My Shoeing Rig

My horse shoeing truck, is part primer gray,
And it is a wonder to behold;
I often wonder, will it start today,
And what’s smoking on the manifold.

But the truth be known, I sure like that rig,
It’s manly and not at all cute;
It gets me on time, to each shoeing gig,
Otherwise, it ain’t worth a hoot.

It fits me just right, the old rattle trap,
My butt is molded to the seats;
The grill is smashed in, the hood sports a gap,
That blows smoke when it over heats.

The old battery, well, it ain’t “batt-ing”
And the air-intake needs a breather;
The generator, well, it ain’t “gen-ing”
And the pistons, ain’t… working either!

 The radio has, but one good speaker,
That squawks out an AM tuner;
The seat is propped up, with one old sneaker,
And it rides like a prairie schooner.

The A/C works fine, when going to town,
And it runs on 240 power;
240 that is, with two windows down,
At over forty mile an hour.

There’s mud on the floor, a sack on the shift,
And a cup holder screwed to the dash;
Rocks in the ashtray, an old birthday gift,
And a check I’m still needing to cash.

The tailgate is off, the cab light burned out,
And the paint is all gone from the bed;
There’s dust in the vents, and trash strewn about,
And bloodstains from the last time I bled.

As a real looker, she ain’t worth her sand,
In fact she is mighty low tech;
My GE nippers, my anvil and stand,
Book higher than this poor old wreck.

The new nails I store, in an old ammo can,
And my tools in a green army box;
A spare tire in the back, from a dodge minivan,
With some horse shoes and old dirty socks.

She’s held together, with duct tape and wire,
And runs mainly on diesel and luck;
With the money I make, as a shoer for hire,
I sure can’t afford a new truck.

So onward we go, just staying the course,
Though some days I doubt she will make ‘er;
And I’ve always said, if she were a horse,
Not even the canner would take ‘er.

© 2009, Andy Nelson
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.

 

June, 1957 (Note: That is an oxen he is shoeing)
 

 

Andy has shared other Picture the West photos:

   photos of three generations of farriers here

   photos of his family's next generation of farriers here

   a 1950s family photo here

  a 2005 sunset photo from his place in Pinedale, here

  a contemporary photo from his brother Jim's ranch here.

Read some of Andy Nelson's poetry here.

Photo by Jeri L. Dobrowski; see her gallery of western performers and others here.

 

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