WHEN RON MOTT started shoeing for money, his rig consisted of a homemade wagon pulled by a Toyota Tercel. His new shoeing rig is more likely to be compared to a Cadillac.

Between those extremes, the Adell, Wis., farrier drove a more conventional shoeing rig with a box placed in the bed of a pickup truck.

The old box is now mounted on the pickup belonging to his farrier son, Trevor.

“I never liked having to reach into the box from the side of the old truck,” Ron says. “It was awkward to have to reach up and in to retrieve tools or supplies from the side because the sides of the truck bed came up so high.”

Old Vs. New

That’s one of the reasons Ron decided to get a completely new rig. He wasn’t happy with the way the old rig box was organized, so he spent some time thinking about the specific design and looking for the right manufacturer.

Ron decided to work with Stone Well Bodies and Equipment of Genoa, N.Y. to design a custom-built box sized for the Ford F250 diesel pickup.

After three attempts at drawing what he wanted, Ron came up with rig features that make his shoeing job easier.

“The smartest thing I did,” Ron says, “was to not have my anvil bolted to the floor of the box. When I take the anvil out on a job site, it gives me extra surface space to work.”

Handy Shoe Rack

He purchased…