I left school at 15, and worked for a while at my Dad's blacksmiths shop, then
got a job on Murnpeowie Station near Leigh Creek for 12 months, then spent another
12 months back at Dad's blacksmiths shop. This was in the early 50's when all
shoes were hand made and horses were still taken to the blacksmiths shop where
it was easier to make shoes, to alter bought shoes, and to hot shoe.
Working horses were going out of fashion so I applied for a job with a stock firm and stayed there for several years, shoeing a few horses, mainly racehorses, in the interim. I built my own workshop at Paradise in 1961 and am still there.
I believe that hot shoeing is probably the best way of shoeing - but if it is done incorrectly, it can be the worst way. With hot shoeing you get a perfect junction of hoof and shoe, resulting in better wear, plus the shoes don't shift and the clinches stay tight.
When fitting hot shoes (which should not be red hot), any high spots can be easily seen, then rasped lightly to give evenness of colour all over. Generally speaking the nailing on is easier, particularly when the hooves are hard. The tubules of the hoof and mainly the wall are sealed with hot shoeing, but care must be taken not to overburn the hoof.
Do not attempt to hot shoe horses that have been trimmed bare or where the walls have been taken too far back. Indeed it is hard to cold shoe these horses and to achieve nail strength. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more of this lameness and mutilation of hooves by "incompetent personnel" (not my normal terminology). All Farriers should be able to hot shoe, and it is a requirement of the Level 111 Farrier Certificate.
My advice to young farrier nowadays, is to do a TAFE course or a private course and go with a good farrier to learn to do the trade well, learn to make the tools such as pritchels and toe knives, and learn to make shoes. I have a shoe home that I made in 1940 as an 8 year old, dad hung it up in the shed and it was there till he died. Young farriers coming into the trade do need to understand horses and be a good horseman to learn the trade properly. Learning the anatomy and physiology of the lower leg of the horse is extremely important. Plus young farriers need a good mentor. If they follow all that, they should end up better farriers than we are.