This week we have a fine example of the independent-spirit brand of American horseshoer. You don't have to call him a farrier, because he is perfectly happy being a horseshoer. In fact, he seems perfectly happy, period.
Ricky Price lives in Ramona, California and has used shoeing horses as a way to live the good life in the hills east of San Diego. In this nice audio slideshow from San Diego Online, you'll see Ricky (and his fantastic mustache) and you'll hear the sounds that he hears--horses, hammer on anvil, his pickup truck, the buzz of his grinder, a steel shoe being released from the pulloff jaws with a clatter.
Somewhere, there's the Other San Diego, with all the hustle and bustle, but Ricky's beyond all that, or at least he's east of it, out past San Diego Wild Animal Park. He won't cross Interstate 15, which is sort of a dividing line between San Diego, the sprawl, and San Diego County, the place where people like Ricky Price can and do live. He starts the day when he's ready. He finishes it when he's done. He still has time and energy to ride every night when it's over. He can still hear himself think, and one thing he thinks is that he can help a horse relax and enjoy being shod.
In the "Voice of San Diego" article that goes with this multimedia gem, Ricky Price gives the reporter a Lesson in Lifestyle...as only an independent American horseshoer who has found his place on the map--or is it off the map, Ricky?--can.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
