Roland’s nags and nails: time to go back to work
Happy New Year! It seems ages since I wrote my last blog, but last week was my first full week back to work after a really nice long break. My word did it hurt! My hamstrings had, for some reason, shortened themselves, my back had lost its strength and my hands had gone soft. Last week was almost as bad as my first week… but not quite!
Thinking of my first week brings back some painful memories. It seems like such a long time ago now — I was a bit plump, completely green and had no idea what on earth was going on. I remember being utterly confused about which shoes went with which horse, what my tools did, as well as what they were called, and it taking nearly 10 minutes to get one shoe off (I was probably using the wrong tool)! I was also meeting my training farrier’s (Kris) customers for the first time and seeing their semi-disguised shock at meeting me — an old apprentice!
A lot has changed since then. I am considerably slimmer, have some understanding of what I’m doing and now almost all of Kris’s customers know me reasonably well. One sure-fire way to tell how well they know me is if they need to ask if I prefer tea or coffee. Those that know me well know I like coffee and how I drink it — just milk. Those that don’t, need to ask. One such customer had to ask and I said my usual — coffee please, just milk. A minute or two later they brought me a glass of milk. Kris and I had a job to keep a straight face as I drank my milk. Now if I’m asked how I have my coffee, I say I have it white!!
Finally, I intend to continue with this blog for the time being, as I know I was umming and erring before Christmas about whether to give it up or not. Thanks for bearing with me and hopefully I can keep it interesting.
Until next week,
Roland
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.