May, 1996 Issue of the Forum

*** Welcome to the Forum! ***

I told you last time that there were big changes on the horizon. And the new association name and new look for this publication are here to bear me out.

But this is just the beginning. The next several months have the potential to be an exciting and historic chapter in the history of our profession. An opportunity for American farriers to step forward and demand the kind of respect and recognition we deserve, but are so often denied. (See Marcus Pierce's letter for an example.)

When the time comes, rest assured the Forum will bring you up to speed on the what is going on. In the mean time, I would like for farriers to give some thought to what common interests we share. What goals do we need to work towards as a profession? What are some of the problems that each of us face alone that, together, we might be able to do something about? Let us know what you think. It really is important.

----- CCBWFA Has Gone Regional!

There are a lot of changes going on in the Farrier Industry today. A lot of you know what I'm talking about, and the ones who don't will find out in good time. The only thing I can write about is what's going on with the Carolinas Chapter of the BWFA. The CCBWFA has, I feel, done a lot in our local Equine Industry. But I feel it is time we expanded a little bit. We decided on offering membership in the southeast region. With that in mind we are changing our name and logo. The new name is the Southeastern Horseshoers On Education, "SHOE" for short. We are still a chapter of the BWFA, but we are opening ourselves up to a bigger and brighter future. Everything we do will be just the same, just on a larger scale. One of our Board of Directors had this idea. They thought we should move quickly, so I called several Board Members for possible new names for the association. Then I narrowed it down to five names and called the Officers and Board Members to have them pick their choice for a name and got their vote to go ahead with the name change and asked for a letter stating their vote. SHOE was picked by the majority of the Board. Marcus Pierce helped in contacting some of the Board Members. This whole decision was made openly by the Officers and Board of Directors of this association, so there would be no political back-stabbing involved.

SHOE was a name picked because this association was started by farriers wanting to educate horseowners. Why stop at just horseowners? Why not farriers learning what horseowners, trainers, and veterinarians do and want? That is exactly what we do. That is why our membership consists of horseowners, trainers, veterinarians, suppliers, equine product manufacturers, and the youth of the industry. This association has helped the local horse business. We are working together and learning how to make this whole equine community grow. Now we are expanding to the whole southeast. We want members from all over to participate not only in our clinics, but in clinics across the region. There are many associations that do an incredible job of education, but not for the equine industry as a whole.

The Southeastern Horseshoers On Education is an association started by farriers and run by every walk of the equine community stuck on education. Thank you for your time and support in this equine world!

Sincerely, Jeff Crane President of SHOE

----- Editor's Note: I hear-tell that the new association name "SHOE" was originally thought up by Debbie Pierce, wife of farrier Marcus Pierce of Indian Trail, NC. -DAVE. -----

Dear Editor... You are doing a real fine job with the SHOE newsletter. I just picked up a copy of the AAEP Lameness Exams booklet. A very well done little booklet on examination procedures, purchase exams, even the lameness seal of the AAEP. The brochure was developed by the AAEP through a grant from the Bayer Corporation. Wow! Sponsorship for a brochure. Great!

But my question is: Why in the world, if we as farriers work so hard to work together with veterinarians, does this brochure about lameness exams say not a single word about farriers? I mean the word Farrier, Horseshoer, Blacksmith, or whatever you want to call the person who spends all day under horses working on their feet, is not... no, not once... ever used in this brochure.

Our associations work hard to cooperate with the AAEP and veterinarians. From our farrier tests to our newsletters and magazines. You would think that they could at least say something about the horseshoer's roll in lameness and purchase exams. I think that is not much to ask for. So, can anybody tell me why it wasn't done?
Thanks, Marcus Pierce

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The Farrier & Hoofcare Resource Center - - - - - - SHOE in Cyberspace!

Internet users around the world can now access information about SHOE, including the text of the Forum, on the World Wide Web. SHOE now has pages on The Farrier & Hoofcare Resource Center, a gigantic site entirely dedicated to farrier-related information. To access the SHOE pages go to: HTTP://www.horseshoes.com/ Then follow the link to the directory of farrier associations.

----- SHOE Membership Application

--circle one--

Farriers - $20
Suppliers - $20
Veterinarians - $20
Associations - $20
Horse owners - $17
Trainers - $17
Youth Membership - $10

Please provide your: Name, Phone number, Address, City, State, Zip Code, Date of Birth, and Organizations of which you are a member.

