When the horseshoer needs a farrier

I have been hobbling around all weekend because I had an ingrown toenail removed from my giant toe. I always thought it was called the big toe, but the nurse said it is officially a giant toe. Who knew? Tom laughed at me all the way to the walk-in clinic. He thought it was funny that the horseshoer needed a farrier. I had an appointment with a podiatrist two weeks from now, but the nail decided to get infected the day before a holiday. So on 4th of July I had minor surgery.

I have horses scheduled in the morning and hope I do OK. I am still pretty sore and can't take any more of the prescribed pain medicine so I can drive and safely work under horses in the morning. That is one of the joys of working for yourself. You don't have sick leave and you don't get paid if you aren't working. You also take a chance if you call your customer to reschedule. Sometimes, they will move to a different farrier. You just can't be sick or take vacation in this job and keep your customers. The strip mall where the clinic was also has a coffee shop that was new to us. They made great coffee and had awesome sandwiches.

Hubby was on vacation most of last week. Wednesday we spent the day bicycling the levee trail in Lawrence. At 5pm we stopped to regroup so I could trim horses on the way home. The horses are a mother and yearling baby haflingers. They are quiet good horses, except that the baby was taught to bow when you pick up a front foot. That makes it a little bit of a struggle to trim its' front feet. There is also a drop dead gorgeous Holsteiner dressage horse. He is black and all legs. He always trots in from the pasture when his owner calls him. He is magnificent to watch.

I have a new pony on my list that is cute as a bug. He is foundered, but assuming he is taken off grass I think he will come around pretty quickly. I had to move some horses around during the week it was over 100 degrees. Everyone was willing and understood. One afternoon, in the middle of the week, I just couldn't go out again. I had to reschedule a new customer. If I had just waited another two hours before calling him I could have used a thunderstorm as an excuse to cancel instead of sounding like a wimp and cancelling because of the heat! Both of his horses were quiet and stood nicely.

Tom was bicyling on the Landon trail this morning and saw one of my customers riding their horse. He stopped and got off his bicycle because he didn't want the horses to shy. He asked them where they were from and asked if they knew me. One of the horses was my customer. The horse owner said that I was just at the barn last week and that I was telling her how I drop him off at one end of a trail and pick him up at the other end. The Landon trail is only an eight mile round trip ride. Had my giant toe not hurt so much, I would have ridden with him.

I have six new horses scheduled this week that I am looking forward to meeting. I also have to make a stop to check on one customer who's horse probably has a rock bruise on a front foot. I hope not, because he has his horse for sale and if it goes lame he will have to hold onto the horse awhile longer. Truthfully, if I thought I could keep a horse right now I would have bought this one already. It is a good broke quiet horse.

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.

A Half Century

I have several new shoeing customers this spring. The horse that belongs to this foot is a tall lanky grey that is used as a trail horse. This week is the end of three long weeks. You have to make hay while the sun shines, but I am not sure my body is up for it. I have one more long day Monday with four horses getting shoes and three trims. After that, I need to get control of my schedule and tone it down. At up to $700 a week gross, I can sleep at night. Over that and my body hurts too much to sleep.

Funny how the weather affects horses. I have one stop with three horses that are fairly well mannered. We had weather moving in the other morning when I showed up. All three horses acted silly. In the first half hour, one horse broke his lead rope, one knocked over my shoeing box, the third got loose. It started raining and we decided to drop back five yards and come back another day.

One of my long time customers began riding her horse again after taking some time off to have a baby. Her horse tends to have soft spots just behind the toe. I asked my mentor, Bob, to help out. His front feet have soft spots just back from the toe. That spot was soft to the touch three weeks ago, so I thought he would need pads. Of course, by the time I met Bob at this barn we had been several days without rain, so the soft spot was not as sensitive anymore. We think he will do just fine with St. Croix Eventers. That shoe is wider in the web and has a bit of a roll to it.

