Millwater Books In Print 2025...

 

Millwater's Farriery:
The Illustrated Dictionary of Horseshoeing and Hoofcare:
Encyclopedic Reference for Professionals, Students, and Horseowners.

The encyclopedic dictionary of the art and science of farriery, designed for cross-referencing. Well illustrated with appendices of full-page illustrations, historical reference material, and resource guides.
This is the culmination of out farriery lexicon project started in 1994.

Paperback $22.50     Hardcover $36.50    Kindle eBook $9.95
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1466444819/




Shoe Your Own Damned Horse!

 SYODH! is comprehensive but good-humored primer for horse owners who want (or need) to learn how to trim or shoe their own animals, written by a veteran professional farrier and horseman.

Well illustrated, and with emphasis on practical economy.

Sections on hoof and limb anatomy, essential biomechanics, hoof handling, trimming for barefoot, tools and their functions, horseshoe choice/modification and application, cold and hot shoeing, managing common faults and pathologies, and even how to build a forge.  Lots of practical, insider hints sprinkled throughout.

Paperback $9.95
https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Your-Own-Damned-Horse/dp/B0DGF3CZVD





The New Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language.
The 9th and final "New Dictionary" of the series before the jump to MILLWATER'S FARRIERY. 

Paperback $18.12
https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Farrier-Terms-Technical-Language/dp/1449594689/






The New Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language.
The tenth anniversary edition, coil-bound, no-less.  For the completionists out there.

Coil bound $13.42
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/new-dictionary-of-farrier-terms/paperback/product-1k9gr6.html




MILLWATER'S FARRIERY:
Deluxe Hardcover.
The AMAZON hardcover is a bit less expensive, and pretty nice.  But, as of the production of my proof copies, the LULU production quality was a little better.  (Amazon's hardcover printing might have improved, it was in beta then.)  Though they did manage a humorous SNAFU by sending me one copy with our cover wrapped around a completely unrelated book.  They make good on such errors quickly though.

Hardcover $50.00
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/millwaters-farriery-the-illustrated-dictionary-of-horseshoeing-and-hoofcare/hardcover/product-1wzpq4rz.html


===================================================

Guild of Professional Farriers Publications.

   The Guild has been dormant for some time now, but was an influential player in American farriery in the '90s and first part of this century.  These booklets are maintained for historical reference.  The .PDF downloads are free.  (Sorry about the hassle of checkout.  That's the PoD service's hang-up.)  The printed versions are at the PoD production cost.

   Note:  URLs an mail addresses in these old publications are out of date.




Registered Journeyman Farrier Exam Guide

$4.72 Paperback
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/rjf-exam-guide/paperback/product-1zdrpk.html

Free Download
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/rjf-exam-guide/ebook/product-1rgy5d8v.html

New Guild Chronicle #1

Includes the content of the RJF Exam Guide, other Guild material, and articles from Guild President Henry Heymering on the Strasser barefoot trim fad and weight-bearing mechanisms of the hoof.
 
$7.53 Coil bound
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/guild-chronicle/paperback/product-1jzpw6.html

Free Download
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/guild-chronicle/ebook/product-1qzp6zjn.html

New Guild Chronicle #2

Includes the Guild's constitution and bylaws as they stood in 2005.

$5.88 Paperback
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/new-guild-chronicle-2/paperback/product-1qvwjr.html

Free Download
https://www.lulu.com/shop/dave-millwater/new-guild-chronicle-2/ebook/product-1gv6rnwd.html

. . .

-30-

TEMPUS FUGIT!

    Somebody posted a meme about how "thirty years ago" seems like it should be big collars and bell-bottom jeans, but is actually just 1994.  And it dawned on me that 1994 is the anniversary of the publication of the Pocket Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language.  The pathfinder for a whole series of farriery lexicons that culminated in Millwater's FARRIERY.

   While 1994 doesn't seem like it's THAT long ago to some of us, a lot has changed in that time.

   Today I found myself groaning at the hassle of having to re-upload a book manuscript to my P.O.D. after fixing a PDF formatting error that they (fortunately) detected.  Big uploads take a while (several minutes) with our out-in-the-boonies Internet. 

   Then I remembered putting together and publishing that first dictionary.  P.O.D. wasn't really a thing then.  Neither was Amazon, really.  The Internet as we know it was just getting started.  PDF was still in development. 

   Most of the work on the Pocket Dictionary was done on an archaic (even by '90s standards) Commodore computer, which is why the main body text was output by daisy wheel printer.  Got a 68030 Macintosh to help towards the end.  Didn't have fancy printer or scanner to go with it, so it was off to Kinko's with diskettes in-hand to intimidate the nerds out of the way so we could monopolize the machines needed.

   Back then, for us, "cut and paste" involved actual scissors and glue!  I had to create photo-ready master sheets, make copies and assemble them into prototypes.  We'd take all this to a printing shop and get a literal truckload of books made, paid-for up-front.  Hauled 'em home to warehouse.  No wonder I tried to keep the page-count down, and omitted anything fancy!  I had no guarantee any of the bloody things would sell to recoup that investment.

   And selling them was problematic, since online retail wasn't really a thing yet.  We had to get people to snail-mail us checks so we could package-up and ship books to fill their orders.  So cumbersome!

