[unkle spike]

On the horse shoeing question:

My family is banned from shoeing horses. Back in the late 1940's my Grandpa and Dad were shoeing a draft horse. While Granpa was shoeing a back foot, the horse bit him, he turned around and knocked the horse out with his hammer. He said "there you *** we will do it my way." He shod the horse laying down, and then my Dad, 10 at the time, had to run next door to get a bucket of water to splash on the horse to wake it up. I asked a current neighbor to Grandpa's shop if this story was true, he said it surely was as he remembers my Dad running into their barn with a bucket to get the water to get the horse up, and going back with Dad to see the horse laying there on it's side while Grandpa finished up....

This usually ends the horseshoeing conversation or try this one:

My neighbor wanted me to shoe their horse. I insisted the only way to get a good fit was to "hot shoe" that is have the shoe red hot, and hammer it on so it would be a "shrink fit". The neighbor wouldn't let me do it, so I never really got into shoeing horses.


As far as "My Grandpa was a Blacksmith" I usually ask where, when, and what did he do. Then I refer them to the binder I keep at Demo's with pictures of the 5 generations in my family. I know some are full of it, but at one time in Clinton TN where I demo, there were 8 blacksmiths at one time, and this is a very small town. I also point out there were "specialties" in Blacksmithing: Silversmiths, tinsmiths, shipwrights, coopers, wheelrights, and farriers.