Farriers

[MBlanchrd@aol.com]

Hi, campers,

  Good farriers are hard to find, and when you do find one, pay him what he
asks without complaining. When I was a teen working on a breeding facility,
the farrier (who had been shoeing for far longer than I've been alive) said,
"The best way to check out a farrier is to ask him if he's ever 'quicked'
(meaning to hammer the nail into the sensitive laminae of the hoof, rather
than the horn.) a horse. If he says NO, he's lying. There ain't a farrier on
the planet who's never quicked a horse now and then."
My present farrier..I asked him point blank, "have you ever quicked a horse?"
He said, "Yes, I have, but I do my damndest  not to." I've had him for over a
year and won't even tell his name, for fear he moves elsewhere...
Michelle