shoeing

Thursday (I told you it was a long week!) Gordon was here as usual.

Gordon is our farrier. (pssst! It means he puts shoes on our horses.) And don't mind the crazy Hawaiian shirt. He was just putting that on for lunch; he likes to give Cookie a reason to make fun of him.

Although, I don't usually see the side of Gordon I just showed you.

This is my usual view. I hold horses while he bends over.

Except the roles were reversed this week, because I had asked Gordon a couple of weeks ago, if he would teach me to pull and tack on shoes.

But I think this might have been a gratuitous shot, don't you?

Anyhow, back to the actual shoeing of horses...

Unfortunately, most of my horses are kind of bad when it comes to standing still for the farrier. And I apologize, Gordon. We pick their hooves daily, but some are just punks...or they're afraid of you. (I swear, there are some who just KNOW a farrier when they see one and they fuh-REAK!)

But Skip, now Skip is another story. He is probably the best horse we own. He goes sooooo slow when he has beginners on his back. But when he has a wrangler on him, he is super responsive and even fast!

And he stands still. Forever. (And believe me, when you're not a seasoned professional, It. Takes. For. Ever.)

Thank you, Skip.

So Gordon showed me how to pull a shoe.

I had to rasp (file) down the nails on the outside, so I didn't rip the hoof when I pulled out the shoe.

Then you just pull on one side, then the other, starting at the heel and working your way towards the toe. And with one final pop, it comes off!

Gordon did the leveling, shoe-shaping, and placement.

We even hot-fitted one shoe. Basically, Gordon sticks it in his little mobile forge and gets it red-hot and shapes it.

While it's still hot, he (or I, in this case) puts it on the hoof which basically burns out any unevenness he created in rasping.

But it really, really stinks. Imagine a singed fingernail or hair...times 50.

I finished it by hammering it the rest of the way on and rasping it into shape.

Here's one where you can see the hammer moving so you know I really was doing it. Gordon kept telling me to look at him and smile, but I told him people would think I was just holding different tools and having my picture taken. So this is my "proof" picture.

If for some reason, I decide to take up being a farrier. Here are some things I can look forward to.

1) Having this look on my face (although I think he was just wiping sweat away).

2) A sweet, sweet Certified Farrier belt buckle

3) A farrier belly -- this was a requirement Gordon pointed out, I'm not picking on him!

4) And a cool bracelet...except Gordon made me one for my birthday so I can check that off my list. (See pictures above)

All I'm saying is, if I didn't have respect for farriers before (which I did), I definitely do now! It was hard enough to work on Skip, who stands still, not to mention our horses who lean, wiggle, and even kick. So thanks for all your hard work!

PS - I think I promised back in April that I would show you the process of horseshoeing from the day I hung out with Justin...maybe some day I'll actually get that posted............