   But the press releases and review copies did their job, and before long, half of the first printing was gone and we were in the black on the project.   From there it was onward and upward, publishing-wise. 

   Can't say I miss the "good ol' days" of publishing too much.  Though I am nostalgic for when more people were into reading...  I'm too old and homely to do trendy video content!

.

- 30 -

.

Hardcover now on AMAZON!

HARDCOVER now on AMAZON!

   On my desk now is my new proof copy of the MILLWATER'S FARRIERY hardcover version.  Nothing new about having the book in hardcover, except now it is available directly through Amazon rather than a more obscure and less trusted vendor...  And the price is considerably lower.  Don't get confused by Amazon listing 2022 as publication date.  This is the same content as the original MILLWATER'S FARRIERY paperback and hardcover.  This version is just new to them.

   The print and binding quality appear to be as good or better than the Lulu version.  Amazon says it usually ships within ten days now.

   I might have added the Amazon casewrap months ago, but health issues essentially launched me from (ahem) Middle-Aged to the far-end of Geriatric late last year, leaving me too tired and addled to get much accomplished.  Quacks may be getting a handle on it now...  Or maybe the cussed orneriness at my core is finally burning through the fog.

   In any event, the next Millwater Publishing project is well underway.  I should have more on that soon.

- - -

- 30 -

.

'Tis the Season...

   Well, the Thanksgiving Feast is done.  Hope this season found y'all well and in good company!

   Now it's for those turkey sandwiches, midnight pumpkin pie raids, and (of course) the start of the holiday shopping season!

   For those of you with tech-inclined horse-folks on your shopping list, Millwater's FARRIERY, the encyclopedic reference of hoofcare and horseshoeing, is now available in Kindle Edition for less than half the trade paperback price.  This ebook version includes all the content of the print edition, and has hyperlinks for cross-referencing with a tap or click!

   For the Christmas season, I'm activating Amazon's "Matchbook" feature that allows folks who buy the paperback to add the Kindle Edition for $2.99.

   For Black Friday / Cyber Monday you can also get the trade paperback version of Millwater's FARRIERY for one-third off the list price by ordering direct and using code ZT7855DA .  This code only works for direct order, not on Amazon.

   Of course, Amazon will be running various promotions of their own.

   You can follow Millwater Publishing on FaceBook and Twitter for the various discount sales of the Hardcover Edition and eBay promo copies.

- 30 -

. . . 

.

Millwater's FARRIERY: Getting Modern...

.

   I published the 2010 version of the lexicon of farriery to (then still fairly new) Amazon Kindle e-reader using Amazon's online system to convert it from the original PDF file of the print edition.  I was never that happy with the results, but it actually sold some 'copies'.

Quick revisit of the final "New" Dictionary of Farrier Terms.

   I wanted to do it better with the current Millwater's FARRIERY, so the conversion was done in-house, much of it manually.  Which is why the Kindle (and other e-reader) port has taken so long to release.

   Cross-referencing has been a big part of the design since the first Pocket Dictionary in 1994, relying not only on SEE:, SEE ALSO:, and similar instructions, but on typesetting cues within the definitions and articles themselves.

   With the Kindle version, we can take that a bit farther with hypertext.  Instead of just seeing words defined elsewhere in the book printed in boldface italics, you'll actually be able to tap/click on them and go directly to their entries.

   Aside from the magic of hypertext, the content of the new e-reader version is identical to the trade paperback and hardcover editions...  Even though the Amazon page count is over 100 pages higher.  That's due to the very tight formatting in the physical print editions getting a lot of content onto each page.

   The text content is "flowable", so you can change the size smoothly...  The graphic elements have been reformatted for best display on base Kindles while staying withing the data size limitations of the format.  On some of the higher resolution new models, these element may initially display small, but you should be able to blow them up and still have good viewing resolution.

   At around half the price of the trade paperback, there are some advantages to this newfangled age.

- 30 -

. . .

.

Prophet's Thumb Farm: Appreciating Our Girls...

   Okay, before I snap and Go Henry VIII, doling-out executions for failure to produce a male heir, I should review some of the things I really appreciate about my broodmares and their {cringe} fillies...

Woe is me!  Afflicted with creatures such as these!

   Anne and I have been involved in horse breeding, sometimes on a much larger scale, for a very long time.  So, even without the many sad stories posted on the FB groups, we're well aware of the hyper-stressful horror show foaling season can become...  Knock on wood, the Belgians have been free of most of that.

   First, they've been foaling at 340-something days.  No "Oh no! It may be premature!" or "Ye gads, is this mare EVER going to foal?" stuff.   

   Second, they've been having trouble-free, unassisted births. (Except for Ethel popping Kirby out directly into the electric fence!)  Take it from someone who's had to reposition and pull all sorts of problem children into the world, finding a still-wet foal already out and either standing or about to stand is THE way to go!

   Third, the Belgians basically do it by the book...  Considerable wax in the morning, easily expressed, opaque, sticky milk that evening, foal the middle of that night.  None of that dripping milk, waxing, then holding it for another week to mess with my mind.  Also, no popping-out foals in the middle of the day half a mile across the big pasture. 

