The advertising I did in May is still working. I have two new customers that will be regular trims and occasionally shoe. They handled their horses exceptionally well. Both horses are older, but recently trained to ride. In my little world that means the horses didn't have much patience. The owners were right on top of it, though. One new customer is the cutest white welsh pony. He was a sweetheart to work under. Two horses last week are customers I would love to have on my list. I was filling in for an injured farrier so I probably won't see them again. Too bad as the horses stand quietly and don't have any issues. I may be slightly one sided, but I also like the barn because it has cats that enjoy human contact.

Knock on wood, but my shoes are starting to stay on 8-10 weeks like they were when I first started. This work is so frustrating. The harder you work at some part of it the more frustrated you get. When you get to the point that you want just to hang up your apron, things start to go better. There are feet I put shoes on that I would swear won't stay on a day because of all the issues the foot has. Those are the shoes that stay on eight weeks. The hoof that doesn't seem like it should lose a shoe at all are the ones that come off right away. Go figure. Without fail, every shoer I have met is a perfectionist (Although I am not! Am I?)who can and will spin themselves in circles trying to make a foot or a shoe come out just so.

So what have I been doing differently? First, I realized that I started dropping shoes when I started using city head #5 nails. I started out using combo #5 nails until I got brave enough to go with a bigger nail. I went back to the smaller nail. Then Bob came out to help me with a barrel horse that needed front shoes. He showed me that I was not rasping the toe level. So I started rasping the toe differently. Finally,another shoer showed me a different way to clinch the foot. The good thing is that my shoes are hanging in there now. The bad thing is that I don't know for sure what I was doing wrong or which of the three things I changed was the right thing.

The weather is a pain in the neck this spring. I had to reschedule several appointments because of storms, rain or 100 degree temperatures. Most customers understand and are happy to reschedule. The storms really wreck havoc with my schedule. The horses act stupid just before a storm front. The bugs go on an eating frenzy and chew on the horses so they are contantly stomping their feet and lashing you with their tail. The horses feet are soft from all the moisure and their is mud everywhere. The winds we have this spring make the horses spookey. The outlook this week is for 100 degree temperatues. I know at least on customer will want to reschedule. The rest are morning appointments. If I pace myself and drink a lot of water I will get through it.