BlO—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 16,1982
A customer came into the shop
with a relative I had never met. He
had left home in his youth to work
in a distant city. After this man
came in, the usually quiet mare
would not stand still. The visitor
recognized her as his old buggy
mare. They had a happy reunion
after which she was calm. It would
have broken her heart not to have
been remembered. They had not
seen each other since she was 5 or 6
years old. She was then about 12.
The horse’s action in the
presence of his current or former
owner gives a most reliable and
unbiased appraisal of the owner’s
character. The character of the
horse is more evident than the
character of the human being.
While horses seem to remember
people indefinitely, they seem to be
less able to remember other
horses. After a separation of up to
six months a horse may not
recognize his former teammate or
a mare recognize her own colt.
The horse’s reunion with the
family and family dog would,
chances are, just simply resume as
if he had never been away. If he
had liked the family dog he would
be delighted to see him again. If he
had disliked the dog he would
resume his efforts to Idck him into
orbit. He could easily be fond of
one dog and dislike another.
A customer bought a team of
practically worthless bay geldings
for nearly nothing. They were
handsome five-year-olds in good
shape, but they pulled a wagon like
a plow (slowly), and balked at
much of a load. In a few months
they were a premium team and he
sold them back to their former
owner at a premium price. This
first owner soon learned he had
bought back exactly what he had
previously sold. Some people
cannot get anything but trouble
from a horse.
Too much help can enslave some
people, thus becoming counter
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NAME WAS SAMUEL
LAN&HORNE CLEMENS,
BUT MOST PEOPLE MEM
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productive. This is never a
problem with horses. Horses are
eager to please and always
delighted to respond to a kindness.
They share the owner’s grief or
laughter. The person who has
difficulty working with a horse
seems to expect the horse to be as
smart as he is. In his case, he may
be right.
We had a large dapple gray
gelding I’d like to tell you about.
He was black when he was colt and
completely gray at about 12 years
of age. One day when we had him
hitched to a sled loaded with a roll
of fence, two men stopped to ad
mire him. They asked about his
cooperation and I offered to
demonstrate. In advance I told
them that by voice I would direct
him to and around a well about 100
yards away. While be was circling
the well he would stop, take two
steps, stop, start again and return.
Enroute back, even though he was
fast gaited, he would slow to a
creep when most horses would
normally speed up. He proved as
good as I claimed. He was glad all
over when we congratulated each
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Farewell, Mr. Blacksmith
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other. He knew we were showing
off and got as big a bang out of his
performance as I did. His name
was Prince.
Prince was teamed with his full
sister. She was a blood bay and one
year older. Her name was Beauty.
They delighted in amazing me with
their understanding and
capabilities. To be more effective
in starting a heavy load I noticed
that Beauty would anchor and
Prince would start it. It is fun when
you realize your team is teaching
you. Their names, which became
so appropriate, were suggested by
Mama shortly after their births.
They never know other than a
mutual love and respect for our
family. It is always pleasing to
honor a mutual bond of faith.
The advent of the truck
gradually decreased the demand
for shoeing horses and setting
wagon wheel tires. In the late
1920’s and early 1930’s the tractor
became prominent. More ground
was being utilized. More
plowsh^fes were being pointed by
the smiths. They were probably
never busier than in 1940 just
before World War 11. During this
war,' the farm implement
manufacturers introduced a
recyclable plowshare. This was the
final curtain call for the
blacksmith shops in the fanning
communities.
The recyclable plowshare was
designed because of the many
times this boy’s back became tired
from pointing them. From day one
of this hard work I knew there had
to be a better way. I made the first
three, and the first observers
considered them to be ridiculous.
Had it not been for the shortage of
labor during World War II it may
never have been accepted. A better
way, when accepted, is always
progress.
The last of the smiths 1 knew
passed away in 1972. Each one was
a friend of mine. If we could
salvage their dignity and pride,
our crime and welfare problems
Raisin, the pet Dalmation
Ryan, 11, Anna, 8, and Ben Cruzan, 6, have a pretty
spotted friend. This Oalmation, christened Raisin, likes to
warm his toes by the fire. They write that Raisin is their
favorite animal because they've had him the longest and they
can play with him. He likes to pull on a rag while they hold the
other end. He can even pull their mom. Their parents, Diane
and Daniel Cruzan, also «t the proud owners of Raisin have a
rabbit, a duck and several chickens. Thanks go to the
Cruzan children for sharing a picture of their pet with us. Now
kids, how about you? Don't you have a picture of their pet
with us. Now kids, how about you? Don’t you have a picture of
your favorite pet. Share it with us. Send it to Kid’s Korner
along with your age, name, address and a little information
about your pet.
would be reduced materially.
While the career of most smiths
began after they were 30, mine
terminated at 22. For me, every
career and profession since has
been interesting, but in my heart I
never left the blacksmith shop. I
hope the current generation enjoys
its youth as much as I did and can
have fun sharing it as I have with
you. It was a delight for me to
paticipate in this era.
o