Roland’s nags and nails: suffering a severe case of man flu
For a while this week, I thought I’d caught something nasty in Cairo during our trip to shoe the “pyramid horses” for a charity. I took to my sick bed and wondered if I had malaria or some such disease. I’ve never felt quite so odd and unwell!
It really wiped me out and when I did manage to get back to work for a day, I was back out for the count for another two days. I struggled to the doctors and I am now on man-flu tablets. It was touch and go for a while as is the case with all man-flu, but luckily I’ve pulled through.
I should say that Kris, my training farrier, had the flu before me and managed to keep going. Full respect! I have never felt so utterly poorly in my life, so I have no idea how he kept going. However, if I ever have to see another episode of Jeremy Kyle again, it will be too soon.
It’s a big week for us this week as Kris is running the shoeing competition at Devon County Show. It’s quite an undertaking and he has had to fit in all the preparation and organisation around running his busy business.
The shoeing competition will run from Thursday to Saturday and I will be helping him. It’s hard work and we will work tirelessly from dawn to dusk throughout the show to keep the competition flowing smoothly.
At some point, I will have my own shoe-making class to partake in. As I sit here thinking about that, the butterflies are stirring. I know that on the day itself they will be well and truly swarming.
Until next week
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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.