Mini Mag Mar 1 2021

Kansas Farriers Association Sets Equifest Contest For Public And Professional Knowledge Of Horseshoeing By Frank J. Buchman

“No foot, no horse” takes special meaning to every horse owner while horse soundness is the business of farriers. “Shoeing horses is a lot more than ‘just nailing a steel shoe on’ a hoof,” according to Max Andersen, Certified Journeyman Farrier of Manhattan. “It’s not too hard to shoe a horse, but to correct and improve a horse’s movement becomes complex,” Andersen clarified. “That’s the reason for the Kansas Farriers Association (KFA) and its defined mission,” said Andersen, president of the state group. KFA’s set mission is: “To promote and further the professional development of farriers through educational and certification avenues. “To provide leadership and communication to advocate benefit of the farrier, their industry, the equine owner, and the equine. “To vigilantly continue the traditional farrier art and science, embracing the innovations and research of today and tomorrow.” The state organization is an affiliate of the American Farriers Association which conducts certification programs, Andersen said. “This is strictly voluntary certification dedicated to the welfare of the horse,” he emphasized. Certification testing is not a mandate or blueprint on

Max Anderson, Certified Journeyman Farrier of Manhattan, forges a horseshoe from a flat piece of steel to fit a specific horse’s foot. Anderson serves as president of the Kansas Farriers Association which is sponsoring a farrier contest, March 5-6, in the Saline County Expo Center as a feature of the Equifest of Kansas at Salina.

how to shoe any individual horse. “It is an objective assessment of specific skills necessary to perform the farrier job to a prescribed standard,” Andersen said. “Those meeting test requirements possess the ability to provide a healthy standard of hoof care.” Farriers who pass the certification examination exhibit a “working knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathology, gaits, and horseshoes,” Andersen informed. “They display the ability to identify, assess, trim, and

protect structures of the hoof. The farriers demonstrate shoe fit and modifications to specific standards and patterns.” Levels include Certified Farrier, beginning farriers; Tradesman Farrier, two years’ experience; and Journeyman Farrier, in-depth knowledge. “The program includes written testing, forging and fitting a handmade shoe and shoeing the horse with that shoe,” Andersen said. To increase public awareness about importance of correct shoeing and enhance farrier knowledge, a Kansas Farriers Association Contest is planned. The competition will be at Salina during the Equifest of Kansas on March 5-6, Andersen said. About 30 farriers from throughout the country from as far away as California, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin have pre-entered. With novice, intermediate and open divisions planned, competition begins with forging a shoe out of a flat piece of steel. “It will be a judged event starting Friday morning, March 5,” Andersen said. “The top three individuals in each division on Friday will be invited back Saturday. These competitors will forge new shoes to fit a horse and then shoe that horse.” Winners will be announced at a Saturday evening banquet with a fund-raising auction also planned at that time. “No matter how many horses a farrier has shod, there is always more they can learn to help the horse,” Andersen said. “It’s easy for a farrier to get in a rut shoeing customer horses with cold keg shoes. But shoeing becomes much more difficult with horses that have foot and travel problems.” Lifelong professional farriers find attendance at the certification programs and contests helps make them better farriers. “They have an opportunity to talk to other farriers and learn about various issues that they’ve worked with,” Andersen said. Three main problems which farriers must deal with are abscesses, navicular and laminitis, according to Andersen. “Knowledgeable farriers can generally correct or at least improve these issues,” he said. “While most horses are shod with keg shoes, a forged shoe is often necessary for more difficult problems.” A professional farrier about four years, Andersen said the Kansas Farriers Association has 40 members. “They are concerned about continually improving their farrier’s skills while enhancing the horse’s movement

and athletic ability,” he said. Additional information about the Kansas Farriers Association Contest during Equifest at the Saline County Expo Center is available on Facebook. “Everybody is welcome to come watch these farriers in action,” Andersen invited. “There is no charge to attend and the competition will be educational for all horse owners and farriers alike.”

Often Forgotten Always Inadequately Recognized, Buffalo Soldiers History To Be Reflected During Equifest Of Kansas By Frank J. Buchman

Buffalo Soldiers were African-American regiments of the Army that were created in 1866.

Pages of time will be turned back more than a century-and-a-half when Buffalo Soldier re-enactors come to Salina.

The Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association will be among featured educational entertainment during the Equifest of Kansas, March 5-6-7. Buffalo Soldiers were African-American regiments of the Army that were created in 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They served in peacetime Indian wars, the Spanish-American War, both World Wars, and the Korean War. “We started the Nicodemus Buffalo Soldier Association in 1995 with the purpose of bringing the African-Americans in the West to life,” said First Sergeant Barrie Tompkins said. “It was a part of history that went unnoticed for so many years. Living in Nicodemus, we decided to form a troop,” Thompkins explained. “That way, we could go out and present a part of living history, instead of just reading about it.”

During the Equifest of Kansas, the Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association re-enactors will present the story of Buffalo Soldiers in American history.

