Why does nobody talk about how hard the 100th horse is vs the first one?

I hit 100 shoes nailed last month and figured I'd feel like a pro by then. But honestly my back hurt worse than when I started 3 years ago. Some farriers say you get faster with experience but I'm still taking 45 minutes on a simple front pair. Is the milestone just a number or does it actually mean you've made it? Curious if other folks felt the same at that point.

3 comments

3 Comments

nguyen.morgan1mo ago

Man, that's a solid point nobody brings up. I think the 100th horse is actually harder because you've built up all these little bad habits that slow you down. Like at first you're just trying to survive the trim, but after a while you start taking shortcuts that end up costing you more time. Plus your body has had three years to learn exactly how to hurt itself doing this work. The real milestone isn't the number, it's when you finally unlearn all the stuff you picked up wrong.

the_drew1mo ago

Did you ever notice how your body starts lying to you around that point too? Like you'll feel a twinge and think it's something new, but really it's just an old habit your muscles memorized wrong.

-1

valc911mo ago

You're not wrong about the bad habits thing, but the 100th horse isn't harder because of shortcuts. It's harder because your body finally gives up on pretending those bad mechanics are sustainable.