   Fourth, the robustly healthy, teat-seeking missile foals.  If you've ever had to deal with a baby who insists on trying to nurse on everything but the udder, or worse yet, a foal who doesn't want to suckle at all, you know how great it is to see a foal go straight to the target and heartily tank-up less than an hour after birth.

   Fifth, these big Belgians are instinctively good mommas.  Even with their first foals, the switch seems to get thrown and they seem like veteran broodmares about ten minutes into the job.  Having had to deal with mares that required physical restraint and sedation for hours before they'd let the foal nurse, and others who seemed unaware the foal was even there, and even the ones who mean well but are too hyper to let the foal find the spigot, I've gotta love our girls.

Rookie mare, first morning on the job last year.

   Last, but not least, I appreciate how beautifully our girls come through pregnancy, foaling, and nursing.  They are truly Industrial Strength mares...  The Quargian foals are big and hungry enough to put a strain on any normal mommas.  But the Belgians carry and birth 180# foals, nurse them 'til they're huge weanlings, all without showing a hint of ribs or hip bone.  And all on less feed than it would take to keep a Thoroughbred mare in tolerable shape.

That's actually a pretty big foal until you put it next to Lucy.

.

- - -

- 30 -

.

Prophet's Thumb Farm: On Draft Cross Sporthorses.

   European warmbloods have become the darlings of many American horse-folk in recent decades.  And for good reason.  Check out the various flavors of warmblood competing at top international events.  These are indeed impressive animals, worthy of a bit of envy.

   Problem is that there aren't that many of them, and they're way over yonder in the Old Countries.  So your chances of swinging by the local auction and picking one up are pretty slim.

   Yes, there are some European warmbloods in America.  But rather few of them resemble the horses we see on the international scene.  After all, the various European state breeding programs don't have a lot of incentive to sell their highest quality animals to Americans.  International horse-traders, like their domestic counterparts, want to get horses as cheaply as possible, then sell them at as great a mark-up as they can.  With so many Americans crazy for anything that can be called a Hanoverian, Trakehner, etc., they know that the European programs' lowliest culls will bring big money back in the colonies. 

   But not all Americans are willing to spend a fortune on what looks like an over-sized track washout thoroughbred just because it (or maybe one of its parents or grandparents) has a tenuous claim on being the product of a European breeding program.  It has occurred to many of them that, in America, we have a wide array of quality hotblooded horses and draft coldbloods.  Surely we could cross them and get our own American warmbloods!

   Well, if you want to see a European warmblood owner have a conniption fit, let them hear you call an American draft-cross a "warmblood".

   You can't really blame them.  Draft-cross horses have become more common in recent years thanks to the horse market absorbing so much PMU "rescue" stock.  (Feel free to tell me the story of how a PMU refugee you know went on to become a great horse for someone.  I believe you!  But that's an exception, not the rule.  When an animal's greatest value was the ability to produce urine, you can't expect a whole lot.)  These PMU and other low-grade draft horses weren't likely to get bred to any sort of quality light horse stock.  So now we've got plenty of draft plugs crossed with Joe-Bob's  "rackin' hoss" floating around on the horse market.  And, naturally, some folks try to get a few dollars more for them by calling them "warmbloods"...  Which is about like painting an '85 Chevette red and calling it a "muscle car".

Really not the best place to find great Eventers.

   But we do have quality, refined draft horses in America.  And awesome performance-type light horses.  Crossing the two can indeed produce sport horses that are closer to the international competition level warmbloods than many of the European breed horses available on the American market.

   European warmblood enthusiasts in America will quickly assert that the Hanoverian (or whichever flavor they prefer) wasn't made by crossing a hotbloods with drafts.  It was the result of many generations of breeding to achieve and refine a desired type.

   Of course, the modern American sport horse breeder isn't likely to start out by crossing Arabians fresh from the desert with ice-cold Brabants.  American horse stock is already the result of many generations of crossing and refining for type.  You could pretty much consider our performance light horse breeds (Quarter Horses, old school Morgans, Thoroughbreds, etc.) to be "hottish warmbloods", while our better, show-grade draft horses are essentially "cooler warmbloods"...  Selective crossing of the two is refinement, not starting from scratch.

   American breeders just need to remember that sport horse breeding is aiming for a specific target, not just mixing in a bit of draft blood... 

   To do it right, we need to give careful consideration to the breeding stock we cross.

   Drafts are used primarily to to add stature.  So there's no point in breeding to little draft horses!  You'll just be adding coarseness and subtracting grace from your foals.  Fortunately, the taller, high-quality (fancy carriage type) draft horses tend to be more energetic and elegant movers than the shorter, plow-type draft horses.  This will help prevent the foals from being overly thick, dull, and plodding.

   The light horses are used to add athleticism, endurance, and grace.  So a performance type horse is called-for.  Not show-hog halter horses, trick-gaited stock, any of the "Saddlebred-ized" bastardizations of historically fine breeds. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Arabians, Morgans!)

   Colors and patterns are a big thing in many American markets lately.  But you'll note that the European warmbloods tend to be solids.  I rather admire that they rely on quality of horseflesh and performance to distinguish their horses rather than fancy paint jobs.  (A Mercedes-Benz doesn't need flame decals.)  Still, its a matter of preference. I wouldn't say that spots and chrome disqualify a specimen from being considered a fine sport horse.


