Edmundbyers, County Durham

Northumberland

I spent the week with Rodney Britton and his family.  They were excellent hosts and I had a wonderful time working with Rodney, riding with Diane and playing with James, who is seven.

One of the fun things about working with Rodney was that he found very legitimate applications for the practice contest shoes that he has made.  For example, this small driving horse got a pair of roadsters, precisely because he works on the road and wears his shoes out within a week or two if he has anything lighter on. The shoes that we pulled off were flat.  Everyone thought it was funny I was so excited to nail a pair of these on, but then again, it is nice to know there is an actual use for all of these things.  It makes me feel like all that practice isn't just wasted time.  Similarly, my first day there I pulled a pair of double dobbers off of a draft horse.  It was amazing to see how much those had been worn out, even after only a few weeks of (heavy) use, and this was just a riding horse!

Please pardon the rough clinching job- it was late and my rasp was desperately dull.

The foot would take about 12" of normal steel.

Rodney makes all of his own tools, something he learned from his father.  This is a particular favorite of mine.

I also spent a lot of time with Rodney's father, John who is a registered farrier (meaning that he was shoeing before the Farriers Registration Act took effect and therefore did not have to sit the Diploma exam) and actually is a blacksmith by trade.  I got to spend an afternoon in the blacksmith shop with him and a day where he took me around to see the Lake District, which is unbelievably gorgeous.  He's a fascinating old man who is full of history about his trade and about the area he lives in.

John Britton in his blacksmiths shop

Lake Windamere

The local breed of sheep in Cumbria (Lake District) are born black and go white with age.

The stone walls are incredible.  I admit that there is no lack of material, but the lengths and heights that they were built to is really something.  This one is not as impressive as many, but it is the one I managed to get a picture of as we drove along.  They go straight up steep mountain sides and plunge down the ravines, following the very tortured contours of the land.

If you rode out from the Brittons house you went straight up onto the Moor (or Fell).  It is quite the impressive landscape.  It felt like I was at the end of the earth up there, with nothing but sheep, grouse and heather to see for miles. 

We took an afternoon to go and see Hadrian's Wall, something that I have always wanted to see.  If I felt at the end of the world I can only imagine how the Romans felt up there when they conquered Britain in the first century AD.  All these centuries later it is still very impressive.  Despite having many missing parts- much of the "Roman Wall" has made its way into local buildings over the years- it is still a good 6 or 7 feet high and 2 or 3 feet wide in places.

Hadrian's Wall, looking east