Contrary to popular belief, making horseshoes by hand is more than just an oddity seen only at agricultural fairs.
Just ask Dave deWit.
"Most people are quite interested and think it's kind of quaint," deWit said when asked Friday about the responses he has had while showing off his skills in the blacksmith shop at the B.C. Northern Exhibition.
"But I don't know if a lot of people realize that this actually feasible as a career."
Three months after completing an 18-month program at Olds College in Alberta, deWit has had no end of work as a farrier and almost all the shoes he has put on have been made by himself.
"In reality, there are enough factory-made shoes that a person can certainly work full-time and not ever have to make a shoe themselves but this is more than just a job - it's a hobby, it's a passion," de Wit said. "At this point, I'm trying to hone my skills as much as possible."
There are an estimated 100,000 horses in British Columbia and deWit has routinely been putting in 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week, trimming and shoeing horses' hooves.
