“I Do” are the traditional words said at a wedding ceremony. But for a farrier’s wife, those loving words should really be, “I will do:” 

• I will do the bookwork and the taxes. 
• I will do the dirty laundry. 
• I will do wonders with my hands to relieve the aching pains in my husband’s back. 
• I will do it all because the man I love, loves his profession. 

Marriage is about commitment, compromise and sacrificing things in life to make the one you love happy. So why is being the wife of a farrier any different? 

Find out as Vicki Schmidt from Hebron, Maine; Gina Keesling from Alexandria, Ind.; Vicki Poort from Sedalia, Mo.; Becki Ruh from Vicksburg, Mich.; and Sharon Richison from Carson City, Nev., share their stories about falling head-over-heels for a farrier. 

Cooking Up A Compromise

Schmidt hasn’t tied the knot yet, but she is currently dating Frank Walker. Walker mainly shoes show and draft horses and does some veterinary referral hoof work. After more than 3 years of dating, Schmidt had seen enough of her boyfriend working 18-hour days and logging over 800 miles a week on his truck. 

“Not only was it taking a toll on us, I saw how hard it was on him physically,” she says. 

Instead of giving Walker the boot, Schmidt came up with a compromise. She set up a shop at her farm so Walker could do his shoeing work there. The horses would be brought to the farm, which…