Roland’s nags and nails: there’s nothing like a good frog trim
There are many pleasures in life, but none so bizarre or as enjoyable as a good frog trim. I’m telling you, there’s nothing like it.
Take one scraggy and misshapen frog, then apply a really sharp knife to both sides. Voila, a really smart and tidy frog making a perfect “V” optimised for its use as a breaking and anti-slip device.
There is a good chance the men with the white coats will be coming to take me away now I’ve admitted my frog fetish, but I don’t care! It’s just so satisfying when it happens.
Anyway, I was reflecting on those things in life that bring pleasure, no matter how bizarre, and I realise that there are a few unusual things that only those who work as farriers or with horses will experience.
For example, the smell of burning hoof. I know it’s a marmite thing, but for those that like it it’s very alluring.
Another example is the smell of stinky hoof. A whiff of bacteria (old cabbage) and hmmmm… Bisto. I feel at home.
This brings me on to to a farrier’s ability to clear a room. Walk into any clean environment, such as a shop, and wow, the stink of horse is overpowering to the point where I have actually seen people recoil from the smell.
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Kris, my training farrier, smells worse than me as he does all the shoe fitting. Often shopkeepers say that they can smell burning. But no, the smell is Kris and it’s just the aroma of burning hoof on him. It’s always a source of amusement.
I have yet to really enjoy the nuances of nailing shoes on, but I’m sure there are some very satisfying “driven nails”. I know that when I’m regularly fitting shoes, I will be able to help Kris clear some shops. Oh the simple pleasures in life!
Until next week,
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.