RW’s job was done and his shoes were pulled. After years of racing around barrels in cloverleaf patterns, it was time for the sorrel Quarter Horse with a white blaze to take it easy and enjoy the good life in Southwest Tennessee.

A: Keep the end of your punch square, flat and sharp. I suggest using Jon Atkinson’s Tool Compound to keep the punch cool and prevent deformation. It seems to let the punch just slide right through a lot easier.

Attention is often paid to forging temperatures, hammer blows and anvils, and rightly so. There are other aspects of forging that are equally important, yet don’t get as much consideration. “A lot of people have problems because they’re just all over the place,” Sacramento, Calif., farrier John Williams told attendees at a late summer forging clinic at The Horseshoe Barn. “They’re just spread out all over their anvil. They throw their stock up there, any old place, and then they just take their hammer to the stock.”

What do a hammer handle and a wooden spoke from an Amish buggy have in common? For Hall Of Fame farrier Roy Bloom, both represent quality and durability.