Fact Based Fictional Conversation Between Friends

Shirley, is a nurse by vocation. She also works with Bloodhounds, for Search & Rescue, and is a member of the local Mounted Posse.

This conversation is about two of her horses that are getting older, and now have special needs for their comfort and mobility.

The farrier, Chuck and Shirley have a conversation...
Photo ©2009 Helen Dawson



Hold it Kandi. Good girl.

Chuck, I sure appreciate you coming on such short notice to trim Kandi's and Red's hooves. I've been working so much, I haven't even had a good look at them for a couple of weeks.

Hey Shirley, what are good friends for, Alma and I are always happy to help you, you know that. Besides your horses are always so good, and you saved them from the life they had, what with Red just all messed up with bowed tendons off the track, that horse would have been destroyed if you hadn't taken him in. Didn't you once say that he was about two or three years old then?

Yes, Red was between two and three. He was not yet gelded, and the tendons in both his front legs were badly bowed. He had trouble just walking. red was also a bag of bones, since he was no longer paying for his keep, his days were numbered.

Chuck, were you around when I bought Kandi? Kandi was well cared for until her owner allowed his friend to use for for herding cattle in Colorado. She wasn't used to running over that kind of terrain. She had fallen on some rocks, and really damaged her knees. Since she has aged, they have developed arthritis, and stay swollen and sore.

Since I got her, she's had a great life. She's never again been overworked. I trained her as a posse horse, and she really took to that.

Now, with her into her thirties, the damage to her knees has caught up with her, and they stay swollen and painful. So, I really do need to keep her hooves in good shape, so she can function as best she can.

It's a good thing you brought your daughter along, too.

How are things at school Mandi?

Well, I like school, but there are times I would just rather stay home and do something else. But with Mom driving a school bus, she isn't at home all day, and I really don't like having to stay home alone, either.

Ah, all done Kandi, come here Red, let's see what you need now...

They are both getting on in years now, and they have earned a better life.