Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-06-09
sHOEIyG THE KICKERs.
A blacksmith Explains the Intrica'
cies of the Trade.

''How do you manage horse when
I he refuses to be shOdS" asked reporter
of burly blacksmith in South Balti-
more one morning.
The blacksmith drew the hoof of a
large horse between his legs before an
swering the question, and bending the
toe till it nearly touched the forelock,
replied: This is the first thing we try
, as being the handiest remedy We have
in the shop. We just twist the toe up
in this manner and it tightens the mus
cles of the leg until the horse can't
move. 1t is the pain that makes him
docile. He stands there patiently after
that and takes the nails like an old pine
| board.
IF this don't work Thoughts it often
does not with horses from the country
we have another remedy. Do you see
that 'twitch' yonder?''
The blacksmith nodded his head to-
ward carriage spoke dangling from the
wall with a piece OF clotheS-line tied to
/ the end of it.
THAT is the most magical thing in
hOrse-shOeing you ever saw. We wrap
that rope around the beasts upper lip
and 4 man stands continually at his
head holding the spoke. The latter is
used as 4 jack-Screw. Every time the
brute kicks new turn is taken in the
: clOthes-line until the beast gets as much
as he can stand. The fight, as a rule,
never lasts long. After few turns the
most obstreperous kicker is knocked out.
The pain at his nose draws his attention
away from his feet so completely that l
think you could cut his leg off and he
would not know it. Yes, sir; if it were
not for the twitch-simplea as it iS-there
would be lots of horses unShOd or black
( smiths walking around with broken
heads. You may talk about twisting a
! pigs tail or getting the bulge on an ele-
/ phant, but for bringing beast to his
/ senses this little device beats anything
that was ever made.
, The worst horses to shoe entirely are
those that have what is known as blood
in them. Good stock will show itself in
q blacksmith shop every time. L was
, shOeing PreakneSs several years ago and
was unaware of the fact until L had
wreStled with him several minutes. He
had cast shoe while training at Pimli-
co and was brought to a shop in north
west Baltimore where was employed.
The beast laid back his ears and stood
perfectly still until 1 had got hold of
him and was in the act of leveling his
/ hOof. Then he came down on me like
sledgehammer with both his thighs.
His eyes flashed and he stripped his
, teeth clear back TO his jaw-joints. When
lie felt me weaken, he drew back his leg
like bOwstring, and before could re-
cover, sent me sprawling into the dirt.
Luckily, there was no shoe on his foot
at the time, or might have received an
imprint that would have followed me IL
my grave. I nave several marks now
from horse-kicIs all over my body. A
man is never horSeshoer until he ha:
the trade mark stamped upon his conn
tenapce, they say.
''In this part of the city we shoe mor'
mules than any other kind of stock
Sometimes We have as high as six in the
shop together. They doze and dOZe here
before the fire until 4 red-hot eindel
strikes one Of them, or perhaps goes
down his ear. Then there is fun. II
would have been Just as safe TO have
dropped spark into keg of dynamite.
: for q mule never stops kicking until
there is nothing left in his vicinity for
, twenty-five feet all aronnd. have seen
I a mule glue his front feet down there to
! that little hole in the pavement and feel
all round these rafters with his hind legs,
i \ mule will kick when you are looking
at him or kick when you are turning
away. 1t has always been the policy of
blacksmiths never TO trust the animal,
| even when he is dead.
Young horses are also very fiery,
but they generally come to terms after
receiving the second set of shoes. a
horses supreme intelligence soon teaches
/ him that the operation is performed for
his own good, and he submits to it. At
first they have often to be led into dis
tant part Of the shop and a handkerchief
put ever their eyes to shut out the
sparks After few lessons they become
accustomed to the sound of the anvil.
and it is hard to drive them past shop
without letting them come in,
The most difficult case 10 shoe ever
encountered was ia Chester county,
Pennsylvania, several years ago. \
u,aa named Pugh had two mules that
lie wanted shOd. was not working at
the business then, and the animals was
taken over to the shop at the erOss-road.
The first blacksmith who came out was
kicked thres tunes before his body
struck the ground, and had both legs
DrOrtn. The twp mules were driven
/ home and had to go all winter without
shoes, for there was no blacksmith in
a. Ia1 ar,nfrcrfn tn
shoe them. In the following spring the
owner built crib around the bad mule
and hired a man from neighboring
county to come down and shoe him.
The mule was tightly wedged in be-
tween the bars of the crib when the
blacksmith came up. At sight Of the
toOl-box and the blacksmith's apron the
mule gave au unearthly yell and and pro-
ceeded to kick the rear end of the crib
away. One of his feet got through the
bars, and before he could extricate him
self three farm hands had seized it, and
in few minutes the blacksmith was
busy hammering on the shoes. To put
on the remaining three was found to
be comparatively easy.
Sometimes we have to string a
horse up if he unusually stubborn. Re-
Gently we had case here in which We
had to use that pulley up yonder. We
tie the rope around the leg below the
knee-jOint, pass it over the pulley and
draw it tight. The beast is thrown
forward on his front feet and rendered
helpless. His remaining hind leg is
used to keep his body from falling. In
this predicament he becomes an easy
victim of the blacksmith.
''Yes, sir; it is not at all uncommon
to see horse standing ON two legs and
two blaeksmitps pegging away at his re-
manning hoafs with all their might.
This saves time, you see. If we had a
hammock to swing under his belly we
could stick all four Of his shees on at
| the same time.
"Horseshoeing has its redeeming side.
although it is pretty dangerous. Our
pay is good; it is healthy business, and
after one has worked at il year or two
he comes 10 like it, Some men have a
knaok of getting on good terms with a
| horse at first sight. | knew man who