[TheForge] Blacksmith YAK about "do you shoe horses?"

Mon Oct 13 21:48:05 2003

I think the path to world peace would indeed be a shorter one if everyone
would simply be honest with themselves.  After having taken Psych 201 'bout
25 years ago and being married to a woman that reads every self-help bood
there is... I feel I am uniquely qualified to report my observations having
to do with the phenomena of "Farrier Denial" .  This is most often observed
at blacksmith conferences where there are numerous pins of horseshoes with
the international slash, every last participant relating the story where
someone has asked "Do you shoe horses?"  The extent of their negative
response is generally in direct proportion to their DESIRE (yes desire) to
in fact BE A FARRIER.  'tis sad, but true, every blacksmith I've come across
in my 20 years in the business has really had a hard-on to shoe a horse...
The only chance of true self awareness and actualization can be found in my
"Wanna be a Farrier" home study course, complete with (nearly)freeze dried
hoof specimen for taking out your frustrations... send a three hun'ert
dollar bill to me and find your redemption :O)

Endorsed by Dan Scheid (a close personal friend, if I spelled his name
right, I actually saw his picture in the "Rogues Gallery" once)a fully self
fulfilled farrier, (as soon as I give him his cut!)

Fr. Kevin Donahoe (once I didn't even know what a 'farrier' wuz, NOW I ARE
ONE, and you can be too)

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Reynolds
Sent: Monday, 13 October, 2003 1:10 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Blacksmith YAK about "do you shoe horses?"

You  are right on Scott, people just don't know. I demo a bunch (25 days +
so far this year)and by far the most frequent question I get is just that,
"Do you shoe horses?" Generally I respond like this:

"Nope. Those are farriers. They know what they are doing and I wouldn't
pretend to act like I could do what they do. They've been to school for that
and they are in a way a veterinarian. Just by putting on a corrective shoe
they can save a horse. So I'll leave that work to them.

Likewise, what blacksmiths do is somewhat alien to most farriers. Most don't
ever do projects that a smith does, like make handrails, knives, tools or
hardware. Those guys do a great job at what they do, they just don't do what
we smiths do. We get to be creative. They just get to make horseshoes."

Go easy on the public -- each of us was that dumb at one time, it just may
have been a few years and we forget!

Reynolds

>It's a pretty common question from folk who don't know me, the local
smiths >or farriers. When asked if I shoe horses my standard reply is.
"Only if they >get too close when I'm working." And two
many blacksmiths have a crook in their craw about the whole deal. It's
not an insult people. Just explain the difference and people will
know. <br

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