Kids didn’t have career choices in the 1800s. Children were expected to follow in their parent’s footsteps, often in a family business. Blacksmiths of the time, like other tradesmen, relied on their sons to learn the skills and backfill the ranks as their elders retired. Most daughters weren’t offered an option back then.
Working under a horse all day is hard on the body — especially the back. And there are always risks for a wreck. With close to 30 years of shoeing, 18 of those full-time, Jacob Manning of Roosevelt, Utah, wishes he had taken better care of his back.
This Week: Hoof-care professionals across the country and the ocean are sharing what they know with others in the industry through social media, webinars and videos. Here are a few of our favorites.
This book offers a rare treasure of sound, basic horseshoeing principles for the normal foot. Captain V.S. Scratchley's goal in writing Notes On Shoeing For Horse-Owners in 1911 was to provide horse owners with the means to evaluate the work so they could "employ the best farrier obtainable." He presents many good arguments for the need of frequent quality hoof care.
While working on this 35th Anniversary issue of American Farriers Journal, I've been paging through back issues. At times I can almost feel the heat of the forges and hear the distant echo of hammer ringing on steel.
Cool mornings, Utah and June don't seem to belong in the same sentence, but it's a cool June morning in Roosevelt, Utah, as Jacob Manning pilots his shoeing rig from the parking lot of a local restaurant where he and his nephew, Dennis, met me for breakfast before heading to their first shoeing stop.
Texas shoer Doyle Blagg shows a set of Mormon Hobbles forged by Dennis Manning of Roosevelt, Utah. These hobbles were used by Mormon travellers on their way to Utah to prevent their horses from being stolen.
Putting together a smooth-working shoeing rig is easy — once you’ve learned the hard way. So we asked farriers to share their rig problems and the solutions they found to them
Dennis Manning of Roosevelt, Utah, has a well-earned reputation as a horseshoer, blacksmith and toolmaker. One of the reasons for that reputation is his understanding of the science behind those crafts, as he demonstrated during a clinic at Dave Ferguson’s Mint Vale Forge in Cambridge, Md., late last year.
Greg Martin, CJF, of Boerne, Texas, takes the unique approach of marketing his hoof-care practice with a Christmas parade float in Boerne and Comfort, Texas. The award-winning float boasts a variety of surprising features.
Life Data Labs Inc. is a dedicated product manufacturer committed to producing premium quality animal nutrition and health products through continuous product improvement and new product development. First-class ingredients, fresh products, consistent high quality and scientifically proven effectiveness are the principal features of Life Data Labs animal health products. And that's why they've produced the #1 recommended hoof supplement by farriers for 12 consecutive years.
Kawell develops and produces copper alloy horseshoes and inserts, giving horses the care that they need to fight issues associated with white line disease, seedy toe and thrush.
From the feed room to the tack room, SmartPak offers innovative solutions to help riders take great care of their horses. SmartPak was founded in 1999 with the introduction of the patented SmartPak™ supplement feeding system. The revolutionary, daily dose SmartPaks are custom-made for your horse, individually labeled and sealed for freshness.