The small town of Nicodemus in northwest Kansas’ Graham County was founded by newly freed slaves in 1877. Nicodemus was the first black community west of the Mississippi River and is the only remaining predominantly black community west of the Mississippi. Some early residents of Nicodemus served as Buffalo Soldiers, who fought Indians, captured cattle rustlers and thieves and protected stagecoaches, wagon trains and railroad crews, Buffalo Soldiers from Nicodemus served in the 24th Infantry Regiment and the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments. Thompkins, a Kent Cavalry Company F Buffalo Soldier reenactor, believes the men’s reasons were probably pretty practical.

“Joining the Army gave them a purpose,” Thompkins said. “This was at the end of slavery, so where else would they go and what else were they going to do? For many black men, it was a better option than sharecropping.” Once they became soldiers, the men quickly realized the honor and glory would have to come after other things. “The Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association was formed to honor them,” Thompkins said. “Then members began participating in historical re-enactments across the country. “So many of the things the Buffalo Soldiers accomplished went unnoticed,” said Tompkins, commander of the Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association. “They were the first park rangers for Yosemite National Park. Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Billy the Kid, and Poncho Villa are people Buffalo Soldiers actually encountered or caught and never got the recognition. “Buffalo Soldiers had the lowest desertion rate, the highest enlistment rate, and their alcohol rate was zero because no town would serve them,” Tompkins said. “White soldiers burned their barracks, but every white officer who commanded the Buffalo Soldiers didn’t want to command anybody else.” The Nicodemus Buffalo Soldier Association strives to keep their performances as historically accurate as possible. According to Tompkins, the group wants to educate spectators on the soldiers who weren’t written about in history books. “You get a chance to actually see and meet Buffalo Soldiers in authentic uniforms on horseback,” Tompkins said. “Of course, we are not from the 1800s, but we want to do everything historically accurate as close as we possibly can, to give you that feeling.”

After performing drills on horseback, the re-enactors try to give the audience the chance to ask questions about the history of the cavalry, including where they got their name. “The Native Americans knew that the Great Spirit, which is God, sent them the buffalo,” Tompkins said. “It clothed them, sheltered them and fed them, but they saw that something was awfully peculiar about the black man in reference to the buffalo. “They noticed that the hair on the hump of the buffalo looked like the hair on the black man. So they started calling them the Buffalo Soldiers, not out of making fun of them, but out of great respect for them.” After President Truman desegregated the U.S. military in 1948, the Buffalo Soldiers’ days were numbered. The all-black units were disbanded in 1953. However, their legacy endures. Thompkins wants people to know that Buffalo Soldiers were men of many talents. “Some say all the Buffalo Soldiers did was build forts and roads, but that’s far from true,” Thompkins emphasized. “Actually 23 Buffalo Soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor. They’re the highest decorated cavalry regiment in all of U.S. military history. “Buffalo Soldiers helped settle the West. They strung telegraph lines. They delivered the mail when Pony Express ended. Their contributions are numerous and great.” First Sergeant Barrie Tompkins and several members of the Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association appeared in two TNT movies. They were filmed in Teddy Roosevelt Roughriders starring Sam Elliot and also appeared in Buffalo Soldiers with Danny Glover. The Nicodemus Buffalo Soldiers Association presents an important part of history most never knew about.

MARKING THE TRAILS IN KANSAS

Marking our trails is an essential job and one that needs to be constantly monitored in order to ensure rider’s safety. And with the multitude of directionally challenged riders out there, well, marked trails are greatly appreciated. Being the Volunteer Trail Coordinator for the South Shore Trails at Clinton Lake, located just three miles west of Lawrence, Kansas, one of my main concerns has always been keeping the trail markers in good shape. When I started marking the trails 20 years ago the Corps of Engineers spent $200 to purchase scrap aluminum house siding cut into 5-inch squares to use as

markers. They were a hodgepodge of colors so I purchased spray paint in the four colors that we used to mark our trails--yellow, blue, orange and white--and spent hours laying the markers out and painting them. Then, every fall I would carry four cans of the spray paint with me every time I rode and repainted them as they faded badly and the squirrels loved to chew on them.

After 20 years I had finally run out of these markers and was really tired of repainting 68 miles of trail markers every year! So, I was thrilled when I applied for and received a $400 grant from Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA) to purchase new and better markers. After researching trail markers online I chose Voss Signs to buy my new markers. Their 5 x 7 inch vibrant colored .05 gauge polyethylene plastic markers are made with maximum UV inhibitors for long lasting durability and colorfastness.

I ordered 1000 markers to get the best price of 47 cents each, for a total of $470 plus $10 shipping. This was more than the grant I received but fortunately a dedicated trail rider from Missouri, Cindy Sharp, donated $200 to my trails for maintenance so that covered the rest of the cost plus allowed me to purchase black plastic arrows and red camp arrows to apply as needed to the markers. Plus, Cindy and her friends joined our Sunflower Chapter of BCHKS! So, this fall our Sunflower Chapter members were out in force replacing the old markers with the new markers. And, as I live right by our campground I try to meet all the new riders and give them an update on trail conditions and also give them our trail map, which was made possible by a previous grant from

BCHA. So, if you get lost on our trails now then you must be riding with your eyes closed.

