The Huron Expositor, 1976-04-22, Page 19;:SEAFORTH ONTARIO, APRIL 22, 1976SPCOND SECTION PAGES 1A — BA
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`"" Arrirtitirit4wvVasn't much to look at
arl.js,,,,9c400,-, just,. an old, frame, red
„.....YgaIROAtIgtt.,n, rambling shop near the
cornee ethe Village'cross-roads, Outside the
double doors were adorned • with prancing
horses, stencilled in life-like stance and
painted white. Outside, in winter, were
sleighs and cutters; in ,summer 'buggies,
phaetons, sulkies, wagons and sundry farm
implements awaiting repaiis. Inside, the worn
plank floor, impregnated with the animal fluid
secreted by the kidneys, of incontinent
equines, was littered with hoof parings and
horse droppingi.
The windows were streaked on the outside,
grimy on the inside and partially concealed
with ancient cobwebs. Here -and there were
upturned nail ,kegs for the customers'
convenience while waiting for service.
Overhead on the two by ten-inch stringers
were rows of horseshoes - dainty lightweight
shoes for Morgan roadsters and heavy ones
for Clydesdale work horses.
In one corner was a miscellaneous head of
discarded shoes plus a -varied •askirtment of
metal odds and ends. Near the door was the
work bench with its array of craftsman's tools;
instruments employed in his mechanical
operations. On one side near the middle of the
shop was the forge' with its dusty leather
bellows and protruding arm. Learning to work
the fire was an art. Nearby was the ,massive
anvil mounted =atop the butt end of a
.good-sized saw-log and at its base a
half-barrel or tub with' its dank, scummy,.
mal-odorous water' contents.
Frequently, a 'rear shed displayed an
assortment of lumber, scantlings and planks
as well as a variety of carpenter's tools. The
smithy was .a man of many talents whose
services were indispensable in the rural
community.
• A Mighty Man
"The smith, a mighty man is he
With large and sinewy hands;
The muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands. •
His .hair is crisp and black and long;
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat;
He -earns whate'er he can.
Week in, week out, from morn to night
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy. sledge
"Ye
With measured beat and slow. "
(Longfellow)
It was a joyous experience for small boys on
their way to and from the one-room country
school to watch the old smithy heat a shoe
red hot in the glowing coals and pound it into
shape on the anvil. Clouds of sparks arched
upward to beat upon his leathern apron,
partially split up the' middle and tied around
his waist with a long strap or thong, to fall at
length on the gathering mound at the anvil's
base.
Grey clouds of steam hissed as he plunged
the hot shoe into the water. Already he had
removed the old shoe from the animal's foot,
pared the excess growth. of horny substance
with pliers 'and knife with its curved blade,
smoothed it with the rasp and trimmed the
frog or tender horn in the middle of the sole.
Lifting the 'leg' and grasping it betwen his
knees, he applied the shoe while the acrid,
nostril-tinkling smell of burned hoof filled the
air.
With his e‘ier present rasp he smoothed the
,outer ring or surface. Perhaps he heated the,
shoe again and pounded it for an exact fit.
Then he drove nails through holes in the shoe
giving each a slight bend outward and through
the hoof at the proper angle. Placing the foot
ov'In an upright device,. propping the leg h his
lap, he drew the rasp across the hoof just
below the protruding nail and tapped the tip
therein. A few deft strokes trimmed' any
exposed areas to the shape of the shoe. At
tiitieS the smith talked to the boys of long ago
when as an apprentice to his father he shod
oxen as well as horses.
Old Hammers .
"Last eve I paused beside the blacksmith's
door
And heard his anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the foor
(113y W. G. Strong)
" •
Old hamnters worn with beating years of
time.
'How many anvils have you had,' said 1,
`To wear and batter _all those hammers so?'
'Just one,' said he and then with twinkling
eye,
'The anvil wears the hammers out, you
know.' " ' (Anon)
Most of the old blacksmith shops are gone -
gone with the wagons and sleighs of
yesteryear but there are grown-up men in
offices and factories who look back across
Time's relentless tide and remember the
pleasant hours spent in and around "ye olde
•shoppe." •
Half a century agci and more the average
man drove a horse and buggy and the •more
prosperous a Model T. Today' horseless
carriages are an everyday necessity and only
the well-to-do can afford horses, Mechanizat-
ion gf farm machinery has made horse-power
obsolete although some horse fanciers still
keep them 'for show purposes.