Playing Fetch

When you work outside all day you quickly find out that perfect days are rare. The summer heat in the Midwest is brutal. The wind blows every day in Kansas, and the winter wind will cut right through you until you are chilled to the bone. When I moved here in 1989, a real estate agent told me that if the wind stopped blowing everyone in Kansas would fall down. It didn’t take long to understand what he was talking about. About six months after I moved to Kansas, on a spring Saturday, we had seventy mile an hour sustained straight winds for about six hours.

This week, however, was amazing. The sky was as blue as could be, with no clouds. There was very little humidity and, most of the week, very little wind. It was pleasantly warm and still quite cool at night. I worked at one of my favorite stops this week. It is one of the barns I go to where I am usually alone. The horses are quiet and easy to catch. I don’t have to race against a clock to get there, since no one is waiting on me.

There is also a Labrador retriever who loves to play. Since it was so nice out, we played fetch for about a half hour. Actually, I sat in the shade under a tree while the dog fetched. I think we both had a good time, even though the dog did all the work. Retrievers always have to have something in their mouth. Two winters ago, this dog took one of my gloves and dropped it in the pond. The owners found it and left it for me when I came back eight weeks later for the horses next set of trims!

The advertising I paid for is producing a lot of calls. I seem to be catching a break this year. So far, all but one new stop resulted in good horses to work under. I did get one phone call where the man insulted me, propositioned me, and then tried to bribe me to come out to trim his horse at supper time on a Sunday. He probably still doesn’t understand why I hung up on him.

One of my new stops this week was a coming two year old who was passive aggressive while I was trying to trim her front feet. When that didn’t work, she started rearing and striking. I told the owner we were done for the day. She got the filly settled down and removed the halter and lead rope. As the owner turned to walk away the filly tried to run her down. I stepped forward holding my arms up and growled. The filly did a sliding stop and started to turn away, which is what most horses will do. Then she turned back toward me, ran at me reared and tried to strike me. The owner came in beside me and used her lead rope to hit the horse. The filly turned around, backed up and tried to kick the woman. The filly didn’t back off until we were out of the paddock. I have had horses that were too ill mannered to work under, but have never had one attack me. This is why stops like the one with the fetching dog are the ones you treasure.

A couple of years back I trimmed a mule. Their regular shoer had injured his back and the mules’ owner was taking her in a 4th of July parade. He needed her feet to look good. I knew it was a one time stop, but was happy for the money.
He called this week and wanted me back out. He tried to trim the mule on his own last year and didn’t like how hard it was on his back. He liked the way I handled his mule so he had me back out. I was happy to go because several times the past two years I received calls from people he gave my name to. His mule is well mannered and has a great paint job.

The Drama Queen

It was a busy week with a lot of new customers that are a result of the advertising I did this month. I am fortunate this year that all of the new customers I have met the past couple of weeks have good quiet horses that stand tied. Things come in three's, they say. Last week I wrote about falling in the mole hole and hitting myself in the chin with the car door. This week was the third thing. I usually just motor along, but lately I feel like a drama queen.

One of my regular stops is a barn where I am alone while the owners are at work. There are three mares and a pony to round up and trim. We had a front moving through Wednesday, so the flies were biting the horses mercilessly. That means the horses pull their feet away from you constantly so they can stomp or kick at the flies. It also means you get hit in the eye with their tails as they swish the flies away. I finished with the first mare and put her back into the pasture. Before I haltered and tied the second mare I went into their barn for fly spray. While I was under the third mare, I realized my heart was racing and I was sweating a lot. It was humid, so I drank water and slowed down.

The mares were all back in their pasture and I was left with the pony, who is foundered and has a lot of foot to take off. Taking this much foot off is hard work. I was bent over working and started to feel nauseous. When I stood up, I was lightheaded. So, I took my water and sat in the corner of the stall for about twenty minutes. I don't usually get this tired or sick to my stomach, but I figured it was weather related and I was pushing myself too hard.

