Someone You Should Know: Fritz Werner, Farrier
(CBS) – Shoeing horses is an ancient craft, but there are still people who know how to do it.
CBS 2's Harry Porterfield introduces us to an Indiana man who makes his living at it.
Fritz Werner doesn't advertise himself as a horse whisperer, but as a "farrier" -- a specialist in shoeing horses who knows how to communicate with the animals. A resident of Morocco, Ind., he got the idea watching others shoeing some horses that he owned.
"I realized it wasn't exactly a job for everyone, but I felt that I could do it, so I began to purchase my tools, and purchase books and study, and began to trim my own horses' feet," he says.
He's been at it for 12 years. Salton is the lucky horse getting some brand-new footware. Werner says the job that needs to be done every eight weeks.
He says it's a "much easier chore for the horse to endure."
The new shoes are nailed to the horse's hoof, a process the animal cannot feel, unless they are driven too deeply. Werner says the point of it all is to insure that the horse can walk evenly.
"You have to be gentle, you have to be understanding," he says. "This job takes a lot of patience and concentration and it takes dedication."
He adds: "What I love the most about it is the reward of watching a horse trot off, and buck up and jump. It's a rewarding feeling."
