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Watched a farrier demo at a county fair that went sideways fast
I was at the Kern County Fair last Saturday and stopped by the livestock barn where an old timer was doing a shoeing demo. He was telling the crowd about how he's been at it 40 years and never uses nail clinching pliers, just his hammer. Then his horse shifted weight and he nearly took a hoof to the shin. The crowd gasped but he just laughed and said 'that's why I wear steel toes.' It got me thinking about how many of us pick up habits from guys like him that might be more about ego than safety. Any of you ever watch a demo and spot something that felt a little too cowboy for your taste?
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finleym3710d ago
Yeah, that part you said about "that's just being stubborn for no good reason" really hit me. I watched a guy at a show in Bakersfield last spring who was doing that same thing, bragging about how he'd been farrier since before half the crowd was born. Then his horse got spooked by a kid's balloon pop and he ended up with a twisted ankle and a shoe half nailed on crooked. He played it off like it was nothing but you could see him limping the rest of the day. It's one thing to have old school skill, it's another to refuse to use a basic safety step just because you want to look tough in front of people. I'd rather be the guy who takes an extra two minutes with the pliers than the one who ends up calling his vet because I got too cocky.
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adam41410d ago
Wait, he said he never uses clinching pliers at all? That's absolute insanity. I don't care how many years you've been at it, you're just asking for a nail to bend wrong or a shoe to slip. That's not old school skill, that's just being stubborn for no good reason. One bad hit from a hammer and you've got a hoof wall split or a horse that'll never stand still for you again. I'd rather look like a greenhorn with the right tool in my hand than a tough guy with a limp and a lame horse.
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