George Barker (Gilmanton, N.H.)
George Barker has been my farrier and friend for over 10 years. He came highly recommended to me when I bought and boarded my new mare at a barn that he had been shoeing at for years. George Barker is a bit of a legend in New Hampshire. Everyone knows George. Everyone loves George. He is an incredibly skilled farrier and shoes all kinds of horses, from elite dressage horses to the personal horses of highly-respected equine vets, driving ponies, working drafts and everything in between. He's always up for a new challenge and to meet new people.
When he is not shoeing client horses, George is busy working with other skilled farriers to practice making shoes I've never seen or heard of before from bar stock and fitting them perfectly to horses. I've had the pleasure of watching him in blacksmith competitions to see all of his hard work pay off. He's always adding to his skill set and body of knowledge and his dedication to his profession is second to none.
Besides being a gifted farrier, George is also genuinely fun to be around and a really nice guy. He shows up when he says he will and is always there when you need him. There are always laughs when he's around, too. While this is entertaining for the people, it also seems beneficial to the horses as they are just at ease around George. He's patient and kind with them. An older mare I was riding had trouble with her hocks that made lifting her hind legs difficult. George would get down low to work on her hind feet and worked quickly so that she wouldn't have to be uncomfortable. He also changed up the routine to give her breaks and walked her around to help her stretch out her legs. He does whatever makes the horse most comfortable and always wants to know how they are doing. He really cares for all of the horses that he works with and its truly appreciated.
Recently, I moved to another state and don't have the fortune of having George as my regular farrier, but I am always sending him pictures of my horse's feet and asking questions about all sorts of hoof-related care. I even had the chance to spend a day with him shadowing his work. To watch him with all sorts of different horses and challenges was incredible. So to was the respect and admiration that he has from all of his clients.
Throughout the years I have known George, he's always had young farriers that travel with him and are learning the craft. He takes a lot of time teaching the next generation of great farriers and it's been fun to watch these farriers build successful businesses of their own. George giving back to the profession is no surprise as helping people is just a part of who he is. He's taught me a lot over the years as well and I am so lucky to call George my farrier and friend.
— Amy Cairy (Longmeadow, Mass.)