   Direction of the cross...

   Since any breeding program needs more mares than studs, and good light horses are far more plentiful than quality draft horses these days, the inclination may be to breed draft stallions to performance broodmares.  But doing it the other way around gives the foals the considerable advantage of gestating in the draft mare's industrial grade womb.  Normally (and fortunately!) a mare won't grow a foal too large for her to give birth to, regardless of the baby's genetic potential.  This means that a crossbred foal from a light mare is likely to be considerably smaller than one from a draft mare at birth, which runs contrary to the whole point of draft cross breeding.


The future...

   One of the most common posts on draft cross sport horse themed Internet forums is someone lamenting that thoroughbred and warmblood riders don't show them respect...  And everyone is too polite to point out the irony when the next most common posts are about draft cross owners doing DNA testing to try and get a vague inkling of their horse's heritage, or someone lumbering through a pony jump course on a plow horse.

Just because an animal can do something doesn't mean it will be competitive at it!

   It will always be hard to get the horse world to take draft cross sport horses seriously while "pedigreed crosses carefully selected to achieve the warmblood sport horse type" are lumped-together with "random grade horses who look like they might have some draft in them".

   Which isn't to say part-draft grades can't be good mounts at their own levels.  But it's just not the same thing as a purpose-bred draft cross sport horse.
 

.

- - -

- 30 -

.

Prophet's Thumb Farm: On Horse Rescue...

   In recent years, there has been a push to discourage folks from buying pets from breeders and dealers.  With millions of stray or discarded dogs and cats being put to death in pounds every year, it seems wrong to encourage breeders to produce more rather than giving homes to the ones already here and in dire need.

   Some people try to extend that line of thought to horses.  Why breed more horses when there are so many already being abandoned, going to slaughter, etc.?

   But horses aren't dogs or cats...

   Give a typical dog the run of a suburban back yard, a spot at the foot of the bed, a collar, leash, tennis ball, the odd bowl of kibble, and he's a happy camper.  The cat is cool with an apartment, sand box, and some Friskies.

   They keep us company.  Entertain us a bit.  Alert us to anything out of the ordinary.  Assist with our diets by eating a share of our cookies for us.  Maybe dispatch the occasional rodent.

   Most of us have no need for a specific breed/type of dog or cat.  When I needed a new farm dog, I had a general idea of what we wanted... Age, size, gender, personality.  Went to the pound and found what I was looking for.

Chompy!

   So I agree...  Outside of folks who need specially-bred dogs for specific work or hunting uses, it makes little sense to breed dogs or cats when the pounds are full of perfectly suitable candidates.


    Horses are so much more demanding...  They require acres of turn-out with miles of fences to maintain.  Stables that have to be cleaned.  Tons of oats and truckloads of hay.  Expensive tack.  Competent training and daily care.  Farrier service.  Worming.  Etc., etc., etc...

   In return, we justifiably expect more from them...  We ride them.  We drive them.  Miles and miles down country roads, mountain trails, and sandy beaches.  Maybe we use them in show or athletic competitions.  It can become a way of life.  An awesome way of life!

   But, contrary to what you may have seen in Hollywood movies over the years, you can't just grab any horse out of the kill pens at the dark end of the sale barn and make it into a Wonder Horse with a little TLC.  Sad fact is, most of them are there for a reason.

   The old, sick, lame, untrained, poorly bred rescue horse is going to require more investment of time, treasure, and resources than a healthy, sound, broke horse in his prime...  And is still likely to be a pasture ornament, companion, or limited use mount at best.  It's hard to maintain enthusiasm for pouring ever-increasing investment into an animal for ever-decreasing return, year after year after year.  Especially in the face of the various hardships and tough changes that may be encountered in the rescuer's life along the way.  Rescued horses often wind up needing to be rescued again.

   Overall, the horse world is better-off if people select the horses they need, rather than the horses that need them.  Horses that encourage their owners to actively use and enjoy them,  inviting owners to get more involved in the equestrian world.  To share them with friends and family.  Creating more horse people and more homes for horses in the process!

   Another way horses differ from dogs is lifespan.  Horses live twice as long as dogs.  While the typical dog owner's requirements are fairly constant over the years, active equestrians have evolving needs when it comes to horses.  So the whole "Furever Home" thing isn't really applicable to horses.

   The perfect horse for an eleven year-old beginner will be holding her back when she's a teenager with countless lessons and hours in the saddle to her credit.  She really ought to pass him down to a new beginner while she moves-up to a horse she can ride to the next level...  That way the beginner's horse gets a new home, the new girl gets a perfect beginner's horse, and teenager stays in the game, and the advanced horse gets a home too!  Developing riders are supposed to "outgrow" their beginner horses and move up. This is NOT a bad thing!

   So someone does need to be producing next-level horses above and beyond what can be salvaged from the dark end of the sale barn.

   Am I saying that no one should rescue horses from the kill pens?  Certainly not!  But we have to face the fact that we can't rescue them all.  There are only so many homes for horses to go to.  Only so many people to take them on.  And burning those people out with high-upkeep, low-use animals does nothing to promote horse ownership and create more homes for horses tomorrow.

