Crime of Passion

Posted on May 8, 2012 at 9:40 am

Windy Creek Ranch is set in the pastures of the sprawling suburbs of Boulder.

Growing up on the coast of North Carolina, I’m familiar with the elements of farm life. There’s lots of heavy equipment, dirt, hard work, and that smell of horse and cow pies. It’s all mixed together and immediately takes me back to the simple, slow-paced life of the country.

It was here at the Windy Creek Ranch that we were about to witness first hand the ages old craft of horse shoe making. While I’d never seen this before, I was surely intrigued by the whole process of it.

Initially, one could watch this and cringe as the shoes are pried off of the horses foot. The truth as we were told several times that afternoon is that the horse doesn’t feel a thing. There are as many nerves in a horse’s hoof as there are in the tip of our nails, aka none at all.

First, the iron shoes are thrown in the fire. Pull the old shoes off, then pull the new ones out of the fire and shape them accordingly. Every hoof is different, and must be custom made. Wouldn’t that be nice? Custom made shoes every 6 weeks?

As the shoes were being made, we spoke with Andrew, the horse’s cobbler.

In my humble opinion, the art of making horses shoes is an old one that may be overlooked in today’s overly technological society. Prior to going to veterinary school, Andrew knew he wanted to do this and in the economy of 2006, saw there were many jobs that would be waiting for him upon graduation. Somewhere around the 300+ mark to be approximate.

Then, in the post-2008 economy, those 300 jobs became 15.

Luckily for Andrew, he was already learning to do this job and the degree was a means to an end. That also means, there was a job there when he left. At this point, he’s working for himself, working frequently, and living a comfortable life. He’s settled into the long term and has some advice.

Basically, do what you love because it’s likely you’ll be doing it well into retirement.

It’s America, right? It’s no doubt we’re constantly in the pursuit of happiness. However, it certainly seems we think our happiness has to live outside of our careers. Why can’t the two be one and the same? You may be reading this and nodding your head. You may also be thinking about how much you hate your job.

In the end, if you do what you love, you will likely do it until you just physically cannot do it any longer. Then, 65 is no longer a retirement age, merely a measureable figure in which the typical person wants to stop working. But why stop there if you really love your job?

More to come…