The best farriers on earth

I have the best farriers on earth. My guy Craig, and his apprentice John come every six weeks. To say that I am obsessed with feet is putting it mildly. In the past, I have had horses that had foot problems. Of course those problems were not caused by neglect, but that does not matter. They had to have shoes on a regular schedule, or they got sore/lame.

I get pretty antsy if my prisoners don't get their feet done on a regular schedule. Logically, I know they won't die, or become lame overnight if they chip a foot, but I can't stand it. It makes me crazy. I know everyone has their "thing" - horses too skinny/fat/unmannerly/whatever, but tidy feet are mine. This year has been wet, and warm (up till this month), so their feet have grown fast. In 4 weeks they are ready for a trim, so I spend the next two weeks lamenting the fact that it will be two more weeks before Craig and John come to do their thing, and carefully averting my eyes from the agonizing chips! Yes, I am crazy. It makes Joleen laugh. I am serious though. I can't stand even looking at feet that are all chipped up, or obviously too long. It makes me want to grab a belt sander and fix 'em up.

So back to Craig and John. They come faithfully every six weeks. Craig trims Prisoner Y, and John does Prisoner X. They both do a great job. Craig is so good with Baxter. Baxman had the scratches/photosensitivity so bad this year that we could barely pick up his hind feet, but Craig got him done, and nobody died. YAY! John is so careful with my old girl Susie. She is arthritic, and has trouble with her hind legs. He is gentle, and gives her all the time she needs to be comfortable. She actually dozes while he trims her. I love these guys. I just hope when Craig is famous and has all the H/J barns calling him that he will be willing to keep coming out for my meager two trims. I am not above bribing and paying bonuses to insure he will keep coming out.

This year, John is over 21, so he will get the usual farrier Christmas present - a nice bottle of Crown Royal. Craig said that I am his only customer who ever gives him a Christmas present. Can that be true??? Surely not. Well, I guess in a way that is a good thing. If it were me, I would dump the stingy people and stay with the one who gave me good booze, but I am a bit mercenary :) I was at the liquor store buying the booze and had pulled the boxes off the shelf and put them on the counter by the register. The guy at the register asked me didn't I want the gift boxes? I was like Huh? He said there were gift boxes with crystal glasses for the same price. I said Hell Yeah! I am all about free, and the nice crystal glasses make me look like a little less of a cheap skate :-) See the glasses? They're even etched. It was nice of the guy to point them out.

Soon I will take off to meet them. I usually take them a soda, but I think today I will take some hot chocolate. It is way warmer today than it was earlier this week (highs in the high teens with 30-40 mph wind!), but it is wet, windy, and about 35. I think I will take some hot water with me and make a mash for the prisoners. They like that. Stay warm everyone!