Roland’s nags and nails: another lesson learnt
I always hoped it wouldn’t snow on my apprenticeship. It turns out that snow is not that bad after all. Yes, my feet were cold and yes, so were the horses’, but actually it wasn’t half as bad as I imagined it would be.
I’ve now worked outside for a total of 2 years so I must be getting used to the weather a bit. Had it snowed when I first started my apprenticeship, I am sure I would have struggled. I was, after all, a soft office worker. Not anymore!
I’m more the weather-beaten type, happier outside than in and not really afraid of the weather. That said, I was wearing thermals, including long johns, which apparently, according to Kris, my training farrier, still makes me a softie!
I tried fitting a pair of hind shoes this week, following my successful attempt at fitting front shoes last week. It was a disaster and I kind of forgot all the basic rules to follow. So when Kris came to check the fit, there wasn’t much he could compliment me on and the shoes definitely did not fit.
When I look back at my apprenticeship one day in the future, when I’m a qualified farrier, I will never forget those hind shoes that didn’t fit. It was a painful lesson and also very embarrassing.
As with all painful lessons, it will help me next time I fit shoes, which will be this coming week. I just hope that each pair of shoes I fit will bring me one step nearer to getting that mini break-through.
My apprenticeship so far has been full of “mini-breakthroughs” and I long for the penny to drop with fitting as the learning curve is painful in the meantime.
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Until next time,
Roland
www.twitter.com/nagsandnails
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Roland owned a computer software business until he realised he didn't want to be stuck behind a desk for the rest of his working life. So in 2011 he started the four-year apprenticeship to become a farrier on the borders of Somerset, Devon and Dorset. He became fully qualified in 2014.