   I think we need to think more in terms of Rehab than Rescue...  While the emotional inclination is to save the most hopeless and pathetic horses, the greater good would be achieved by saving the ones who have the best chance of becoming fully useful mounts, especially for new horseowners.

   This used to be the stock-and-trade of horsetraders.  Outbid the killers on horses that were a few months' TLC away from being sold for decent money.  One thing they used to say was "Never buy a horse based on sympathy."  There are things you can't reasonably expect to fix.

   Old age...  A healthy twenty year-old might have a lot of use and life left in him.  But a poor horse over sixteen is likely to require a lot more time and care to get back into flesh than a younger animal.  He's also likely to need more dental care.  And, if he's not already well-trained, it's pretty late in the game to be green.

   Crippled...  I've known a lot of supposedly crippled "navicular" cases that came sound with proper shoeing and nutrition.  But horses with limb deformities, chronic laminitis, popped knees, and assorted other maladies may only be kept tolerably sound with drugs and perpetual therapeutic farriery.

   Size...  Nope. That 13-2 three year-old is NOT going to make 16+ hands.  I don't care if your cousin's room-mate's sister-in-law says her horse grew a foot after four, it ain't happening!

   Breeding...  Poor conformation, half-gaits, and other congenital weaknesses.

   Yes, you may be able to salvage a geriatric, unbroke, lame pony with a crooked spine and inclination to pace...  Expending time and resources that could have made three or four better candidates home-worthy in the process!

   But you don't have room for three or four more horses?  That's the great thing.  Good candidates, after rehabilitation, may be great entry-level horses, ready to go to new homes!  The horse world needs more good beginners' horses, and the kill pens are a good source for them...  But rehabilitating  rescue horses really isn't a good job for a newbie.  With the horsetraders of old in short supply, we need more established equestrians to create a return path from the kill pens to the beginners.

Some of these horses may have the potential to fill an essential role in the horse world.

We just have to figure out which ones, and give them the chance.

.

- - - 

-30- 

Prophet's Thumb Farm: YMMV!

Your Mileage May Vary.

A blanket disclaimer...

   There's a common problem in modern discourse.  Perhaps more common on the Internet.

   When someone expresses a general observation or opinion, some folks hear it as an unqualified statement of an absolute nature applying to every individual case.

   For instance, if I for some reason mention that Mississippi is ranked at or near the bottom in terms of education, some people will think I said "Every single person in or from Mississippi is an illiterate moron!"  And they'll infer that I'm denying that their favorite cousin from Tupelo is the brilliant fellow they believe him to be.

   When it comes to horses, there are very few absolutes.  And there are usually marked exceptions to what few rules there are.

   Some years (okay... decades) ago, I found myself involved with Paso Fino horses.  And I've still got the scars and limp to show for it!  The breeders call it "brio".  Everyone else calls it "psychotic mania".  When farriers got-together, we'd play with the rookies by threatening to spread the word that they were Paso Fino specialists.

   And the very best-mannered horse I ever worked on was a Paso Fino stallion.  Belonged to a little girl out in the boonies who rode him everywhere.  And he gaited quite well, fino and all.  In all the years I shod him, he never so much as hinted at wanting a foot back before I was done with it.  She could drop his rope and trust him to stay put, even with other horses in close proximity.

   So don't take anything I write as a personal attack against you or your horse. 

   If I write that, after seven years of age or so, maiden mares tend to become increasingly difficult to settle with their first foals, there is no need for you to CAP-scream at me that you know maidens who settled just fine at twenty.  I believe you!  Same goes for your "kill-pen to blue ribbons" and "formerly lame, now sound barefoot over rocks" horse stories.

   But a relative few successes don't negate the overall trends and probabilities. 

.

- - -

-30-

Millwater's FARRIERY: Horseshoe Repair for Horseowners.

   Hope you're all having a very merry Christmas season!

   Over the years, I've heard from many horseowners that their access to truly competent horseshoeing is limited because the quality farriers are too far away and don't want to make the trip for small barns.

   What people may not comprehend is that pro farriers build their practices on providing reliable service to their customers, and that goes beyond just the scheduled shoeing days.  No matter how well a horse is shod, there will occasionally be a loose or thrown shoe.  (In fact, shoeing approaches that sacrifice proper support and protection to make the shoes harder to lose are a major source of the "evils of horseshoes" concept.)  So the farrier isn't just thinking about whether he should drive out to you place to shoe your horses, but also whether he'll be able to get out in a timely manner to do patchwork.

   One thing that makes it easier for a farrier to say "yes" to a remote client is the knowledge that he won't be asked to warp his schedule out of shape to come tack one shoe back on.  Horseowners capable of doing their own patchwork are not only attractive clients for dedicated farriers, but also can travel with their horses knowing that they won't have to rely on some stranger if their horse manages to hang a shoe away from home.

   And patching a shoe doesn't require a professional farrier's rolling shop.  A simple, inexpensive kit is sufficient...

   Nor does the task require the skills of a journeyman farrier.  With the hoof already trimmed and balanced, the shoe already fit, and the nail paths through the wall already established, flattening the iron and tacking it back on is well within the layman's capability.

