad" is to use 6 nails and avoid the heel nails....go figure.  I am actually shoeing like that.  But lately, I've loosened up my way of thinking/doing and use whatever nails the hoof can handle. 
Seems like I always have to have a new thought/idea/challenge to think about and apply while I shoe.  And for the last month or so it has been nails. Placement, size, type,height,quantity, etc . Alot rides on the nails, yet I really hold firm to the belief that a good shoeing job begins with the trim. The number and placement in which holes are incidental to how well the hoof was trimmed and the shoe balanced.  This summer I have found myself going back to the old-way and if the foot can take them I am putting in 8 nails , though I think some of the western performance horses have such small feet I can't always accomplish this.
So here is an old poem about the importance of the nail.

For the want of a nail the shoe was lost

        For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,

        For the want of a horse the rider was lost,

        For the want of a rider the battle was lost,

        For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost- -

And all for want of a horseshoe-nail.

Benjamin Franklin

Scott Simpson, Farrier friend

Contribute about Scott Simpson: Farrier, Teacher, Friend, and Christian Brother. I got the sad news of his death this past week.

I met Scott as the instructor at Montana University Horseshoeing School in 1977. Scott was strict and informative as an instructor of farrier science. Yet, like the hard steal he softened in the forge to expertly shape into a beautiful handmade shoe, he always was there to shape a friendship.

My favorite quotes/thoughts from Scott:

· “You know why farrier’s go to Hell? To pound on cold metal”

· “When it comes to nailing we are going to name you ‘Lightening’. Not because you are so fast, but because you can’t hit the same place twice!”

· “Shape the shoe: Toe – Quarter – Heel”

· Want your nails to come out at the right height? “Aim it”

· “Let’s rope the dummy for an airplane ride” I think I lost but I still got that plane ride!

· “Always shoe with the lightest shoe possible”

· When traveling from Montana to a farrier convention in Clovis, CA over a snowy Donner’s Pass, “So you just pointed to the Montana license plates and didn’t stop for tire chains?!”

· “Always compliment your clients horse, even if you say ‘nice color’.”

Scott’s instruction, encouragement, visits through the years, and friendship are major components to why I am still shoeing horses after all these years.

shoeing for show season

Show season is coming and with the estimated price of fuel we may be riding our horses to these events. But I won’t go there; I’d need a political blog for that.

So my thoughts on shoeing for different disciplines:

Trail rides/competitions: Rims or Lite Rims all around

Working cow/ cutting/ Ranch horse: Lite Rims in front/ plates on hinds

Reining: Lite Rims on Front/ sliders on hinds

Pleasure/equitation: Lite rims all round or plates all around*

Barrel /Poles: Lite rims all around or lite rims on front and plates on hinds.**

Dressage: plates all around

My favorite shoe is the lite rim. I think it is important to shoe the horse in the lightest shoe possible as dictated by use and hoof needs. If someone rides many miles and/or on abrasive ground regular weight rim shoes may last longer. Or if the horse needs a little more protection a wider web plate may be better. I feel the rim shoe offers a little more ease of breakover in all directions and can offer a little more grip without compromising ease of movement.

I find folks who compete at the local level in the western disciplines and desire to add reining to the list of events want sliders to “make” their horse slide. However, these shoes don’t work that way. They will enhance the horses ability to slide. I am a real proponent that if a horse is used for other events this is not the shoe for the horse. I feel a nice wide web plate with slight trailers (length would vary case to case) with well set nail heads will aid the horse competing in events that have a reining pattern as part of the total package.

*Pleasure/equitation horses should be shod the same front and hind

**Barrel and pole horses need to be evaluated on how each horse and rider maneuver around the barrel/pole. Some styles are more of a sliding motion (plates) while others train and run wanting more of a driving hind end motion (rims).

OF COURSE there is no one way. Each horse and use of that horse and any lameness/confirmation issues need to be considered when using a type of shoe. There are many types of shoes on the market with various names and/or claims. Use whatever works. I just K.I.S.S. most situations unless a situation really directs otherwise.

Or I know some just want to try barefoot. I think this could work for arena classes where special effects aren’t desired. Remember the need for shoeing amounts to three things: 1. If the hoof is wearing faster then it can grow. 2. If there is a desired traction/ lack of traction /movement needed. 3. Correction for lameness/conformation/interference.

But if you can’t afford fuel and need to ride your horse miles to compete, your main consideration may be a shoe that wears well and then we may need to talk about how to shoe the pack horse!!

Farrier Back

One of the most asked questions I get when I am shoeing a horse is, “How does your back hold up, doesn’t it get sore?”

After 30+ years of shoeing, I have to say for the most part I’ve been blessed with my back holding up. There have been times that my back has “gone out”. And after a few horses in a row, anymore it can take me awhile to stand up. It’s almost as if as long as I am bent over it feels good. And so I can’t really say it hurts, it has just gets stiff.

I contribute a number of factors or theories to why my back is holding up:

• God gave me a certain body type that is conducive to this line of work.
• When I was learning to shoe, my instructor made me hold the hoof in the various work positions without the use of a hoof stand. (thanks Scott!) This helped me to remember to keep my knees bent; like in many sport activities this allows the weight to transfer to the thigh muscle and a more athletic stance for balance and agility in moving when the horse moves. So now that I do use a hoof stand my knees are bent and my back stays straighter.
• I don’t worry about having all my tools with me next to the horse for the whole shoeing procedure. This forces me to stand up, walk to my truck, and change from trimming tools to nailing tools, to clinching tools. I think the standing up and walking even a few steps helps the health of the back.
• On that note, I love to walk in the mornings before shoeing and/or in the evenings. And I really think that has helped.
• I am a big believer in a good chiropractor. And times when I felt bad twinges I would get an adjustment. And mid way through my career I found that a deep massage by a knowledgeable masseuse who understood the connective relationship with muscle, tendons, bones, etc was the best therapy.
• Just recently, I got to thinking about my bed. It is a waterbed and though it is outdated and there are a few things I don’t like about it, I really should give it credit. There is much talk out there now about all these expensive mattresses and how memory foam or your own sleep number contributes not only to a good nights sleep but also to your health. Well, by golly, maybe keeping the ole waterbed has helped!
• Habitually drinking plenty of water even on cold winter days also is one of my theories to a healthy back.

Good thing folks don’t ask about my shoulders, elbow, forearm, or hands because those are what can get to hurting!! And I hate to complain! Of course I call it whining. Let me quickly define:

1. Complain is when you stop doing what you need to do and gripe about it.
2. Whine is when you keep doing what you need to do and gripe about it.