Your shoeing apron is a valuable commodity. It’s as important as anything in your truck. It needs to be as tough as nails, it has to repel dirt, sweat, manure and just about everything else that comes into contact with it, while at the same time feeling as comfortable as a second skin since you’ll likely be wearing it for untold hours — day-in and day-out.

A good apron can last 10 years or more, and can be made of anything from leather, cotton duck to nylon, although almost all will have natural rawhide patches of buffalo, mule skin or chrome-tanned leather over the areas where farriers usually support a hoof.

Aprons also come in full or half styles and with buckles, snaps or Velcro fasteners. They may have pockets on one or both sides. You can order them with magnets sewn in handy places for holding nails or a hoof pick. Some makes are also available in a variety of colors. It would seem there should be one to fit just about anyone.

Dressing For The Weather

Jack Roth, owner of MFC Tools in Purcell, Okla., is a farrier as well as a vet and a member of the International Equine Veterinarian Hall Of Fame. He’s been on the job for 44 years, so he talks from experience when he says the heat plays an important role in the type of apron he wears.

“In the summer, it can get to be over 100 degrees, so while I need…