Now in his 70s, International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame member Bruce Daniels still dances around an anvil with an ease and grace that few farriers ever attain. He can bend a shoe and draw a clip in one heat, making it look effortless, while offering wisdom and wisecracks for good measure.

Not a hammer rap was wasted when Daniels flew in from his Mullica Hill, N.J., home recently to teach at a clinic sponsored by Cooper Hand Tools/Diamond at Centaur Forge in Burlington, Wis. Daniels was introduced by no less than Danny Ward of Martinsville, Va., who is himself a Hall Of Famer who can draw a crowd wherever two or more farriers gather. Ward called Daniels an inspiration, a mentor and “my hero for a lot of years.”

American Farriers Journal collected some of Daniels’ tidbits to share with readers. Here are a few:

• “If you shoe two horses alike, you have probably shod one of them wrong,” he says. Daniels notes that it is easy to fall into bad habits and warns to be careful not to turn into “a one-trick pony.”
• When shoeing thin-walled horses, use slim nails or even leave them out. “If the nails aren’t going to do some good, at least do no harm.”
• To help the…