Favorite Photo: This Horse Was In Good Hands

by Fran Jurga | 11 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

"You're in Good Hands" by Dwight Usry

This photo just showed up in my email a while ago. I thought it was quite beautiful...and even moreso when I realized what I was looking at.

This horse's toe crack has been patched with PMMA adhesive, which will harden into a shell-like covering that closely mimics the hoof wall. Plastic wrap is placed over the material while it sets and the farrier is smoothing the big patch as it goes through its processes from a pastey liquid to a solid when it is exposed to the air after mixing the two parts together.

The same procedure is used to build up heels, fill in gaps in the wall or sometimes cover a quarter crack patch. A similar process was used in the 2008 Triple Crown by hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay in his work on Big Brown's separations and crack. The material also can be used to glue shoes onto hooves.

By feeling the texture and heat through the plastic, the farrier will know when it is safe to put the foot down. Once hardened, the patch can be rasped and shaped and may be indistinguishable from the "real" wall at the quarters if the job is done with skill.

You can be pretty sure that was the case here; those long fingers that look like they should belong to an artist or musician were Mr. Edgar Watson's, an expert farrier from Keswick, Virginia. Eddie died this fall, and the farrier world hasn't been the same since.

I'd like to thank Dwight Usry of Peak's Forge in Hanover, Virginia for sharing this photo.

Architect's drawing of the Britt-Watson Veterinarian/Farrier Facility to be built in Virginia in memory of farrier Eddie Watson. The location is The Meadow Event Center; The Meadow is the farm where Secretariat was foaled. The farm was recently taken over as a horse show park and will be the new site of the Virginia State Fair.

Be sure to watch for news of Dwight's fundraiser for the Britt-Watson Veterinarian/Farrier Facility to be built in Mr. Watson's memory at The Meadow Event Park, a new horse park and home for the state fair, built on the farm in Doswell, Virginia where Secretariat was born. Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) has already kicked off the fundraising with a $1000 donation. If you'd like to chip in, I can fax the donation form to you or click here to send Dwight an email.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.

Remember Eddie Watson: Memorial Service Details

In memory of farrier Edgar "Eddie" Watson, a service has been planned for Saturday, January 3rd, at 11:00 a.m. at Preddys Funeral Home in Gordonsville, Virginia. This is now official.

Gordonsville is outside Charlottesville, which in turn is between Richmond and Washington, DC.

Funeral home information:
301 N Main Street (Route 33) Gordonsville, VA 22942; tel (540) 832-2111

To write to Shirley Watson: PO Box 235, Keswick, VA 22947

(David Watson is Box 266 in Keswick.)

A web-based "guest book" has been created for anyone who wishes to leave a message for Mr. Watson's family. Click here to go to the guest book.

As one entry says, "We will miss Eddie making everything look easy."

12/28 Update: An official, more detailed obituary has now been published in the Charlottesville newspaper, the Daily Progress. Click here to read it, with details of donations.

12/29 Update: Some of the horse owners whose horses benefited from Mr. Watson's expert care have created a forum topic about him at the Chronicle of the Horse  web site.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.

The Silent Anvil: Mr. Watson

Update: Final plans will be announced in the next day or so about a memorial service to be held in Gordonsville, Virgnia, most likely on Saturday, January 3, 2009. Arrangements are being handled by the Preddy Funeral Home, 301 N Main St, Gordonsville, VA 22942. The closest airports are Charlottesville and Richmond. Thanks to David Watson for the information.

If you are in the farrier profession in the eastern United States, you probably know who I am talking about when I just say "Mr. Watson died".

Edgar Watson, known respectfully as "Mr." and affectionately as "Eddie", lived in Keswick, Virginia and was one of the great "living legends" of not just the farrier world, but the horse world as well.

He will long be remembered for the champions he shod, the beautiful artistry he created at the anvil, and the stories he told, but mostly will be remembered for his gentle manner and his willingness to help and encourage all of us, in whatever we tried to do to better our work or our horses' care.

For the past ten years or so, Mr. Watson was chronically ill with a list of ailments that would have been the end of any normal human. He kept coming back and even ordered himself a brand new shoeing rig recently...when he was 80 years old. He began shoeing horses professionally in 1948.

Follow this link to an album of photos of the appreciation day held for Mr. Watson in 2007, when he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon. Thanks to the Virginia Horseshoers Association for posting these photos. And here's a second link to a few photos of his fantastic shop.

I will add to this post when I know more; thanks to Steve Mayer for letting me know.

If you have a kind word to say about your friendship with or memories of Mr. Watson, please click on the colored link word "comments" at the end of this article. A new window will open up and you can leave your message. It will default to "anonymous" unless you sign it, and that's fine, but just include your name in the comment if you want to be identified. You can also email a comment to "blog@hoofcare.com" and I will post it for you.

Update: The latest word is that a memorial service is planned for Saturday, January 3, 2009.

Mr. Watson, right, talking to Danny Ward, left, sometime in the last 20 years or so.


© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.