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From Ranger99;
"I wouldn't want the expense and trouble
of any equines this day and age.
Decent riding or work stock needs to be
worked with every day and groomed
and you have to nearly beg to find a
proper farrier much less to get one
to come out. A good many will muck
up your riding stock's feet, then it'll
cost 2 fortunes to find someone to
straighten it out God forbid if it needs
corrective shoeing to straighten the
mess out.
A good point... I could modify or reshape a shoe and affix it to the hoof or if need be, make a shoe. ...But I have never studied the physiology of the horse . Since a horse may well at times, spend 24/7 on it's feet, and in work place great stress on their hooves, an ill fitting shoe can do real damage...Therefore, I never ventured into the farrier's field....I've been happy enough with the rest of blacksmithing..
My history with horses ended as a teenager on the farm. I did some riding on a neighbor lad's old nag but that's about all th eriding I did. Most of my experience was with draft horses..weighing up there near a ton each.
However, that was my teenage years..which all too soon passed..
We do have a few well qualified farriers around here..and they can command a good fee. Many horsemen use the Amish farriers. Hopefully, the information passed down through the years is solid.
Below, the only other photo I have of Gramps with horses, is this one, where he set a new world's record with this 4 wheel racing rig. ..And on a "kite shaped" track... Whew! ..those corners must have added a bit of excitement !