Everyone was so impressed with these new markers that our State chapter of BCHA purchased another 1000 markers, this time with black arrows on them, for our state members to use on their trails. We decided to offer them at half our cost to encourage our members to try them out! Hopefully within a year there will be nice bright markers pointing the way down the trail.

Diana Skinner National Director BCH Kansas dgskinner85@gmail.com 1007 E 700th Road Lawrence, KS 66047 785-748-0850

Tree Cutters Find Draft Horse Teams Best For Moving Logs Out Of Timber By Frank J. Buchman

“Horses still work best for modern day logging crews.” While sophisticated technology and elaborately designed machines seem to dominate progressive industry today, that’s not always true. Two teams of Percheron geldings were pulling big walnut logs out of the timber last week west of Williamsburg. “Horses are much more efficient and easier to work with than other methods we’ve seen,” said Eli Troyer.

It was dinner time when Troyer and his sons Jonathan and Alvin along with Freeman Gingerich visited about cutting logs. They had been working several days in Franklin and Osage counties cutting mostly walnut and some oak logs. “We’re from New York but moved near Scranton when my other son Raymond bought a farm,” the senior Troyer said. The Amish family does carpenter work during the summer and saws logs during the winter. “That’s what we did in New York and it’s worked well the same way here in Kansas,” Troyer explained. As carpenters, the men typically do pole barn construction, roofing and other building renovation projects.

Area farmers are contacted by the loggers about harvesting logs from their timbers. “We typically saw logs for a 40-60 share with 60 percent of log value going to landowners,” Troyer said. “Sometimes, we have a 50-50 agreement and we have bought logs instead of working on a share.” Alvin Troyer, youngest of the logging crew, was barefooted during dinner. Evidently, he’d gotten his feet wet and had a small twig fire burning to warmup his toes before afternoon work. Against their belief, the loggers insisted they not have their pictures taken. “You can take photographs of the horses and the logs; that’s okay,” Troyer said.

Because the Amish do not use telephones or drive trucks, they had assistance getting the horses to the farm timber. “We borrow phones to make contact with men who have trailer rigs to haul the horses here for us,” Troyer explained. Teams had also been taking a work break tied to their own two-wheeled pull carts. The heavy, steel-wheeled carts were constructed especially for pulling logs. The horses got a full helping of fresh water before being hooked for restarting their log pulling duties. Each weighing about 1,700-pounds the sleek black five-to-seven-year-old 17-hands geldings were hitched in pairs to the logging carts. Two loggers were team drivers while the others went to work in the timber with their big Stihl chain saws. Good working horses like these are not most readily come by with cost determined by their ability and experience. It’s not uncommon to pay an average of $5,000 apiece for such dependable, well broke, quality draft animals.

“That might seem expensive at first, but these horses sure earn their keep here. It’d be a lot more work to try to get these logs out of the timber with a tractor,” Troyer insisted. “We brought one horse from New York and bought the others at the sale in Kalona, Iowa.” Chain saw roar was soon loudly apparent as big walnut trees dropped to the timber floor. Logs averaging from 18-to-24-inches in diameter were sawed out in lengths from six-to-18-feet long.

Teams took turns pulling single logs chained to the carts to be stockpiled in the nearby field. In short order with the morning work, there were about two dozen logs ready for marketing. “We have buyers who come in and bid on the logs,” Troyer said. “They pay on a scale by the board foot with a highly variable price depending on the quality.” For example, a six-foot Grade-A black walnut log, 19-inches in diameter, could be valued at about $700. With six additional inches diameter that price could be considerably more. Oak and other kinds of logs are typically somewhat less valuable. Age of the trees can be calculated by counting the growth rings. Bob Eichenberger, Pomona, sold walnut and oak logs off his farm and attempted to calculate how old some trees were. “It’s interesting how much growth there is in a wet year compared to when it’s dry,” Eichenberger said. “Several walnut trees were about 30 years old, but one of the oak trees was nearly 100 years old.”

Log buyers bring big trucks with loaders for hauling their purchases which are used for various purposes. Evidently some are shipped to overseas markets while other logs go to mills in this country for making lumber. Likely some of what were originally Kansas farm trees will become high valued beautiful veneer furniture. Not only do the Percherons do winter timber work, they are also called upon for summer farm duties. “My son Raymond uses the horses for putting up hay now,” Troyer said. “He intends to do more crop field work in coming years.”

Kansas Pioneer

Crock Pot Corned Beef Serves 6

3-4 lb. 1Large

Corn Beef Brisket Green Cabbage

5 lb

New Potatoes

6 large

Carrots (if desired) peeled and cut in 3 in pieces

Open Package and drain juice from Corn Beef. I discard packet of spices. You can sprinkle it over the top if you wish. Wash potatoes, peel and cut Carrots (if using). Cut Cabbage into 6 wedges leaving on core. Place meat in bottom of crock pot and layer with potatoes and cabbage wedges.

Cook on high for 8 hours.

Note: This sounds like a lot of meat, but it shrinks a lot during cooking even in the crockpot. Start with at least ½ pound per person.