Several years ago, Danvers Child didn’t want a new rig. His reasons were justified. A new body or trailer never made the buyer a better farrier after driving it from the manufacturer’s shop. Shoeing since 1972, Child felt with the years remaining in his career, he wouldn’t earn a return on the investment into such an expensive purchase.

He did change his thinking, thanks to someone else making the purchase. Having failed to convince her partner to buy a new rig, April Raine forced the situation and bought him a demo Somersong trailer while both attended the International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Child took the trailer home from the trade show, setting it up over the weekend. For his first workday with the trailer, he scheduled four horses at three stops. Returning home that evening, Child remarked how he didn’t feel he had worked that hard, which he typically would after multiple stops in a day. Raine reasoned that he felt better because he didn’t lift a ton. She wasn’t being figurative, either. With his pickup and topper setup, Child loaded and unloaded…