On this episode we're making English horse saddles and then we will held over to the Shenandoah Valley to the only main street Black Smith Shop left in the United States to shoe, and finally we will head out on the road with a mobile farrier.
On a farm just outside of Charrlottesville, Virginia, Tad Coffin Proformance Saddles makes handmade English saddles like no one else in the world. Tad Coffin is a life long equestrian, winning two gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He took that riding experience and put into his saddle company. He mixes craftsmanship and decades of innovation and technology to create each top of the line saddle. Tad has come to believe that, of all the tools available to riders, the saddle has the most untapped potential to positively impact horse and rider performance.
Learn more:
www.tadcoffinsaddles.com/
Established in 1998, The Blacksmith Shop in Dayton, Virginia owned and operated by David Brown, a AFA Certified Farrier, is the last of its kind located on a main street in America. They are a full service farrier supply store that offers ride up or drop off farrier service and custom blacksmithing. The location was chosen due to the large population of old order Mennonites in the area that need farrier services.
Learn more:
www.theblacksmithshop.net
Most Farriers in Virginia and around the United States work from mobile trucks and converted trailer workshops, like Mike Morris. There are around 500 Farriers in the United States serving around 215,000 horses.
