Cowboy-Up

[SlingerDun]

At the end Bob say's: We've never worked together, and will probably never work together again

[SlingerDun]

actor/rancher/former horseshoer

[redman1]

Interesting, Thanks for sharing
Just finished slugging through the mud to feed at least in the morning it will be frozen
Semper Fi Buddy

[silverdollar]

I would think that the farriers would wear gloves.

[SlingerDun]

When it's very cold, yep, i wear gloves.

Intense heat and slag burns we just tolerate, but it's no fun banging fingers and knuckles on frozen hoof and steel, or having them stick.

Redman asked me a couple years ago about "shoes vs barefoot," but that's complex and i don't care to comment in depth on this site. I will comment on trimmers:

The come lately "barefoot trimmers" are the people who wear gloves exclusively, and they're a majority of women. They don't apply horseshoes because as a matter of fact - that is the most demanding process to learn and get it right, so many of them slander the time tested farrier profession to cloak their limitations in serving the horse and customer. The results are often a crude, emotional display of inexperience and small character, sorely in need of a good mentor. A sizable segment of trimmers try like hell to prove that horseshoes are always bad and never good, under any circumstances. Some will vow to their guru and actually swear an oath to never use shoes. Sound like a cult? Attempts at reasoning with this faction is same same tree hugger.
Many trimmers appear to be nothing more than disgruntled horse owners who had trouble with shoes/farriers and found an avenue to augment their part time career at event planning or hair dressing

We tease and refer to trimmers as "diet farrier" or "farrier lite" but they are vindictive, not at all light hearted and have set out to undermine the full service farrier profession through marketing, slander and junk science. So we need to stay on top of our game through continuing education.

Oh, the gloves: I wear thin snug gloves when it's too cold to grab metal. Gloves with too much grip like the rubber dot's, i stay away from. They're easy to snag and get hung up.
Trimmers wear big leather and cotton gauntlet gloves that travel 1/4 way up the forearm, all year round.
Any professional farrier will agree that you can't feel the tools with clunky gloves, but i guess that's not so important when you're preoccupied with losing a little hide or busting a nail.

[redman1]

Damn Slinger who **** in your lunch?
I agree with everything you say and look up to you and your profession
We don't shoe when we don't ride, I don't know how anybody can do much riding without shoes on. Hell its like us going barefoot
I have always been lucky to have good farriers.
I really enjoyed the video, hes quiet a man
I started to go too farrier school out west when I first got out of the Corps but didn't
Its a true hard skill I appreciate
When I was young we always shoed our work horses but I have never shoed my saddle horses always let someone that know what there doing
I really admire you for your knowledge and hard work you do.
Semper Fi Buddy

[SlingerDun]

I didn't get those custom chaps for Christmas, you know that, right?

[SlingerDun]

I wouldn't think a person needs to actually climb under a horse and shoe it today, then ride it on a 50 mile circle or endurance ride tomorrow - without ever taking a lame step - to realize there just might be some merit in properly applied iron on the bottom of a horses foot.

On that subject: It's a pretty good feeling to shoe a horse and ride the legs off the animal, then watch him trot off sound and nickering for his amigo's when you cut him loose after dark. That's why i went to shoeing school, to learn better how to protect the feet of animals i was paid to wear out. Never planned on shoeing for the public, much

[montana]

have a mare thats half quarter half thoroughbred...the stud was a very well bred thorou..but his hooves were bad...cracked....two colts i got out of them had great feet..this mare got her dads feet....tried ever sort of concocktion that everyone in the vally knew to fix the hooves....no luck...started keeping her shod steady for quite some time...wallah...hooves straitend right up....a person would not put many miles on a horse in this country without a good set of shoes....lessen you wanted to lame your horse up that is...and walk home

[montana]

heres one for you....went to yahoo...typed in ...used western saddles...guess what...cowboy up shows up.....with all our bs...that make us famous???

[SlingerDun]

I ordered these hoof knives today @ $6.99 per each and free shipping, it's hard to go wrong unless the blades wobble and twang like a Jews harpprobably made in India

[silverdollar]

At least I know witch end of those knifes to hold onto.

[Zulu 36]

have a mare thats half quarter half thoroughbred...the stud was a very well bred thorou..but his hooves were bad...cracked....two colts i got out of them had great feet..this mare got her dads feet....tried ever sort of concocktion that everyone in the vally knew to fix the hooves....no luck...started keeping her shod steady for quite some time...wallah...hooves straitend right up....a person would not put many miles on a horse in this country without a good set of shoes....lessen you wanted to lame your horse up that is...and walk home

If you guys don't mind an opinion from a city boy with limited horse experience (although I do have some): It seems to me that somebody, way back when, invented horseshoes for a reason other than a way to make a buck (or a florin, or a shilling, etc). It seems to me that said horseshoes would tend to reinforce and protect the foot of a working horse much like shoes do for us. Common sense.

Call me a city slicker, but that's the view I have from my lounge chair.

[montana]

yuppers Zulu...way back when land was big and horses were cheep...any good cowboy had a string of 5 or more horses...would swich off ever other day....most cases didnt kneed shoes...shoes cut down on the number of horses ya needed in your string...when the grownd is dry country the hooves are harder and will hold up better...but in damp low country the hooves are softer and need something to keep the horse going...indians used to tie thick rawhide on their horses hooves when on long runs...they also had many horses to swich off so that their feet would hold up... know of a few horses in my time that were great cow horses with bad feet...werent for shoes holding them togeather they would of been french food.....so guess that was some purdy good city slicker thiinkin...if ya ask me

[SlingerDun]

When a wild people first master the horse they start feelin more wolfy, and ponder...now i can raid that SOB three days out who wouldn't let me hunt and gather a bit of his country when my crew was dried up and gaunt. But, can my war mount make it back to the home corral without bloody hoof prints?

a florin hehehe