vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
Ched49 wrote:
Good documentation, I can see how the horses need to cooperate. Is that brown one yours?...Beautiful horse.
Thanks for the visit and thoughtful reply Ched. Yes, the big chestnut one is mine. I’m down to one now and am beginning to think it might be time to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
kpmac wrote:
Nice series, Vicki. My good friend and neighbor used to trim my horses. He has attended farrier school and was quite good. We both don't have horses anymore but really do miss them. Time marches on.
I know what you mean Ken. My knees are getting too old for this activity after a lifetime of competing and training.
Thanks for the visit and thoughtful reply.
vicksart wrote:
My horse gets "hot" shoes while the other horses on the ranch just get trims. In short, hot shoeing insures a better fit than when the shoes are merely pounded into shape without heating them. The farrier (shoer) places the heated shoe, which has been pounded into shape while it's glowing red, against the trimmed hoof and can tell from the seared mark whether more hoof trimming and/or shaping of the shoe needs to be done. The process creates quite a bit of smoke. Stinky smoke. Think burning hair smell.
The last shot shows one side of the "shop" that is hauled behind the farrier's truck. Some farriers have the setup mounted on the truck bed, but this fellow likes to use his truck for other things.
In some of the shots you might get an idea of what backbreaking work this is - even when the horses cooperate! It's worth every penny to pay the pros to do the job.
My horse gets "hot" shoes while the othe... (
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A beautiful set. Most people cannot appreciate how a horse takes pride in their owners. The horse knows you care a great deal about their well-being.
I promised my wife I'll buy her a horse when we can afford it. Right now it is riding lessons for both of us.
Send some photos of these noble beasts for all of us to enjoy and appreciate.
Happy Riding!
What a great series of shots Vicki - very interesting. I vaguely remember seeing horses being "shoed" when growing up in Switzerland - always wondered if the hot iron shoe did not hurt the horse.
Sylvias
Loc: North Yorkshire England
Excellent shots and interesting information Vicki. Lovely looking well behaved horses!
Very interesting , Vicki. These are nice, relaxed shots showing the process. I enjoyed this series a lot. (I like seeing horses!)
rlaugh
Loc: Michigan & Florida
Brings back memories...I used to do all the hoof care for my horses except put on shoes..good set!!
DOOK
Loc: Maclean, Australia
Nice shots, Vicki, with an interesting narrative.
vicksart wrote:
Thanks for the visit and thoughtful reply Ched. Yes, the big chestnut one is mine. I’m down to one now and am beginning to think it might be time to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up.
Just remember:
Growing old is inevitable.
Growing up is optional.
Thanks for the beautiful set. Can all the Hoggers have a photograph of you riding?
An excellent series and something most of us will never witness...thanks for the descriptive introduction too!!
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
Scruples wrote:
A beautiful set. Most people cannot appreciate how a horse takes pride in their owners. The horse knows you care a great deal about their well-being.
I promised my wife I'll buy her a horse when we can afford it. Right now it is riding lessons for both of us.
Send some photos of these noble beasts for all of us to enjoy and appreciate.
Happy Riding!
I see you’re in Brooklyn. As a child, I first started riding lessons in NY. We lived in Pleasantville at the time, and my parents drove me to Bedford for those first two years of lessons. I lived for Saturday mornings.
Most of the photos of me are old prints from film days taken by my father or the professional photographers at horse shows. Selfies certainly aren’t feasible for getting the horse and me in a shot, so that’s out. If I remember to dig some shots out of the old albums, I’ll post some for you. You need to remember I’m usually behind the camera, not in front.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
weberwest wrote:
What a great series of shots Vicki - very interesting. I vaguely remember seeing horses being "shoed" when growing up in Switzerland - always wondered if the hot iron shoe did not hurt the horse.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. Horses are sensitive animals and soon learn what hurts. If the shoeing process hurt them the first time, there probably wouldn’t be a second opportunity. You might notice how relaxed the horses in these shots are. They’ve learned no one is going to hurt them. The only issue they might have is they’d like to get back to their breakfasts.
vicksart
Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country
Sylvias wrote:
Excellent shots and interesting information Vicki. Lovely looking well behaved horses!
Horses that act up are not popular with farriers. Once you have a farrier who does a good job, you want to keep him or her coming back on schedule by making sure your horse isn’t dangerous. “Well behaved” is key.
I’m glad you enjoyed these shots Sylvia. Thanks for looking.
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