The first stop of the day for Angie Reynolds doesn’t actually involve shoeing. It’s just a short distance from her rural home near White, Ga. She pulls her truck to the side of the road and her three children — Matthew, 11, Andrew, 8, and Katrina, 6 — pile out at their school bus stop. Angie waits a few minutes until the bus arrives and she sees the kids safely away. Then she’s ready to start her “Shoeing For A Living” day.

7:10 a.m. Angie makes a quick stop to fill her truck’s diesel fuel tank, then heads out for her first barn call. It’s several miles away and she expects it to only involve some trimming, so she’s left her shoeing trailer behind and loaded the tools she expects to need in the truck. Her route after this stop will take her back by the house and she’ll stop and hook up the trailer then.

Angie Reynolds has been shoeing for 4 years. Even in a profession known for unusual beginnings, hers stands out. Her own shoeing career — as well as that of her husband, Peter — has roots in a mutual interest in polo.

It might not make a great County and Western song, but apparently mothers shouldn’t let their babies…