My horseshoer…otherwise known as my farrier…El hombre con los herraduras…he has relocated. Dammit! He says he will be keeping customers down here in Texas and come back to reset the horse’s shoes in 8 weeks but what if…?
What if Minnow pulls a shoe off or what if… Whaaaa! I just sit cross-legged, holding my head in my hands and rocking back and forth.
Okay…not really. All dramatic effect. The thing is though, as the saying goes, a horse is no better than his feet. I really value my farrier.
He has been working on my horses for years now. He knows all of their personalities and how it’s better to start on the colt and then let him sit awhile and think about it before you come back to him and finish his back feet. He knows who to slap under the belly with the rasp when they are jumping around, acting the fool, and who to just wait on for a moment. They know him and that he doesn’t put up with any nonsense but is kind and not to be feared.
Plus, I just like talking to Matt. He always has a great and different perspective on an issue. He grew up cowboy-ing in another part of the continent, that northern, brush popping part of the world where I haven’t spent much time but I hear makes you look at things pretty black and white. Why-oming...where the men are men, the women are few and the sheep are nervous…where they wear “packers”, lace-up Western work boots with a riding heel. Where they “mosey” over to the 5 and dime store…and when it snows, you stay put.
Darn it. I’ll miss you Matt Kiel. See you in 8 weeks?
When I Ride... 
Boy, I felt like I was standing right there in the barn with you.
… I know you’ll find another, but I also know there’s a level of trust that just takes time to develop.
MJ
Yea, I’m hoping I won’t have to find another one. He says he will come back on a regular basis…we will see…