Horse Shoes and Horse Sense

The clang, clang, clang of a hammer bending a steel shoe into shape on a blacksmith’s anvil rings through the hot summer air. Brown clouds of dust explode around the horse’s hooves. A muscled young cowboy in leather chaps toils at a trade that symbolizes an American frontier tradition. The horse’s natural mistrust of man puts the professional farrier — the horseshoer — in a tricky position. One misplaced kick from the 1,200-pound animal whose hoof he holds could end his career, or his life.

To appreciate man’s fragile relationship with the horse, you need to understand one thing: horses are prey animals. They are wary, highly perceptive creatures, hard wired by 50 million years of evolution to flee from predators as a first line of defense. A plastic bag blowing across a field is suspicious from a horse’s perspective. Most everything humans demand of horses is threatening and counterintuitive to them. Why does a horse lean into pressure rather than away from it? This is nature’s way of protecting a horse from an attacker. Leaning into the claws of a mountain lion rather than ripping away from it ensures a greater chance of survival. In the mind of a “green” horse, a rider on his back is a predator that needs to be pitched off. The horse’s only goal is to survive.

The modern horse’s earliest ancestors walked on several, spread-out toes designed for ambulating through moist, primordial forests. When grasses flourished, the diets of the “odd-toed ungulates” adapted, as did their need to outrun predators of greater speed. As horses evolved and ran across flat prairies, their limbs lengthened and their two outside toes lifted, leaving the middle toe to form into a single hoof.

“No hoof, no horse” is a common phrase heard around barns today. This means that the feet of a horse are the foundation for its overall health. For centuries, man has placed demands on horses which cause damage to their equine legs and feet. Domestic horses need shoes to protect their hooves from the excessive wear that results from the strains of competition, herding, war or recreation.

Bryan Woolstenhulme of Diamond W Horseshoeing specializes in equine hoof care. This includes balancing and trimming a horse’s hoof, then fabricating and fitting a metal shoe to it. A lifelong resident of Oakley, Utah, Woolstenhulme first learned to shoe his own horses from his father-in-law. Years later, he graduated from the Tucson School of Horseshoeing with his farrier certification. The term “farrier” most likely originates from two Latin words; faber ferrarius. Faber meaning “craftsman” and ferrarius meaning “metal,” or “blacksmith.”

Gaining the trust of an animal whose basic instinct is to run away takes some practice and understanding. Horse management techniques pioneered by trainers like Monty Roberts, the man who whispers to horses, seem to be having a trickle-down effect in other segments of the horse industry.

“There’s no room for people to be abusive, to hit [horses] with their rasp or hammer,” says Woolstenhulme. “It’s just a matter of getting that horse to trust you. My approach is you’ve gotta be patient with the horse, let him gain confidence in you. A lot of people think horses are stupid. In my opinion, horses are smarter than people.”

Accidents occur when a horse is nervous and doesn’t trust the farrier. Woolstenhulme prefers shoeing a hind foot — because he has a better hold on it — rather than a front foot wedged between his knees. Ironically, a horse doesn’t kick with its front feet. This isn’t so with mules however, according to Woolstenhulme. They move so quickly, they can almost kick you sideways.

“I don’t like to monkey much with mules,” he says, “They can kick your head off with their back feet.”

Because Woolstehulme holds down a day job, he tends to his clients’ horses on weekends and evenings. He likes putting these horses on a six-week schedule and averages four horses a night, spending about 40 minutes per horse, if the animal stands still. Like any good farrier, Woolstenhulme emphasizes quality over speed.

“I don’t cowboy shoe. That’s fine, if you are a buckaroo out on the range,” referring to somebody who knows how to quickly “throw nails on and clinch ’em, but doesn’t finish.”

By contrast, Woolstenhulme looks carefully at the balance of the horse’s hoof, making sure it is not too high on the toes or too low on the heels. Surprisingly, a horse’s hoof is not rigid like it appears, but elastic and somewhat flexible. After shaping and applying a metal shoe to the properly trimmed hoof, he drives the nails into the hoof walls, where they emerge in a straight line from heel to toe. Next, he clips and clinches the nails so they are square, strong and uniform. He expertly finishes the hoof by rasping it smooth and making certain the clinches are tight to the walls, with no sharp edges.

It is easy to recognize Woolstenhulme’s compassion while watching him gentle and shoe a frightened horse. He understands that a genuine bond with these spirited animals is based on trust and mutual respect. A horse may become your best friend, but sustaining the friendship requires proper care and attention.

“You can have the best horse in the world,” he adds, “but if his feet are bad, he’s not going to be worth much to any-body. A horse starts from the ground up.”
And so, apparently, does the relationship between a farrier and his four-hoofed client.

Leslie Miller loves to explore Utah’s history and western landscapes, and then write about them. Her favorite summer activity — next to golf — is observing wildlife on her rides with Highway, her sure-footed, equine companion.