The company one keeps is often a reflection of one’s character. Solomon, renowned for his wisdom during his reign of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, strongly believed in that philosophy.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another,” he wrote in Proverbs 27:17.

A group of farriers meet on a video conference call each week with this goal in mind. Many of them listen while driving to their first barn of the day. The group — Iron Sharpens Iron — share their faith and encourage one another in their triumphs and failures.

Deeds, Not Words

Actions speak louder than words, as they say. So, when Chattanooga, Tenn., farrier Taulby Runyon suffered a stroke, leaving him unable to work, Eric Gray extended his hand. The Cumming, Ga., farrier drove more than 2 hours one way to keep Runyon’s clients on schedule.

“Taulby and I have been friends for 20 years,” he says. “I heard he was in the hospital. I had a day fall apart on me. Since I didn’t have any horses that day, I called him up and said, ‘I’m working for you on Friday. I’m going to either do a group of your horses or I’ll do a group of mine, and I’ll send you a check.”

As the American Farrier’s Association prepared to descend on Chattanooga for its annual convention, Gray had an idea.

“I thought, all my buddies are going to be here in 5 weeks, I might be able to work out something…