By the time I was done and in the car, my right arm started hurting at my bicep, which was weird as the none of the horses did a lot of violent pulling. I hurt enough that I called my evening appointment and rescheduled, so I could go home. The next morning I found two small holes in my forearm with a halo like bruise circling it. I didn't feel anything bite me, which usually indicates a brown recluse spider. I stopped in at the doctors office today. She thought the bite marks were too large. She did say that whatever bit me was venomous and to watch it closely for a couple of days. This is the stuff you don't read about in the horseshoeing books. Like two years ago when I got ringworm from the horses at one barn. They got it from the feral cats in the barn. I noticed the cats had ringworm, so I stayed away from them but didn't realize the horses had it too.

The Lead Mare

This horse is recuperating from an injury on its' left front foot. You can see how the hoof became distorted from the injury. There is a distinct line where the new hoof is growing in and the older damaged foot is almost grown out.

The first summer I worked with Bob, there were a couple of horses in his customer list that were intimidating. One was a roan horse who is a bully. I pulled front shoes off him, but had a hard time. When Bob worked under him that day he had to get after the horse. The next time we went to that barn, I was too scared to work under him and declined to do so.

It was the first time I told Bob I wouldn’t work under a horse. Up until then, I worked under any horse that Bob said. The first rule Bob set was that there is not crying in horseshoeing. The second rule was that if I didn’t feel safe working under a horse it was OK. The horse was still a bully and he had to get after the horse again. I watched closely to see how the horse acted as a bully and how he acted when Bob got after him.

Another eight weeks goes by and we are back with the roan. I worked under the horse. He repeatedly yanks his front foot off the hoof stand as I am rasping clinches in preparation to pull shoes. He won’t keep his hind foot on the stand on his rear leg. I see Bob coming in the barn to stand at the horses’ head. I tell him not to do that. By the hangdog look on his face, you would think I just kicked him out of his own barn. He asks why.

I tell him I can’t have him in there because this horse scares me. I chickened out working under him the last time and I need to know I can do it. He doesn’t answer me, but he does leave the barn to lean against the shoeing trailer. I do have to get after the horse. Once. Twice. The horse is still moving around a lot as I try to pick up a hind foot. I asked Bob if I am in over my head yet. He said no. “Look at the horse”.

The horse is just starting to lick his lips in submission. Very soon, the horse finds a comfortable spot to stand and I finish pulling the other three shoes, paring the sole and trimming. For me this was a big day. I was able to work under a horse I was previously scared of. I also had to work under his hind end without my stand and was able to do that.

I bring up this story because I had to work under a horse this week that has been in my customer list for almost a year. He is a big boy and is the dominant horse in his herd. This horse keeps me up at night. I probably should not work under him, but I like his owners and the rest of the stop is great. I keep trying different ways to work with the horse so we are not struggling so much, but so far nothing seems to work.

I think, though, that we finally figured it out last week. We came to the conclusion that he is afraid of the hoof stand. He doesn’t seem to care about putting a front foot on it, but he is scared of resting a back foot on the stand. Once I threw the stand out of the mix on his back feet, we seemed to do OK.

One of my newer customers is Nova. He is a miniature horse stud horse that is two years old. His owners said that he is about two inches short for his breed, so he should not pull a cart.
He was a little shy about getting his feet trimmed last year, but settling easily into it now. When they are young, no matter what their size, they don’t like to have their feet trapped (flight instinct) and they don’t know how to balance themselves.

I read a western novel last week called Holmes On The Range by Steve Hockensmith. His character, Otto Amlingmeyer, said "We had places to go and people to get the hell away from." I had a lot of fun reading this book. Two brothers are cowhands in the old west. One of the brothers had just read a Sherlock Holmes novel and thought he was an investigator. He worked hard at getting his brother and himself in a lot of trouble.