In some respects, Greg Fulgham’s job is like being a manicurist.
Only more prone to violence.
“I’ve been stepped on, pinned and kicked in places you would never even think about,” said Fulgham, who has been a professional farrier for 15 years.
A farrier is a specialist in taking care of horse’s hooves, including the trimming, balancing and shoeing horses. It’s part manicurist, part podiatrist, part blacksmith and part animal psychologist.
It’s an ancient profession. Farriers have been around almost since horses were first domesticated. While technology has changed over the centuries, the farrier’s job remains an up-close-and-personal interaction between the farrier and the horse.
That’s where the psychology of horses comes into play. Understanding the animal, Fulgham said, is the first order of business in the shoeing process.
“Once you’ve been doing this for a while, normally within the first 30 seconds you will know how the horse is going to react,” Fulgham said. “Some horses are like a little kid — they want to see what they can get away with. Some are scared. Some are just mean. When you’re starting out, trying to build your business, you’re not picky. You take what you can get, and you get horses nobody else wants to fool with. That will weed you out pretty fast. You have to stick with it and learn.”
Fulgham is from the Double Springs community in Oktibbeha County. Coincidentally, Double Springs was on the old Pony Express route between Winston County and Columbus, which became Highway 82.
He grew up with horses and worked with them at Mississippi State’s research farm for 10 years. Although he had never shoed horses, becoming a farrier seemed to be the best avenue for being his own boss.
“I had trimmed some of my horses’ hooves, just enough to be dangerous,” Fulgham said. “When I saw an opportunity to get into the business, my wife and I talked about it. Our two kids were little and we felt like if I was going to do it, this was the time.”
In 2008, Fulgham left MSU to pursue his business, enrolling in an eight-week course at Casey & Son Horseshoeing School in northwest Georgia. Fulgham is BWFA (Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association) certified and has customers all over north Mississippi.
“It takes, on average, about an hour to shoe a horse, depending on the condition of their hooves,” Fugham said.
Some horse owners keep their horses shoed year-round, some for certain times of the year and others not at all. It’s similar to a person going barefoot or wearing shoes.
Shoeing is strongly recommended for horses that live on rocky, hard soil, those with weak hoof walls or certain medical conditions (arthritis, laminitis).
Trimming, however, should be a regular part of horse care. A horse’s hoof is much like a person’s nails, except a horse’s hoof grows very fast. Typically a horse’s hooves should be trimmed five or six times per year.
The demand for those services keeps Fulgham busy.
He trims or shoes about 60 horses per week. The cost ranges from $90 to $140 depending on the shoe options a horse owner desires. A set of shoes usually last five to six weeks, he said.
A big part of the job is judging how much trimming is necessary and how the hoof should be shaped in order to ensure the shoe is applied properly.
“Some horses are chronic shoe pullers (kicking off shoes),” Fulgham said. “Sometimes you’ll have to shoe a horse two or three times to figure out how to keep a shoe on.”
Fulgham said a good farrier is essential to a horse’s health.
“You have to know what you’re doing and understand what the horse needs,” he said. “Leg injuries are very common in horses and a lot of times that’s related to the condition of the hooves.”
Fulgham said he’s never regretted his decision to become a farrier.
“I’ve always loved being around horses and I love having my own business, so it’s a perfect job for me,” he said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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