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.”

Read the Original Article here.