26 September 2022

Farrier

 Well, I just had to share this stunning photograph with you...


It was taken two weeks ago at Yarrowford near Peebles in the Scottish Borders region by a man who has nailed a huge volume of super pictures in that area.

His name is Walter Baxter. I have blogged about him before and Shirley and I met him back in 2013. Walter and I communicate by e-mail from time to time.

The image is of course of a farrier shoeing a horse. In that time-honoured process, there will often be steamy, smoky moments like this one. However, after searching through Google images, I doubt that any other photographer has ever captured the traditional equine scene as well as Walter has done.

If you would like to see more images from his oeuvre, go here and explore.

36 comments:

  1. Amazing. My mother told me that my father tried his hand at being a farrier for awhile but after completely screwing up a few thoroughbred horses's hooves in Tennessee, he had to give it up. My father had his problems.

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    1. Farriers must get kicked from time to time. Sounds like your father's career as a farrier was kicked into touch before it got started.

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  2. Wow, that's incredible and a world unknown to me. Does the farrier wear face or eye protection? I hope so. He probably has the skin of a 30-year-old.

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    1. Breathing that stuff in regularly cannot be good for him.

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  3. It's an excellent photo but I bet it smelled awful.

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    1. "Hoof de Cheval" could become a new perfume brand for stylish ladies... yourself included of course Nurse Lily!

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  4. It's a wonderful photo! I have recently become quite fascinated by watching videos of farriers at work so the timing of you posting this now is interesting

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  5. An amazing photo, that I didn't understand until I read the post, which made it all the more interesting.

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  6. What a fabulous photo! I love it. The dense clouds of steam almost look like long hair, long beard and thick eyebrows.

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    1. What a vivid imagination you have River!

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  7. That really is a stunning picture!

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  8. Stunning. I used to have a horse, in my youth. I loved riding him to the Thwaites stables to get him reshod. It was a chance to see the beautiful shire horses that pulled the dreys. All long gone now but the building are still there behind Eanam Wharf.

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    1. I am glad that this post stirred up some happy memories Christina.

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  9. I was thinking that the little Yorkshire Terrier was standing a bit close to the action - then realized it was the horse's other hind foot.

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  10. Stop me if I'm repeating myself..
    I thought that the little Yorkshire Terrier was standing a bit too close to the action - then saw it was the horse's hind leg.

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    1. Should have gone to "Specsavers" Potty!

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  11. That photo compels you to look at it more than once. It is hard to make out the farrier amongst all that white ghostliness. (I think I may have made up that word?).

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    1. No you didn't JayCee.... "the quality of being pale and transparent in a way that does not seem real, like a ghost:"

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  12. Quite an incredible photograph.

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  13. It's like the pyrotechnics at a Prog Rock concert. Incredible.

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  14. Well like others it brings back memories of the sharp smell of burnt hoof and the tap of the nails as the horseshoe is tapped into place. I used to go and get my pony shod at the Co-op stables in Wolverhampton, those long ago times when horses used to pull the milk carts.

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    1. I wonder what your pony was called? I'm thinking Dobbin.

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  15. That IS a fantastic picture.

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    1. That's great that you agree - given your photo talents.

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  16. Great photo, thanks for sharing

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  17. Stunning is a very apt description!

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    1. Of me as well as the photo my friend.

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  18. What an exhausting job that is! I have never seen it shown with so much smoke like that!

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    1. At first I didn't know what I was looking at.

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  19. What a photo! And I went to explore some more. Thank you for the link, Neil.
    As for ferriers. We had one in the village. For footballers who had a bad day, a common recommendation was: "Go to Gustav Stichnothe, get your hooves fixed."

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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