Attention is often paid to forging temperatures, hammer blows and anvils, and rightly so. There are other aspects of forging that are equally important, yet don’t get as much consideration. “A lot of people have problems because they’re just all over the place,” Sacramento, Calif., farrier John Williams told attendees at a late summer forging clinic at The Horseshoe Barn. “They’re just spread out all over their anvil. They throw their stock up there, any old place, and then they just take their hammer to the stock.”

Aluminum stock remains a popular choice for a variety of horses, primarily due to its lighter weight. Another advantage is that aluminum can be shaped hot or cold. While the typical thinking might be that racing plates and lighter shoes will be shaped cold, and heavier aluminum shoes like those used for hunters and jumpers will be put in the forge, that also proves to be a matter of personal preference.

The earliest evidence of human cultural behavior is the manufacture of tools. Early man was developing tools to make tasks easier for at least 2.6 million years. Oldowan tools — the oldest-known stone tool industry — have been unearthed throughout Africa with the oldest found in Gona, Ethiopia.