Technology has not , radically - altered
horse-shoeing reputed to have been
introduced into England by William the
conqu 'eror. On the continent as early as the
fifth century sacks or-sandals were fitted on
horses' hooves. It is:recorded that slippers of
straw were used in Japan. Under natural
conditions shoeing is, unnecessary. The horny
casing of the horse's 'foot is sufficient to
protect the extremity of the limb but when the
animal is made a beast of burden in moist
climates this protection wears away or breaks
off and the foot becomes ill-shaped.,
In modern parlance a blacksmith deals with
horse-shoeing and other types of ironwork.
The farrier deals exclusively with horse-
shoeing and combines that arat' with the
•
profession ' of veterinary surgery. He is
expected to know as much if not more about a
horse's foot than the veterinarian. Horses
must be shod regularly so as to avoid injury to
the animal and financial loss to the owner.
Recent Census
A recent census estimates there are at least
10,000 horses chomping grass in summer and
hay in winter in, the Ottawa Valley and
perhaps a million or more stabled across
Canada. Algonquin College in Ottawa noted a
rising demand for shoesmiths and qstablished
a course at Greely just outside the Nation's
Capital where students recruited by Canada
Manpower are learning the art in order to
cater to the demand for service.. Students,
usually males, attend classes eight hours
daily, five days a week, a twenty-week course
with little financial remuneration.
Stacks of horse hooves, severed at the
fetlock, are stored in a, freezer on the site.
Grisly but practical. these serve as training
aids' to fledgling farriers. Like cadavers to
medical students, the hooves make great
practice models before working up to the real
live ones. The anatomy and 'physiology of the
animal's leg is studied with particular
attention being paid to the structure of the
hoof and foot. Topics include prevention of
lameness and the detection of hoof defects
and mal-formations. •
Upon completing preliininary training the
,.,stddents learn to trim the horny-casing on the
feet of live-. horses. Horse shoes can be
purchased direct from the, factory in all sizes
and styles but the farrier claims he can build a
better shoe to fit the foot of the horse rather
than making the horse's foot conform to the
factory shoe.A strip of mild steel some
thirteen inches in length is heated in the heart
of the forge till it glows.
With tongs and hammer the steel is
moulded on the anvil and beaten to fit
'aeettrately to the circumference of the hoof'
and project slightly beyond the heekShoes,
are made as light es is compatible witk he
wear demanded of the4 FiNiag the 010# to,
the foot can be troublesome-especially if the
horse decides he'd rather yo '-didn't,
The work is intensely demanding physically
but one female at the 'school with a love for
horses finds it satisfying except for having to
grapple with a recalcitrant animal. A few
blacksmiths still operate in the area and some
students may deCide to apprentice for a year
or so but those who take the *scribed course
will be ready to start business much earlier.
Probably many will have mobile units' once
they start operations.
Housecalls will be the order of the day since
it is often easier to go to the customer than;
have the customer come to the ' farrier.
Employment opportunities are promising and
qualified students should' have little difficulty
getting work.
Two Shoes
We do not know when the first horseshoes
Were hammered out of iron but today all the
average man can afford in the equine line is a
set of two shoes: H orseshoe-pitching was a
pastime ary,eneration ago but it seems to 'be
staging a enaissance.1,ti was and is a rugged,
no hold-barred game. From pioneer days,
men and boys from eighty 'to' eight have'
matched skill in tossing the sh oe at an upright
stake.
Amateurs don't need elaborate equipment.
The basic requirement is two stakes some
forty feet apart set in a squared pit of moist
earth. It does not matter " whether the
contestant prefers to hold the shoe by the
front centre or'with a finger'on one end. Some
experts toss them end over end while others
strive for the three and a half turns The vital.
point is that the shoe shall sail through the air
and come to rest around the post.
"It's a ringer. Let's see you top it." In an
era of commercial entertainment it is good to
see men matching skills and to hear the clang
of metal on metal or listen to the arguments as
to which shoe is the winner. National
Associations may lay down precise rules and
regulations for organized tournaments where
the. stars , of the game throw ringers with
n -halant accuracy but much of the pleasure
of thi leisurely pastime has vanished.
Olde F rge
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