Appreciation post: that one day last spring where every shoe fit perfect on the first try

I had a Friday back in April where three horses in a row had feet so close to ideal I barely had to touch the hoof knife. No recut heels, no reset clips, no trimming twice. The last one was a 15-year-old mare on a farm out near Grangeville and her owner even said "you must be having a good day." Anyone else ever get a weirdly perfect streak like that, or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

valgibson2mo ago

Man that's the dream right there. I swear those days are like a gift from the farrier gods, you just take them and don't question it. Last fall I had a streak of four sound Standardbreds, all with good angles and no flares, and I nearly wept. Makes up for the ten in a row that fight you on every hoof.

harper_wells2mo ago

Ngl ten in a row fighting you? I'd have quit.

harper_wells29d ago

@valgibson knows what I'm talking about, those perfect days are rare. But the angle nobody brings up is how much of that perfect streak is actually the horse reading you. I had a Friday back in April where three horses in a row had feet so close to ideal I barely had to touch the hoof knife. No recut heels, no reset clips, no trimming twice. The last one was a 15 year old mare on a farm out near Grangeville and her owner even said "you must be having a good day." The old mare stood like a statue, no fidgeting, no leaning, just pure trust. When the horse decides you're not a threat and stands square on their own, the trim damn near trims itself. That's the real magic, not just the foot shape but the animal cooperating.