Twenty years back I could set a shoe in 15 minutes flat

I was looking at some old photos from 2004 the other day and realized how much slower I move now. Back then I could shape and nail a pair of fronts in under 20 minutes, no sweat. These days I'm taking closer to 35 minutes because my knees ache and I check fit three times before I even pull the rasp out. Guess it's not just the horse that wears down over time. Anyone else notice their pace changing as the years stack up?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricianguyen1mo ago

My old farrier mentor could nail a shoe in the time it took me to pick a hoof lol.

viola1711mo ago

That mentor sounds like a wizard (the good kind, not the spooky kind). I'm still at the point where I have to whisper encouraging words to the horse while I fish for the right nail. Picking a hoof takes me long enough that my farrier jokes I'm trying to make the horse meditate. Honestly, if I could nail a shoe that fast, I'd probably just show off at every barn party (not that I get invited to many). Maybe one day I'll get there, but for now, I'm just happy if the hoof pick doesn't fly out of my hand from embarrassment.