I believe it was 2009 when British farrier Kevin Howes of Ridgeway Forge Farriers starred in this video about what it's like to be a farrier for Kent Television and the general promotion of British farriery.
I've always meant to post it on the blog, but now regret that I saved this one for a rainy day.
Kevin was killed in a car accident a few days ago in the county of Kent, England where he lived and served as farrier at the Kent County Show.
It's terribly sad to learn of anyone's death. A very moving article on the website Kent Online about Kevin Howe's death mentions that he underwent skin cancer surgery for a malignant tumor while in apprenticeship, and that he completed college and his apprenticeship even though he struggled with dyslexia.
Another article about Kevin and his work can be read on the This Is Kent news site.
Among the racehorses credited to Kevin Howes was the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, War of Attrition.
David Chapman Jones, founder of Tendonology, worked with Kevin Howes and remembers: “Kevin was a first class farrier who I trusted totally with the racehorses in my care for tendon treatment. Many top class racehorses are racing today thanks to Kevin's expertise. He was a pleasure to work with and what set him apart was his creativity, imagination and desire to solve a problem. There are so many cases we dealt with where I can say that Kevin's knowledge was as much a part of the treatment process as my input."
Moral of the story: Don't be leaving too many things for a rainy day. It's about time Kevin's upbeat tribute to the job he obviously loved had its day on The Hoof Blog, but I never thought it would be with this news attached to it.
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