question for scott G

[matt wny]

scott please tell the story behind the pic of the guy welding on the shoe that is already on the horse.that is amazing!!!

[Scott G]

Matt,

First off, as I understand it, these horses were beyond rank. The owner (new) decided after the shoes were set that toe & quarter clips would have been a good idea. The farrier (mine) who really never wanted to see this team in the future agreed, but was not willing to go through the fight again, even with stocks.

The owner, who was a welder, asked if they could be put on after the fact. Discussion ensued and the thougt came forth that it would probably work if it didn’t kill them in the process. So… long story short the farrier pounded out some quick clips on the anvil and the guy welded them on. According to the story, the team didn’t seem to mind this and they lived. They used the same shoe they were working on as a ground. I would think that the laminae would stand a good chance of being cooked. My farrier agreed but he just as soon would have seen the horses drop where they stood before they became somebody else’s problem. Another one of my comments was that if the horses took a leak in the stocks (both geldings) they would have dropped like a rock when another foot grounded. Farrier agreed and was silently thinking at the time that scenario wouldn’t be a bad thing. Again, these horses were beyond rank and Brad (farrier) is one of the most patient farriers I know and a damn good horseman to boot. In short, it takes a lot for him to give up on a horse.

I couldn’t believe it until Kim (farrier’s wife) showed me the pics on her cell phone. Told her I needed to have copies of those. End of story…

Sometimes doing what it takes is what it takes. One of the outfitters I use to work for was a damn-sure product of the “old school” and one of the most ingenious men I have ever known. He started packin’ in the thirties when packers were packers. One the many solutions he found by thinking outside of the box was shoeing his pack stock, of which he had about 50 head at the time. Almost all of his stock was ex rough riding stock from the local rodeo cicuits that wouldn’t buck anymore. Even though the buck was out of them they were still tough as nails and made excellent pack horses. He devised a tilt (fly) table/chute that he operated with his tractor front end loader. We would push the horse into the chute, blindfold them, hobble the table side legs to the table (then vertical) and then lay it on it’s side. Two bars were then swung in that the two upper legs in turn were hobbled to. Four wranglers then moved in on their respective foot, each with an angle grinder, trimmed the hoof and tacked on a shoe. Horses seldom fought this system and as often is the case, settled right down when they were blindfolded.

Unconventional yes, but it worked really well and put to use very tough stock that otherwise a farrier couldn’t/wouldn’t work with in a traditional fashion that would’ve went to slaughter for sure.

This guy was brilliant and a horseman of the highest caliber. He truly cared deeply for his entire string but was a man who took efficincy to the extreme. Some of his unorthodox packing methods were incredible, but those are other stories…

[matt wny]

thanks for the explanation.

[jac]

Yes but bring on the other stories Scott…
John

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