One shoe at a time — A farrier and his trade

Dave Miller, owner of Miller's Horseshoeing, uses a horse jack to tote his tools into the field to shoe a horse. (Photos by Tarmo Hannula).

PRUNEDALE — For most folks horseshoes is a game, but for Dave Miller, it’s his career. He’s been a farrier in Central California for the past 12 years and performs nearly every aspect of a job that has roots hundreds of years old.

“I try to work all areas of horseshoeing and not specialize in one or two areas,” Miller said. “I want to be able to fix any problem. And if I can’t, I know a lot of people in the field who do specialize, and I can incorporate their help.”

Miller said he attended the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School, which is east of Sacramento. He described the two-month, live-in course as “rigorous.”

“My sister got me started in this line of work,” Miller said. “She has owned more than more 20 horses. We were having issues with inconsistent horseshoeing cares, and my sister encouraged me to try my hand at it. And now it’s been 12 years.”



For the complete article see the 06-23-2012 issue.

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