As a horseshoeing school owner, there is no end to the bad horses I get to work on. Once most guys have reached the point in their careers that I have, bad horses are a part of the distant past, a reputable farrier simply has to say no and can afford to do so.

Unfortunately, if you own a school, you have to teach up-and-coming shoers how to deal with a violent horse so that they can survive the first few years and eventually get to that point where they can also say no when it comes to shoeing dangerous horses.

My wife, Kelly, and I usually spent the better part of each summer in different stages of injury. No matter how experienced or careful you are, working on a lot of bad horses will have consequences. We have come to see this as a cost of doing business, and Kelly truly enjoys a bad horse now and then, so she can work out a little frustration. For me, hitting the anvil is good enough.

First Encounter

About 5 years ago, the class went to a breeding farm with about 50 mares, 4 studs and a handful of riding horses. There was this one stud that was chained to a tree in the middle of a corral, and the owner warned us about his nasty disposition. Kelly and I knew instantly…