Looking back, Mike Chance believes he didn’t have the typical make-up to be a successful farrier. And maybe he wouldn’t have become a horseshoer had he acknowledged that. “It never occurred to me that I couldn’t be successful in this trade,” he says. “Maybe I was lacking in some areas, but I was determined to be a farrier.”

“You don’t want to shoe lames horses, trust me.” Bob Marshall tried to warn the confident young farrier, but the then 18-year-old Travis Koons had made up his mind. The Hemet, Calif., youngster had printed business cards, announcing that his farrier practice specializes in pathological, remedial and corrective horseshoeing.

An Oregon farrier molds his practice to provide quality hoof-care, while enjoying the High Desert of the Pacific Northwest.

At his core, Ralph Hampton is a farrier. Not like Jack is in construction or Jill is an administrator. The Rosevine, Texas, shoer is a throwback to the days when a farrier fulfilled an important role in a small rural town. “This is not something you do for a living,” he says. “This is something you do for life.”

There’s something satisfying about watching a cutting horse doing its job well. The speed, agility and balance of the horse to mirror a cut cow as it desperately tries to return to the safety of its herd is mesmerizing and thrilling all at once.

It might seem elementary, but the best way to clear away the clutter is to keep things simple and rely on the basics.

When he was a young man, being a farrier wasn’t on Drew Golden’s radar. Born on Long Island, N.Y., he didn’t even have much interaction with horses. Instead, his passion rested elsewhere. Golden was an accomplished musician, studying the subject and playing saxophone in bands. He still plays in a band today, making the time between a busy work schedule and family time.

In some marriages, a spouse knows with amazing accuracy what the other is thinking without that person telling them. Their clairvoyance is earned by building familiarity with the other person so much so that their thought patterns become predictable. In farriery, there are a few married couples where either spouse can look at a trimmed foot and recognize the approach in their partner’s trimming or shoeing work.

There’s an old saying that time heals all wounds. It is overstated, but it certainly applies to equine athletes. Although not true in every case, many horses recover from a myriad of foot and lower limb problems if given ample time off from training and competition so they can recover. That’s a wonderful thought, but a luxury few track shoers enjoy. Georgetown, Ky., farrier Steve Norman knows that reality all too well. For more than 45 years, he’s handled footcare for Thoroughbreds on the track and at farms. He’s built a practice to where he now primarily works for larger barns and farms.

“And though she be but little, she is fierce.” Helena famously des­­cribed Hermia this way in A Mid­sum­mer’s Night Dream. In fact, since William Shakespeare’s words first were uttered on stage in the late 1500s, it’s been used countless times to describe people and things. When Placerville, Calif., farrier Marijke Ellert opens up her rig, the quote is there for all to see, emblazoned on the back wall. The word “FIERCE” is prominent by appearing in all capital letters.