Kentucky Horseshoeing School - Episode 409
Tucked away in the rolling hills of Mt. Eden, KY sits a school most people have never heard of and probably never knew existed. The Kentucky Horseshoeing School is a place where wanna-be farriers come (from all over the country and the world I might add) to learn the basics of horseshoeing. The training is intense (sometimes 8-22 weeks) with classroom instruction and several hands-on activities. Basic forging principles is a must to be a good farrier along with hoof trimming, shoe shaping and a good understanding of equine anatomy.
Most of the students are young guys who either grew up around horses or hoped to one day carve out a career shoeing horses. But there was one young lady in the school who seemed to be holding her own against the guys. She hailed from California and was quite an interesting sight to see amongst a sea of grungy guys. Truth be told, several women enter the program. Unfortunately, most drop out citing the grueling work and long days. I hope our gal passed with flying colors.
I couldn’t believe how physically demanding the work was and how much effort went into shoeing a horse. I also didn’t realize a horse must get new shoes every 5-6 weeks—it’s kinda like how we need a new pedicure every few weeks to keep the toes shining. Plus Old Trixie walks a lot better with new shoes and she’s a happier horse with them on.
By far, the most shocking aspect of training…involved the use of cadaver legs. Yes, you heard right. The school uses several cadaver legs to practice on….so they don’t maim a horse with a nail or some other implement. It’s a good practice standard to have, but you don’t want to be around when it’s time to go to the freezer to grab the newest cadaver leg.
The Kentucky Horseshoeing School is the brainchild of owner Mitch Taylor. He hopes to open a bigger, better school in Lexington, KY. Nothing pleases him more than to train the next generation of farriers - with a lifelong dream to further the development of this sometimes forgotten craft.
Yolanda Vazquez
Most of the students are young guys who either grew up around horses or hoped to one day carve out a career shoeing horses. But there was one young lady in the school who seemed to be holding her own against the guys. She hailed from California and was quite an interesting sight to see amongst a sea of grungy guys. Truth be told, several women enter the program. Unfortunately, most drop out citing the grueling work and long days. I hope our gal passed with flying colors.
I couldn’t believe how physically demanding the work was and how much effort went into shoeing a horse. I also didn’t realize a horse must get new shoes every 5-6 weeks—it’s kinda like how we need a new pedicure every few weeks to keep the toes shining. Plus Old Trixie walks a lot better with new shoes and she’s a happier horse with them on.
By far, the most shocking aspect of training…involved the use of cadaver legs. Yes, you heard right. The school uses several cadaver legs to practice on….so they don’t maim a horse with a nail or some other implement. It’s a good practice standard to have, but you don’t want to be around when it’s time to go to the freezer to grab the newest cadaver leg.
The Kentucky Horseshoeing School is the brainchild of owner Mitch Taylor. He hopes to open a bigger, better school in Lexington, KY. Nothing pleases him more than to train the next generation of farriers - with a lifelong dream to further the development of this sometimes forgotten craft.
Yolanda Vazquez
Labels: Kentucky farrier horses
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