Horsemanship Skills Help Take The Shoeing Fright Out Of Spooky Horses

Mark Voorhis, a certified journeyman farrier from Salem, Ore., started developing his horsemanship skills long before he started horseshoeing. Those horsemanship skills were on display during a "Shoeing For A Living" day we spent with Voorhis in February. He worked on a couple of "spooky" horses that day, but by using good horsemanship skills, both shoeing jobs went very smoothly.

On the first one, a Thoroughbred gelding, Voorhis emphasized not surprising the horse.

"I'm always very deliberate when working around him," he said. "I don't make any sudden moves. I stay in contact with him. You can't sneak around him. He gets really suspicious. I want him always to know where I am. He's always worried."

With another Thoroughbred a short time later, Voorhis did his shoeing in the barn aisle near the horse's stall, with other horses around him.

"He's just a little high strung," Voorhis said. "He's an unpredictable horse. I find it works better if I shoe him up here where there are some other horses around."

Voorhis also did the horse late in the day, because he knew that would mean the horse was on the tired side.

"He's been lounged, walkered and he's been ridden," Voorhis said. "That helps make the job go better."

Our "Shoeing For A Living" day with Voorhis will be featured in the September-October issue of American Farriers Journal.

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