Like many farriers, Larry Stevens spent years trimming and shoeing in the same sequence. He preferred starting with the left front foot, then the right front. Then, he repeated the order with the hind feet. He’s left-handed and thinks this might have been the subconscious reason for this preference.

But after working with some problem horses and with youngsters who hadn’t had their feet handled much, he learned that changing the order was often the key to his safety, and also in making the horse more manageable from that point on.

A prime example of this interesting theory is packaged in a 9-year-old half-Thoroughbred mare named Scarlett, who belongs to a client that Stevens has had since 1986. The client has two other horses who are a cinch to shoe. But this particular mare is nervous, short-tempered and often combative.

To add to the woes, she requires a lot of work because of the need for special pads in front and a problem with one hind foot. Because she once kicked a stall wall and fractured her left rear coffin bone, she wears an egg bar with side clips and a rim pad. Stevens averages about an hour and half to shoe this mare, but Scarlett doesn’t want to hang around that long.

An accomplished horseman, Stevens started working as a full-time farrier 21 years ago because he wanted to be his own boss. Before that, he was involved in the forestry industry. But as with most farriers, self-employment became…