   This sample from MILLWATER'S FARRIERY: The Illustrated Dictionary of Horseshoeing and Hoofcare is assembled from several of the book's encyclopedic entries, and gives an overview of how to fix that thrown, loose, or bent horseshoe for horseowners.

   Of course, the book is designed for cross-referencing, so you don't quite get the full effect here. And the illustrations are much higher resolution in print (downgraded to keep the online file smaller).

.PDF files at links.  

Fixing Loose & Thrown Shoes...

Alternate Link if Above Fails...

   Be forewarned though...  This is the kind of capability that can make one perhaps a little TOO popular around the stables or group trail ride.

- - -

-30-

.

Millwater's FARRIERY: 20 Years of the Farrier's Dictionary...

.

   Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and are progressing into a merry Christmas Season!

   2014 marks the 20th anniversary of Millwater Publishing's dictionary of farriery publications. It started with just a humble, saddle-stitched glossary with pen and ink diagrams and daisy-wheel generated master copies...

   Since then, there have been many updates, expansions, and upgrades in production.  Now it's a perfect-bound trade paperback or glossy hardcover with photographic illustrations. The content has evolved into more encyclopedic form, with extended articles and lots of cross-referencing for efficiency.  Covering ground from basic horsemanship to advanced farriery, with a focus on practical application. 

   It makes me a little embarrassed to look back at some of the early editions.  But they do serve as interesting markers to the eras in which each edition was published.

   The current edition is designed to be a handy reference for horseowners, students, farriers, and other equestrian professionals.  

   I usually post promotional discount codes for the hardcover version on the Millwater Publishing FaceBook Page and Twitter feed.  (I don't make those up.  I just report 'em!)  

   Right now, Amazon is doing 30% off the trade paperback if you use checkout code HOLIDAY30

   And, to celebrate 20 years of the lexicon project, I'm going to do them one better for Black Friday through Cyber Monday with 50% off the trade paperback when you ORDER DIRECT and use check-out code RXYKQG6P

.

---

-30-

   

Prophet's Thumb Farm: Why Quargians?

   I have always loved the classic, ranch/performance type American Quarter Horse.  About as close to the perfect balance of power, speed, agility, soundness, energy, sane disposition, and beauty that can be achieved in horse breeding.  Resulting in an animal of great versatility.  The best horse there is for a number of things, and pretty darned good at a great many more.

   But the classic Quarter Horse has a shortcoming, at least in the eyes of many in the horse world.  The best Quarter Horses have always been around 15 hands, give or take a couple inches.  There is frequently a demand for taller horses, for reasons both practical and not.  Too often have I known people to look at an excellent Quarter Horse and say "he'd be perfect, if only he were a hand taller!"

   So, naturally, breeders have been trying to produce extra-tall Quarter Horses for many years... Which gives us some problems.

   First, the very concept involves warping the Quarter Horse out of his traditional standard.  A Quarter Horse has no more business being 16+ hands tall than a fish has being covered with feathers or a cat has wearing antlers.

Quarterhorse?

    It's sad to see an over-sized "Quarter Horse" with all the agility of a school bus getting dusted at the barrel races by a Welsh/Arabian pony who is closer to the traditional Quarter Horse standard than his AQHA registered competition.

   Second, since selecting for height means neglecting other factors, the result is often far from the scaled-up Quarter Horse people wanted.  I've seen 17+ hand AQHA registered horses, and they usually look like they were assembled from leftover camel parts.

   Finally, breeding Quarter Horses for height often means out-breeding to Thoroughbreds.  The AQHA enables this (via Appendix registry) to allow TB athleticism and refinement into the American Quarter Horse breed.  But it also happens that TBs are on-average considerably taller than Quarter Horses, and there are quite a few really tall TBs around.  So much Appendix breeding is done just to get tall Quarter Horses...  Problem is that TBs aren't bred or known for long-term soundness.  They're race horses.  So the best ones have a career of only a few youthful years, with a professional crew of grooms, vets, and farriers holding them together by constant effort.  This is the polar opposite of the traditional Quarter Horse's expected decades of low-maintenance service.  Add to this a certain level of incompatibility between the Quarter Horse's powerful musculature and the TB's lightweight hooves, joints, tendons, and ligaments, and perhaps you begin to see the problem.

   I don't know if there have been any scientific studies to back this up, but as a farrier I observed that, for every inch of height above 15-2 in a Quarter Horse, there is an exponential increase in the probability of unsoundness.  I doubt it's a coincidence that the trend for 16+ hand AQHA horses in the '80s corresponded to the Quarter Horse, once renowned for soundness, becoming known as a breed for which support shoeing, isoxsuprine, bute, and neurectomy were considered almost normal!

   So, rather than distorting the great old Quarter Horse beyond recognition to produce unsound specimens with AQHA paperwork, we decided to go outside the AQHA system to satisfy the demand for something akin to a super-sized Quarter Horse.

   Starting with sound, highly athletic, well-bred Quarter Horse stallions, we looked for mares who could contribute the desired stature to the mix without introducing TB fragility...  And the best candidates we found were pedigreed, carriage-type Belgian draft mares.  They brought greater than TB height to the table, along with over-engineered hooves, joints, tendons, and ligaments. 

