More Things I've Learned

Let me start 'way back about 55 years ago. back then I was an avid down hill skier, recreational only.Part of living in a small town was the ability to work (for free) in the off season clearing new ski runs on the hill. I learned from the old pros that if you piled brush , tree limbs in a tepee shape, the fire would burn in and up, and all the fuel would fall in to the center, and be consumed. The fire burned hot and clean and the only thing to do afterwards was to kick in a few ends and the clean up was done.

2:00 pm Burning in

Fast forward to today, and the skills learned back then, are put to good usage on the acreage when clearing more pasture. If I had a message for the young people today, it would be "Get involved. You never know when the skills learned will be used in the future, and the learning is free."

2:15 pm 

4:00 pm

3:00 pm

My Dad way back said that if you needed a job done and didn't have the tools or know how, go to the library, read or buy a book and buy the tool. You will have the knowledge and resource forever.


I took advantage of the Experimental Aircraft Association  resources to learn how to oxy-acetylene weld to aircraft standards. I passed all the tests and I tested a lot as it was going to be my butt hanging out 1 to 12000 feet above sea level. The transition to stick welding was easy after that.


About 7 years ago, this guy got into horses. Horses are expensive to maintain by the way. The farrier bills were running about $130 every 6 weeks. I watched the farriers a fair bit and said " This is not rocket science, I can do that." Now how to do it right was another matter. I lucked into an on-line course for about $65.00 and have been doing my own and a few other horses when people could not get a farrier. By reading the references, I found out how to cure a horse of kicking, and how to safely handle a difficult horse. As a bonus I was able to solve a spit hoof issue that 5 other farriers could not do. The horse is now split- hoof free for 5 years. More info at http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5420428411794914404&postID=7173096389353942415


With the hard times on us, I don't see why more people don't get involved . The $65 has saved me about $6700.00 in farrier fees, and counting! The instructor was Angie Senter through Universal Class Inc. No, I don't get any royalties or benefits due to this plug.


The overall goal of this class Horseshoeing 101 is to produce competent and confident farriers that can create functional and healthy hooves. This will be accomplished by: An in depth study of anatomy, A working knowledge of tools, equipment, and shoes, Understanding the reasons and history of trimming and shoeing, Learning how to create a balanced hoof through trimming, Learning how to correctly shoe a healthy hoof, Understanding the methods of corrective shoeing for structural abnormalities, Evaluating a horse for structural abnormalities, Assessing and treating almost a dozen hoof diseases and ailments, Learn how to own and operate your own business and Expanding vocabulary of horse terminology.

This course involves an in depth look at equine hoof anatomy. In order to fully understand the material the student must have a high school reading and writing level. This course is supplemented with internet based graphics so a high speed internet connection with a quality graphics card would be beneficial. The physical use of a horse is not a requirement.

Instructor Angie Senter teaches several courses on aspects of horse care for UniversalClass. She owns and operates Senter's Quarter Horses - 21 acres of Palouse ranch land. Her business includes a boarding facility, training and lessons arena, breeding services, massage and farrier services as well as trick horse performances and training.

I guess the point that I am trying to make, is that learning is easy, and cheap especially with the Internet. The other message is " Get rid of the Gameboys, ipods , and other electronic gadgets and start developing the life skills that may be required in your future. Who knows where this Recession/ Depression/ Economic meltdown may go?