I hadn't brought any small shoes. Now I'd have to use my forge to cut down the larger shoes. I would have to slow down. Didn't know myself. My second dismay was discovering that the stories about mules are all true.
Mules ARE sneaky, cagey, stupid, and nasty.
They can kick the hat off your head with a hind foot while you're shoeing a front. You can think you have a nice, sweet, docile one, and suddenly you're on the ground with hoofprints all over your body. The first mules that first afternoon weren't bad. The only trouble was getting used to the differently shaped feet. The second, third, and fourth days the mules got progressively worse.