Please make checks payable to: SHOE --send to-- Debi Crane, Secretary 7101 New Town Road Waxhaw, North Carolina, 28173, USA (704) 843-1466

----- Editor's Review... Bruce Daniels' Sunday on the Farm

One of my fondest memories from any farrier event was an evening in a bar in Fletcher NC during a big farrier's convention. Some guys were showing off on the dance floor. Some of the single guys were flirting with the women folk... But what I enjoyed was the free-flowing exchange of farrier "war stories" that was going on in one of the less stentorian corners of the bar, where I was indulging in a moderate number of adult beverages with farriers from the far corners of the nation. Be they left-coast hippies, Vermont Yankees, or the grandsons of gray coated rebels, farriers share a common personal history of dealing with impossible working conditions, unpredictable business trends, crazy horses, and crazier horse owners (God love 'em).

So it is not too surprising that Sunday on the Farm has become one of the favorite books in my collection. No collection of technical drawings or essays on gait analysis here. This book is a collection of "war stories" from Bruce Daniels, one of the best-known veteran farriers alive today. Starting in his early backyard shoeing days when once he found himself extremely motivated to set the world record for packing up a shoeing rig, we follow Bruce's adventures as one horseowner carelessly tries to feed him to a Bengal tiger, then a practical joke gone wrong almost turned a number of other farriers into a lynch mob with Bruce as the lynchee, then there was the time the S.P.C.A. ladies staged a battle-royal cock-fight in the back of a pickup truck... Bruce Daniels shod at the harness training tracks in the fifties and sixties. His book gives those of us who usually work alone out of a rig an insight into what it is like to work all day in a shop in the midst of other farriers.

In Sunday on the Farm, Bruce introduces us to many a memorable character in the profession who we'll never get to meet personally, as they've gone to that big smithy in the sky. Some of them as a direct result of shoeing horses. Food for thought, that.

SUNDAY ON THE FARM was written in its entirety by Bruce Daniels, with editing by Henry Heymering. It appears under the imprint of St. Eloy Publishing and is available on a retail basis through the mail-order bookstore of Hoofcare & Lameness Magazine. This special book is a "small press" edition and quantities will be limited. To order, send $30 per book plus $4 per book ($7 per book in Canada; $15 per book elsewhere) for postage and handling; make check payable to Hoofcare & Lameness and mail to: PO Box 6600, Gloucester, MA 01930 USA. Fax Visa/Mastercard credit card orders to (508)283-8775. Send US funds only.

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SHOE Calendar of Events:

Carolina Pet Expo May 18 9:00am to 9:00pm May 19 10:00am to 6:00pm Charlotte Merchandise mart Contact Jeff or Debi Crane @ 704/843-1466

Latin American Horse Fair May 18 & 19 El Escondite Paso Fino Horse Farm Contact: Marcus Pierce @ 704/753-4576 El Escondite @ 704/846-1496

SHOE Board of Directors Meeting May 23, 7:00pm Sagebrush Stakehouse Monroe, NC Contact Jeff Crane

SHOE Ballots Due July 1. Mail Only to Marcus Pierce 9705 Pierce Road Indian Trail, NC 28079

General Membership Meeting August Contact Jeff Crane

Emergency Animal Rescue Service Training Seminar August 17, 8:00am Indian Trail, NC Contact: Betty Orr 704/272-8298 or Debi Crane

** Forum Advertising **

The following rates apply to all Forum ads with the exception of the SHOE membership application:

Full Page = $40.00
Half Page = $20.00
Quarter Page = $10.00
Eighth Page = $5.00

To purchase ad space, contact the SHOE Secretary at: 7101 New Town Road Waxhaw, North Carolina, 28173, or phone (704) 843-1466.

If your ad contains a picture, reproduction will be best if the image is black & white (not grayscale or color) on paper, or a Macintosh or PC graphic file on a 3.5 diskette. E-mailed graphic files or FAXed-in ads can also be arranged.

----- ** Participating in the Forum **

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Pierce Farrier Supply: 1-800-452-2593. A family owned & operated farrier supply center. VISA & MC accepted. Address: 9705 Pierce Road Indian Trail, North Carolina 28079. Brands carried by Pierce Farrier Supply: Champion Titanium, St. Croix Forge, Kerckhaert, Iron Works, Dutchtown, JB Aluminum Horseshoes, Emerson, Anvil Brand, Victory, Cooper, Capewell, Mustad, Delta, Equilox, Level-It, DS Tools, GE Tools, W-Brand, Save-Edge, Simonds, Bellota, Castle Plastics, Inc., Thera-Flex, Sorbathane, and ShockTamer.

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