For the past several years I have had the pleasure of being the onsite farrier for the Indiana Eventing Association’s Horse Trials, Classic Training & Novice 3-Day Event and once again had the privilege this year. Thursday and Friday tend to be slow days of sitting around and reading interspersed with occasionally building a spare set of shoes or checking the shoes on a horse for a competitor. Saturday is completely different however. Saturday means lots of cross-country which equals lost shoes. While other farriers are in the 10-minute box and at steeplechase, I am still in the stable area fixing shoes that came off during cross-country or packing feet for horses that are sore. While the 14+ hour days can be long, I always enjoy the weekend.
As a farrier, one of the most challenging parts of working a show is being able to match another farrier’s work. While some shoe styles are more common than others, with close to 300 different horses at the show there are various shoes, styles of trimming, and quality of work. While it can be difficult to match everything the last farrier did, it is also one of the things I love about this job, getting to help each person and horse with what they need. At Dixie’s Farrier Service we are very committed to caring for our clients and their horses, one of the ways we did so this year was by providing free water and coffee for competitors as well as giving out educational posters about thrush and laminitis.