Before You Call It a Day

Carthage, N.C., farrier Martin Kenny says the little things add up when it comes to efficiency. By finding these areas, the cumulative effect can bring a big impact on your day. One of these ways is how he preps for the next day. He will go through the inventory of his truck at the end of the day to replenish. For example, he keeps an unopened box of nails in a drawer in his shoeing truck. But he’ll restock the nails out of his home supply.    

“Farriers aren’t infallible,” he notes. “Now I have one in case I forget. But I never pull from that drawer, but from the shop supply. It is the back up. I don’t want to realize that I’m low on nails at the barn, and have to drive to the supply shop.” 

Kenny sharpens his knives at the end of each day. He puts the ready-to-trim knives in a leather sheath, mounted vertically on aluminum sheet. Kenny also grinds heels on shoes at home. 

“I know I am going to have to do it, but choose to do it a home rather than on the road,” he says. “That way when I’m at the barn, I’m saving time — and time is money.”

Take Time to Review Biosecurity

The recent equine herpes virus outbreak in California reminds it is worthwhile to review biosecurity protocol. If you are or have worked with a horse in a quarantined or otherwise potentially…