During the late afternoon of January 7, 2009, Doug Clark and an apprentice were driving home from shoeing on a cold snowy day.

Without warning, the driver of a car in the other lane lost control of her vehicle, skidded across the icy road, slammed into Clark’s truck and rolled over her car. She died almost instantly.

The London, Ontario, farrier suffered neck and elbow injuries that have led to a big change in the way he handles his farrier business. In addition, the mental stress of being involved in a fatal accident has been traumatic.

Very Stressful Times

“I couldn’t get near my impounded shoeing truck and tools for 2 weeks,” he says. “Luckily, Michigan farrier Matt Johnstone and other shoers loaned me tools. I continued to work, despite my aches, pains, numerous doctor appointments and physical therapy visits.”

Clark could not use his shoeing truck for 3 months and worked out of a minivan. “Lots of my horses had their shoes reset since I didn’t have the proper equipment to fit and nail on new shoes,” he says. “My clients understood what was happening and resets were okay since it was the winter season.”

Today, Clark is back shoeing full-time. But he has the added cost of using more apprentices to handle the work.

“Working my way through the insurance situation has been like moving in slow motion,” says Clark. “Those people make you feel like a criminal when you haven’t done anything wrong.

“They wanted to know…