Bill Ruh (Vicksburg, Mich.)
This past year, I decided to follow an interest of mine, horseshoeing. I have owned horses for several years and always wished I understood what my farrier was doing when he trimmed and shoed my horses. My story has two parts with two very important people in my life, two farriers with amazing skills and knowledge that are willing to share with the future of the industry.
Bill Ruh, CJF, of Vicksburg, Mich., has been my farrier since 2008. I knew Bill through a mutual friend. I boarded my horses at this friend’s barn when I moved to Michigan from Kansas in 2003 and Bill shoed my horses while they were there. But in 2006, I moved to a small farm that allowed me to keep my horses at home. I struggled for two years keeping a farrier coming to my house. I went through several farriers. Either they wouldn’t show up for the appointment, just plain wouldn’t call me back or the quality of work was disappointing. By now, I was fed up. In 2008, I begged our mutual friend to have Bill call me. I already knew Bill’s work was exactly what I wanted for my horses. You see, Bill is known in south central Michigan for his quality of work, so this keeps him in very high demand at the training barns. With a little reluctance, Bill said yes to shoeing my two backyard barrel racing horses. And I can’t thank him enough. I have a horse with under run heels and I believe that if it weren’t for Bill, this horse would not be sound.
Fast forward to 2016 when I decided to further my interest and go to horseshoeing school. I did my research and found a couple of schools I was interested in. I asked Bill if he had heard of Troy Price, CJF. He not only highly recommended Troy, but had spent some time at shoeing competitions with him. I knew this was the school for me because I valued Bill’s opinion and work so much.
So I applied to the Troy Price Horseshoeing School in Uniondale, Ind., this past spring. I started with Troy’s two-week trim course. Little did I know, I would be shoeing a horse my second week there. The two weeks I spent there would change my interest into a passion. Troy made learning easy and fun. I will be heading back to school in the fall for twelve weeks to begin my career. When I came home from school, I knew I needed to keep moving forward with my education. I once again called on Bill for help. With no hesitation, Bill allowed me to spend a day with him shoeing at a Morgan horse-training barn. His next stop for the day was my two backyard barrel horses. From 5:00 until 8:00 that evening Bill helped me trim my own horse. I met Bill at 10:00 that morning, only to find out that he had already shoed four horses. After what was probably a twelve-hour day for Bill, he never once made me feel like he was in a hurry to get home.
Bill Ruh is an example of a journeyman that knows the importance of giving back to the industry. What Bill has given me; he has given to many farriers in our area. He has allowed many farriers to ride along with him and show them the ropes, so to speak. Bill knows the importance of continuing education and helping the future of the industry.
Thank you, Bill, for all your hard work and dedication for the past 31 years. It certainly does not go unnoticed. You have helped so many horses. You deserve to be recognized during National Farriers Week.
— Micheleen Pierce (Marshall, Mich.)
