Imagine walking into an old country store and there is a guy sitting around a pot-bellied stove. He looks up and says, “Hello! You must be new here. Whatcha do for a living, son? Horseshoeing? Well son, have a seat and lemme tell ya about horses, horseshoeing and blacksmithing!” This is the essence of Leonard Crotts’ book, Shoeing to Win, Memoir of a Master Farrier and Blacksmith

Crotts wrote his first edition Shoeing to Win in 1985, this is the second edition of that book. Crotts wrote in 1985, “This book contains opinions and experiences gained in over thirty years of rather intense observation of the horse in most of his diverse conditions.” The second edition, 2020, has added another 35 years of experience to the mix.

Shoeing Techniques

Although this book is not written as a textbook, it does contain shoeing techniques that Crotts has employed during his lifetime. He is not afraid to give his opinion and does so without apology. For instance, in his chapter on the “Stride of the Horse,” he writes, “Any cure for forging should include better conditioning and better riding. If they are at fault and aren’t improved, shoeing probably won’t succeed in changing the way of going very much. But if you feel inclined to try anyway, here’s how:” He then gives the reader some options he has used over the years.

There is a lot of musings about shoeing trotters and pacers for the track. Imagine walking around a Standardbred…