   The goal of this Quarter Horse - Belgian (Quargian) crossbreeding is to produce great American sport horses.  Essentially Quarter Horses scaled-up to warmblood size without the conformation and soundness drawbacks that plague so many big Appendix Quarter Horses.

And so it begins...

.

- 30 -

...

Millwater Publishing: 'Tis the Season...

   Hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving!  Now that it's Black Friday, let's see what kind of holiday specials we've got going on...

   You can order Millwater's FARRIERY trade paperback directly at this link, and enter the code: YPLFZ3CT for a 25% discount.

   Amazon has the trade paperback at 10% off.  Even lower through some of their independent resellers.

   Promotional copies of both the trade paperback and deluxe hardcover are usually available on eBay at a great deal.

- 30 -

.

. . .

Millwater's Farriery: There's More Horse Above Knee-Level...

.

   I've commented before about how many farriers these days are somewhat over-focused on hooves and forgework at the expense of appreciating the whole horse.  Part of that no-doubt stems from the rise of professionalism and its accompanying specialization in the '90s.  (Before that it was pretty-much expected that farriers would float teeth, break horses, etc. in some areas.)

   The general impression I get from farriers in recent years (and feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken) is that many have very little to do with horses aside from working under them.  I was in that mode myself for quite a while...

   Now, despite the fact that my best-laid schemes gang aft agley, we're trying to get back into horse production here at Prophet's Thumb.

   Note that I said "horse production"... Not just "foal production". 

   With all the talk about overbreeding and the horse market being so bad, you might wonder why on Earth anyone would get back into breeding horses at this point.

   Well, from what I've observed, there aren't so much too MANY horses, as too many of the WRONG horses. 

   I've been watching the market pretty close lately, even did a bit of horse shopping myself.  And it seems that there are good reasons why some folks can't sell their horses, and it's not just that the market is in the tank...

   Size Matters:  It's true that I've long bemoaned the harm done to breeds like the American Quarter Horse by people breeding for height above what is normal for the type.  But that doesn't mean you're going to be able to sell scrawny little ponies.  Many ladies like to visualize themselves as elite equestrians riding into international competitions on a majestic warmblood.  Men may still like to see themselves as Six Gun Heroes riding tall in the saddle upon a fiery steed.  Pretty much nobody wants to be the fat comic-relief sidekick bringing-up the rear on a tiny burro.

   Versatility Pays:  So many horses out there are bred for trick gaits, 'special' coat colors/patterns, and other characteristics that actually appeal only to narrow segments of the horse world.  The Paso enthusiast may think a fino-fino horse is the most awesome thing around, but 95% of the horse folk out there just see a high-priced, psychotic pony who doesn't do anything remotely useful.

   'Prime of Life' is More Than an Expression:  Nobody is in enough of a hurry to expand their equine graveyard that they're going out of their to buy horses who are quickly approaching the final slide.  Yes, there are a lot of impressively healthy older horses out there... But they're still older horses.

   At the opposite extreme are babies...  Buyers who aren't competent horse trainers willing to make the investment of time and effort in youngsters, and don't already have something else to ride or drive in the mean-time, are wise to avoid these 'prospects'.

   Dollars May Not Be Sound Anymore, But Folks Still Don't Want to Spend Them On Unsound Horses:   So many horses out there are advertised with use limitations, known issues, or just untested soundness.  Seriously?  Why would anyone pay to take-on someone else's problems like that?

   Failure To Launch:  The purpose of a horse is to be ridden and/or driven.  For them to serve that purpose they have to be properly trained.  Seems like an awful lot of people have forgotten this.  I remember when we assumed any unbroken five year-old must be some kind of hell-spawned widow-making bronc.  Now we see middle-aged horses advertised as "green" or just "started under saddle" all the time.  People buy mature horses so they can ride 'em NOW.  If they're going to deal with a green horse, they'd may as well get a youngster who hasn't already missed half its career.


   There is always a market for decent-sized, adaptable, prime-aged, sound and healthy, well-broke horses.

   That's why I said we're getting back into HORSE production, rather than FOAL production.  The horse world doesn't need more foals growing-up to be pasture ornaments.  We're breeding the kind of stock that should be in demand regardless of which direction equestrian styles go, and plan to keep them here until they're three years old, so that they'll graduate fully broke to drive and ride, ready to begin a useful life.

   Which means that, with luck, the new stud's just-completed season will produce the PT Graduating Class of 2017. 

   It's good to be back in the saddle again...

- 30 -

- - -

.

Millwater's Farriery: Barefoot Movement Revisited...

.

   Scuttlebutt over on the Facebook is that a horse magazine article has the whole Barefoot Horse cult back in the spotlight.  Of course, we'be been around this track a whole lot of laps over the years, so I'll just give us a quick round-up...


On this very blog-

On the Barefoot Movement...

A refutation of the BAU-definition of the "traditional farrier trim" and the whole notion that the "barefoot experts" can accomplish some magic via horn removal that farriers are somehow to ignorant to comprehend.

Barefoot Movement II...

