One key to both his medical and shoeing success that Michael Miller would like to pass along to other farriers is the importance of keeping fit.

“Since I used to do long-distance biking as a hobby, I asked an exercise therapist to put together a conditioning program for me,” says the Trussville, Ala., orthopedic surgeon and farrier. “As it turns out, the exercises that are best for a biker are also good ones for a shoer.”

Miller maintains that shoers need to recognize that their biggest asset is not their truck or the inventory of shoes and supplies found in the rig.

“Instead, it’s your body and you need to take care of it,” he says. “If you don’t exercise regularly, you’ll find this out the hard way when your back gives out and you can’t shoe horses anymore.”

Other Industry News...

• Janice and Tom Stiefel report that Alvin Farrier Supply in Alvin, Texas, has been named the national distributor for Durasole. The product is manufactured by Tom Stovall at Katy, Texas.

• The highest selling item in the American Farrier’s Association annual convention auction, a table handmade by Scottish farrier Edward Martin, was purchased for $4,000 by Jayne and Clint Carlson of Forest Lake, Minn. “It had some real personal meaning for us and a perfect spot was found for it in our house,” he says.

• Suffering a heart attack while shoeing last spring at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., Livingston, Texas, farrier Jack Miller is recuperating but…