I have had some dealings with aggressive farriers. I have had some bad horses too but this does not excuse a frustrated shoer for striking my horse so heavily that the animal became afraid of that person. I don’t think it’s even necessary to hit an animal, be it a dog, cat, or horse with anything other than your hand for on-the-spot correction. My neighbor has accused me of "spoiling" my horses because of this philosophy; she has all but told me I "ruin" my horses. I think not, and I’ll explain that point in a minute.

On a cold winter day in 1997, I called my usual farrier out to have the feet of my two boys trimmed. At the time I owned a 15:1hh paint named "Andy" and a yearling BLM mustang named "Reese" (tamed at the time but still a wildman!). I should have called off the appointment because the ground had turned to gumbo after all the snow, but they needed their feet done. Reese did poorly, but the shoer was very patient with him even when the colt reared up several times. I guess the man was tired by the time he had to do Andy and his patience had gone threadbare.

Andy kept jerking his feet and being a pill; every time he did this, he slipped in the mud and exacerbated the situation. After about the second or third time, the shoer lost control and blew up; he struck Andy twice, very hard in the ribs with the pointed (nail pulling) end of his hammer. I was amazed that Andy suffered no broken ribs. Of course he behaved for the farrier after that. I had him finish the job because I assumed that this was a one-time outburst of frustration. The horse did not seem terribly injured but was obviously very sore in the spot were he was struck, and continued to be sore there for about three days. He was also visibly frightened of this man.

Sometimes people have really bad days and do things they would not do under less stressful conditions. I had assumed that this was such a day for the shoer; I had chosen not to talk to him about it at the time because he was so upset. When the boys came due for trims again, I called this man, hoping to get assurances that it was a one-time outburst and that it would never happen again. I consider myself an understanding human being capable of forgiveness. What I got surprised me: he said that Andy was a "jerk" and deserved the beating. He went on to say that the hammer blows were no more that a "tickle" and could not possibly have hurt him.[Well, that must explain why he was so sensitive in his ribs for three days, he was still reeling in laughter from the "tickling" he received.] The shoer also stated that he would correct any horse at his discretion, regardless of the owner’s wishes. He also accused me of "spoiling" my animals by not being firm enough with them. Incidentally, he is friends with my neighbor who accuses me of ruining my horses; they must swap gossip.

Needless to say, I have a new farrier.

Now, why it is NOT necessary to beat a horse into submission: Reese. I got him from the BLM when he was eight months old and he was truly a wildman! I had a helluva time halter breaking him; he reared up constantly; but patience persevered and now he walks better on a lead line than any horse I have ever owned. When he was really green, he flattened his ears, bucked once and threw me. I didn’t pound on him but got right back on and continued my ride. Later, when he flattened his ears at me again, I pulled his head around, into my knee, and yelled at him. He never bucked again. Whenever he got punchy during his first year under the saddle, I would pull his head into my knee and yell. This was usually all that I needed to do with him; he hated this so much that I usually only had to do it once or twice (at most) to correct a problem. I have never beaten this horse.

Today, Reese is three years old and anyone can ride him. My best friend’s eight-year-old daughter started riding him when he was still two last summer. I let her get on him because I trust him. He takes good care of anyone who rides him. Bar none, he is the best horse I have ever owned. You can ask for any pace, any speed, any thing that’s within his abilities, and you get it with little to no balking and never with an attitude. He is a good boy.

I am so devoted to the mustangs that I adopted another one from the BLM in 1998 and sold Andy in March of ‘99. I also sold a psycho AQHA mare I had to my "you’re ruining your horses" neighbor (the horse bucked her daughter off and she dislocated her hip as a result, so I have been told). My neighbor was so convinced that she could properly train the mare, where I had failed, that she bought her from me. The horse wasted no time in injuring her daughter.

Meanwhile, the newest mustang I have, Cody, is a beautiful dun stud colt. He will be two this year and I can’t wait to ride him next May. Like Reese, he is very well mannered around people (he didn’t use to be, that too took a lot of work). He does not buck when a saddle is placed on his back; he loads and trailers well, and walks with me without a lead rope. He is turning out to be a terrific horse as well. He has nice Spanish barb characteristics so I doubt I will ever geld him.