The Farrier’s Admonishment by Mike Bromley

The horse is a beautiful creature
So proud and so bold
This we can see for ourselves
No need to be told

A beautiful creature
Right down past his knees
I look and behold!
What are these???

For his feet are contracted
Wry-footed, quarter-cracked
And bent
Without good feet
He’s not worth a cent

For to see a horse limp
Gives me grief untold
And if Someone’s at fault
I’ve been known to scold

Through sandy desert
And over rocky trail
A horse can’t do his best
If his feet they should fail

Though it’s been said before
I’ll say it once more
A horse can’t do his job well
If his feet are sore

A horse should be shod
With a sense of panache
If he is to run
A 300-yard dash

A horse should be shod
With a certain sense of style
If he is to carry his rider
For many a mile

The horse is a beautiful creature
Of fine symmetry and form
And so should be his feet
This should be the norm

It only makes sense
That his shoes be made neat
So that they only enhance
His already beautiful feet

So farriers please endeavor
To learn your craft well
If you don’t, you’ll cause
Many a horse living hell.

Mike Bromley, The Blacksmith Poet