How all the claims of special trimming techniques (complete with endless diagrams and critiqued photos online) on horses left barefoot are inherently silly given the fundamental limitations of unshod hooves.

Barefoot Movement III...

Horseshoe Alternatives, and the ridiculous lengths the BAU will go to avoid conceding the value of conventional farriery.

On Doug Butler's blog-

The “Shoeless Experiment” Cripples Horses...

Leading farrier educator, internationally credentialled author of the foremost textbook of farriery (Principles of Horseshoeing 1974, expanded editions 1985 & 2004) gives his take on the whole barefoot movement.

On Click & Trim-

Barefoot Uber Alles...

Barefoot horse enthusiasts concede some of veteran farrier Rick Burten's points with good humor.

Moldy Oldies-

The Barefoot Cult...

My go-arounds with the Barefoot Movement from over a decade ago.

- 30 -

.

Millwater Publishing: 2014 Project...

.

   Well, since the Mayans came-up short with the whole End Of The World and all, I suppose I may have to get a publishing project for '14 underway.

   But which one?

   Two possibilities come to mind...

   The 2010 New Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language has done okay in Kindle and other digital formats.  I could focus on formatting the Millwater's Farriery encyclopedia for digital publication...  It'd take some doing, because this time I'd want to do it right, with hypertext cross-referencing throughout.

   While doing the historical reference appendix of Millwater's Farriery, I became fairly adept at reproducing pages from old texts...  I have the ability to put entire books back into print in both hardcover and paperback now.  While they are in Public Domain, and may be available in digital versions online now, that's not quite the same as an actual, printed book to many readers.

   So, do I take the new book from paper to digital, or get an old book or two back onto paper?

   If the latter, which book(s)?  Centaur did a fine reproduction of Dollar some years ago, but I believe it's been out of print for a while.

   Or is the whole 'dead tree' thing hopelessly obsolete?

   Opinions welcome!

.

- 30 -

.

Millwater's Farriery: Project Lexicon...

Project Lexicon... About Millwater's Farriery.

"The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms."

-Socrates.

   Many years ago, when I was stumbling up the path from being a 'guy who shoes horses' to becoming an actual farrier, I started taking the trade journals, attending clinics, and doing the best I could to expand my understanding of art and science. Problem was that writers and speakers often threw around references and expressions, assuming that everyone was already familiar with them. ...Some of us weren't!

   I wire-brushed the devil out of the bottoms of a lot of hooves trying to get them clean enough so that I could see the "dot" that Duckett fellow had discovered, which some magazines mentioned, but didn't explain.

   Then there were the articles and lectures from veterinarians and academic researchers. They like to use a lot of ten dollar words just to show-off. But, when you think about shoeing horses, even simple terms like "up", "down", "right", "left", "front", and "back" can be confusing due to the fact that we look at things from so many different points of view. Sometimes the fancy terminology really was more precise.

   Even 'plain old' horseshoeing language caused confusion. I recall an early contest where there was a rather heated argument between the judge and a contestant over "heel calks", "corks", and "blocked heels"... Then there was a clinic where I found myself exchanging confused shrugs with a few other tarheel farriers as the lecturer explained that "Over eighty percent of the pleasure horses in the show ring speedy-cut at the passing gait."

   By the early 1990s, it had gradually dawned on me that there ought to be a glossary of farriery.   I'd successfully written for several major equestrian magazines by then, so I decided to give it a go.   In 1994 I published The Pocket Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language.  It sold-out pretty quickly, even as better authoring tools became available to me, and a lot of new terms that needed to be included became apparent.  So, the following year, The New Dictionary of Farrier Terms and Technical Language was published.

   There wound-up being eight editions of the New Dictionary between 1995 and 2010.   Each featuring new terms, refined and expanded definitions, more and better illustrations.

   Initially, the focus was on the sort of scientific and specialized jargon you can't look-up in Webster's.  But, over the years, I realized that there were a lot of horseshoers with impressive technical knowledge and skills who had somehow managed to skip over some fundamental basics.   I also discovered that many of my readers were other equestrian professionals and horseowners.   So I began expanding the scope of the Dictionary to include the "foundation" terms needed to support the advanced material.

   Terms evolved into topics.   Definitions into articles.   With the tenth print version of the lexicon, it has grown into something new.  An encyclopedic dictionary.  A cross-referenced collection of interlocking entries designed to allow readers to come in at any level from prospective student or interested horseowner to established professional, and go up, down, or sideways as their reference needs dictate.

   It was on the advice of two veterans of farrier publishing that I added my name to the title of the tenth lexicon.  I was a little reluctant.  Even my hubris has limits...   But it ultimately made sense.  The transition to an encyclopedic format, centered on articles rather than mere definitions, meant that the book would reflect my own experience and approaches more than the previous works had.  This will probably elicit some criticism, as I do tend to develop some unusual techniques...

   As I was finishing-up with shoeing a rather tricky therapeutic case, I mentioned to my wife that I was going to have to work on finding a way to explain a "trick" I'd used for an article.

   She said "You can't tell other people how to do that!"

   "Why not? You know it works."

   "Yes," she allowed. "But nobody but you can make it work right."

   I'm pretty sure she's mistaken on that point. But she made me put-in a disclaimer anyway.

...

- 30 -

.