In some marriages, a spouse knows with amazing accuracy what the other is thinking without that person telling them. Their clairvoyance is earned by building familiarity with the other person so much so that their thought patterns become predictable. In farriery, there are a few married couples where either spouse can look at a trimmed foot and recognize the approach in their partner’s trimming or shoeing work.

There’s an old saying that time heals all wounds. It is overstated, but it certainly applies to equine athletes. Although not true in every case, many horses recover from a myriad of foot and lower limb problems if given ample time off from training and competition so they can recover. That’s a wonderful thought, but a luxury few track shoers enjoy. Georgetown, Ky., farrier Steve Norman knows that reality all too well. For more than 45 years, he’s handled footcare for Thoroughbreds on the track and at farms. He’s built a practice to where he now primarily works for larger barns and farms.

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” Helena famously des­­cribed Hermia this way in A Mid­sum­mer’s Night Dream. In fact, since William Shakespeare’s words first were uttered on stage in the late 1500s, it’s been used countless times to describe people and things. When Placerville, Calif., farrier Marijke Ellert opens up her rig, the quote is there for all to see, emblazoned on the back wall. The word “FIERCE” is prominent by appearing in all capital letters.

Like many farriers, the horseshoeing bug bit Travis Burns at an early age. The Blacksburg, Va., farrier grew up near Asheville, N.C., where his family operated a trail riding business in the Great Smoky Mountains.

During the 10 years of his childhood living on a Wisconsin dairy farm, Chad Lunderville had a clearer path for working with cows than horses. Tired of the brutal winters that hampered the dairy operation, his family moved back to Arizona, where horses gained the younger Lunderville’s attention.

What’s a typical day for a farrier? Well, define “typical.” How often does one set out to trim and shoe horses without a curve ball coming out of nowhere that disrupts that day’s plans? Is that no longer a normal day?

Large, fluffy clouds dot the blue skies over northeastern Oklahoma in late May. A beautiful day like this is fairly typical shoeing weather for Chelsea, Okla., farrier Craig Stark.