1992 ARTICLE OVERVIEW
July/August 1992 featured the second edition of “Shoeing For A Living.” This was a new concept for American Farriers Journal. The premise of this article is to follow a farrier around for a day and document his or her approach to the job. It took some time for this series to find its feet, but eventually has.
This article featured then-Illinois shoer Joe Trhlik. In 1992, Joe was one of about 35 farriers working on nearly 2,000 head at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill. Trhlik also worked on a variety of other disciplines. A 1965 graduate of Hank McEwan’s Potterville Horseshoeing School in California, Trhlik obtained his track license in 1971, but didn’t start shoeing at Arlington until 1977.
The wisdom shared by Trhlik in the article centered on staying out of the horse’s way.
“My job as a professional is to help the horse race better,” he says. “The best thing a horseshoer can do, if he does nothing else, is not to hurt the horse. If a horseshoer can keep the horse sound and the horse has the ability, he can help the horse race well. If the horse doesn’t have the ability, it won’t do any better no matter what you do.
“There is always a rule of the track that says you can always slow a horse down, but you can’t necessarily make it faster.”
26 YEARS LATER…
I moved to Arizona in 2004 and gave up the track to handle performance and backyard horses. I am happy to say I’m still shoeing horses at my age, just not as many of them. There are things similar and some different from the track when we did that story.
Horse racing isn’t as popular as it used to be in all areas. I don’t know if that means there are fewer horses or if the track can support as many farriers there working, but at least at Arlington, they’ve cut the number of race days. Add that to the short season due to the location, and you would have a difficult time trying to live off that. I know some of my farrier friends would work other tracks, but I still think it is a good idea to balance by working other disciplines and not specialize. You could work a show season when the horses aren’t racing, and of course the pleasure riders will always be there.
I really miss the track life because it was a close group — at least at Arlington. We all got along well, there wasn’t any real animosity. If a horse lost a shoe and you weren’t there, someone could tack a shoe on for you.
There are some things that make me glad I left it, though. Since that story ran, the biggest difference for the worst is the change of the shoeing regulations, in terms of what we could or couldn’t do as farriers. They prohibited certain types of shoes for horses that I found helped horses. Years ago, I worked on some top horses that would be unable to race without those shoes due to their conformation. For example, with the horses that ran on grass, we’d use outside rims, stickers and calks to help them race on that surface. I used calks when they ran on mud. But now, you might only have an option like a Queen’s plate XT. Of course, if a horse doesn’t have the traction, it won’t run as fast. It puts you at a disadvantage as a farrier to help the horse. I remember a horse with windswept hinds that I was able to help win races back then. I used an outside sticker on the left hind and an inside sticker on his right hind. Otherwise, he’d cut his hock and stop running. He wouldn’t even be on the track if he was running today.
The foot problems we face on the track haven’t changed …
Another thing that changed was the lack of horsemanship among the trainers — there seems to be less of that today. They also recognized the farriers who had ability and knowledge and would leave them to do the work. Some were particular if you could use help. Due to the track union rules, you as the head farrier were allowed one apprentice and one floor person — who would work in the shop. The apprentice could help you shoe the horse. But some trainers felt if they hired you as the farrier, you should be the only one shoeing the horse.
The foot problems we face on the track haven’t changed. Quarter cracks, for example, were constant problems we handled. Some you can fix easily to keep a horse on the track, and others you can never fix. You might be able to fix it before the race, but it will crack again. If the horses get time off, they aren’t on the track. The good horsemen would recognize when it was time to send them to the farm and take time off from work.
But the variety of solutions today compared to 1992 are much more available. As most farriers know, there are more shoe options today. But, the quality of shoes today is far more superior, especially with durability, shoe shape and placement and pitch of nail holes. We had to spend more time in the shop at the track back then.
One I find useful are the acrylics. I think now that these are so good, you wouldn’t need to lace horses that you would back then. Back then we used dental acrylic, and had to lace most cracks because that acrylic couldn’t hold well by itself. Bar shoes would help too, but I found there was some loss of traction.
Problems beyond that, the track remained good at checking for injuries and preventing horses from running. That saved some horses from trainers who weren’t knowledgeable. Most of the trainers I worked with were into the well-being of their horses. You don’t make any money when they’re lame.
As for the track union, I liked it. Others did not because it kept some shoers out. But there was a standard, and I think it helped determine who should be able to shoe a horse. I ran the testing for the union for most of time I was there.
The last thing that hasn’t changed and I want to warn you about is the one irreplaceable tool. The body is the most important tool for any farrier. Be safe with what you are doing and take care of your body. Then you’ll hopefully be shoeing as long as I have.
