Howdy!
I sure am glad you’ve stopped by for a visit! I hope you will allow me to introduce myself…this won’t take too long.
Back in 1866 — No, wait. That’s how old I sometimes feel! Make that 1966, I became the challenge my folks didn’t bargain for. By 1969 I knew I was going to “do something” with Horses. That was the year my uncle put me on the back of a great big, huge, Horse (pony) and told me, “If ya don’t fall off, you’re riding.”
Well, I didn’t fall off right away and was hooked. That great big, huge, Horse (pony) treated me like I was a king. She allowed me to be nervous, scared, and thrilled. Needless to say, I was in love because this was the first animal that spoke to me! She told me, “Relax. Enjoy the sharing and have fun.” When I finally listened to her, boy, did I ever have a great time. Every day I would go and brush her, clean her, and feed her. After a few months of commitment my uncle gifted me my first “real” friend. Her name? DUSTY.
We shared 15 wonderful years together, even though I got too big to ride that awesome, great big, huge Shetland Pony. I learned quite a bit about horsemanship with her. Unfortunately, by the time I was a teenager and riding high school rodeo, I had lost some of my Horse sense (only because I knew it all).
I later worked as a cow hand on a 72,000 acre beef ranch in Moose, Wyoming. This is a ranch that works today, much in the same way cow work was done 150 years ago — on a spread this size. From Horse back! I started out like any other “green pea” — pulling the rear, mending fences, and basically doing whatever “the real cowboys” didn’t want to do. (I can honestly say if there is hate in my body, it is only there for fence work.)
After a couple years I moved up the chute to “real cowboy” status, and enjoyed every single minute of it. I know in my next life what I want to do. I want to be a “real cowboy”. There is for me nothing more Spiritual than earning money from the back of a Horse, surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. For 15 rewarding years this is how I spent my days.
In 2003 the ranch was sold to a company that wanted to make a dude ranch operation, and because of my father’s failing health, I moved back home to Georgia. It became very clear “on horseback” jobs were not that plentiful in the Peach State, so I decided if I couldn’t work off the back of a Horse, I’d learn to work under a Horse.
I researched and interviewed many local farriers about how they learned to “shoe” Horses. One name and organization kept coming up — a shoeing school in Northwest Georgia. I enrolled in their 16-week course (which was actually only 12 weeks). I was certified a Journeyman I Farrier and turned loose on the Horse’s feet world.
Fear not! The spirits of the Horses conspired to introduce me to my Mentor; a gentleman who thinks about Horses like I do…that they are a gift, a friend to help us lighten our burdens, and a soul partner in the animal world. In a word: HORSES. My Mentor’s name? Keith E. Seeley.
He took me on as his apprentice and began to deprogram all of the myths I had picked up over the years about shoes and how Horses had to have them. Once I decided to listen and learn about my four-legged friends’ feet, the more I began to understand why everything I had been taught over the years was based on antique uninformed information.
Having apprenticed with Keith for more than a year and working directly with him on Horses of many breeds, disciplines, and leg/hoof ailments, I renewed a commitment to myself and every Horse I have and will come into contact with…to aid in the complete health of the Horse.
So enough about me… Let’s talk about your friend, your beloved HORSE!!!