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Re: [RC] [RC] [RC] hot shoeing - Barbara McCraryThis is not an opinion on whether hot or cold shoeing is best, nor an attempt to define either.....just a memory from my childhood and young adulthood.My first horseshoer was 65 when I was 12 (and had just gotten my first horse.) He was a blacksmith of the old school and he was GOOD. Aside from being a wonderful personality, he turned my pigeon-toed young mare's feet around to perfection over a few years. One day, as he was bent over under my mare, my widowed grandfather, who lived with us, came out of the house and unceremoniously kicked the horseshoer on the butt (as a friendly gesture.) The man raised up, looked at my grandfather and said, "Billy Jones, you old son-of-a-gun." And they began to reminisce. My grandfather had apprenticed to a blacksmith back in Kansas when he was 13 (1879), and blacksmithing was his profession until the late 1890s (he had come to California in the early 1890s), when he bought a piece of land, planted an orchard, and married my grandmother. These two men had known each other in the days when my grandfather had shod oxen at the sawmills in our local mountains. I continued to use this horseshoer until he became too old to do the job any more, and I went to his funeral when he died in his 90s. He was truly a part of another world, another part of American history. Now to come to the point.....he always fitted a hot shoe, then doused it in cold water to harden the steel. I didn't know there was any other way, until I had to use younger horseshoers who fit shoes cold. I have no preference as long as the shoes fit and do a good job for my horse. Barbara Who is fascinated with American history and family history. P.S. My grandfather's anvil is in our shop, serving us occasionally, and always recalling the memory of my grandfather, who was a part of my life for 19 years. I also have a letter knife he made out of a 20d nail. The head of the nail is intact, and the pointed end had been drawn out into a perfect scimitar. It is a work of art and another remembrance of my grandfather's skills. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Juli Jakub" <fahraway@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 6:32 AM Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] [RC] hot shoeing So you were talking of hot fitting. Good to get on the same page. I still think it does no damage when done right. Like I said my farrier causes little to no smoke and only has a shoe on for a mere second. It is not red hot. It just gives him a few points on the shoe so he can more easily define where it still needs to be shaped for that perfect fit. My horses don't notice and I have never had a lame one from it. All my horses feet look awesome. If an issue comes up I am sure I would change my mind about it, but I have been using a shoer that hot fits for ten years now and have never had any problems from it. And believe me if I saw billows of smoke coming off my horses feet and them struggling in any way to get away or even looking uncomfortable that farrier would be out the door! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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