At the far end of the line during this year’s Canadian national blacksmith’s competition was a tall, lean man with a big moustache and the knotty, muscular forearms of a career farrier.
That was Dr. Michael Miller, an orthopedic surgeon who takes time off from the hectic pace of Alabama’s busiest emergency and trauma unit to shoe horses and enter blacksmith competitions.
A surgeon for more than 30 years, the 60-year-old farrier put himself through medical school in Rochester, New York, working as a blacksmith.
“I didn’t start out to be a horseshoer or a doctor,” he said.
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His grandfather was an ironworker and Miller was interested in learning to work with metal so he attended horseshoe school for three months and apprenticed when he was 23 years old. He hopes to remain competitive as a farrier until he is 70.
His work week consists of two 24 hour shifts in the Huntsville hospital, where he averages 500-600 surgeries per year.
During the remaining three days of the work week he hangs out his shingle as Miller Farrier Service and shoes hunter-jumpers, dressage and Quarterhorses.
He has competed in the world championship four times at the Calgary Stampede and plans to return this summer to be with his friends.
When asked how he placed, he laughed: “Not worth a hoot.”
He is also a competitive cyclist and weight trains so he can build enough stamina to keep up with the young, full-time farriers.
He likes the intense pressure of the timed competitions and the challenge of making a perfect horseshoe.
“When the bell goes off, I am so dialed in, I know I’m going to finish,” he said.
He also lectures blacksmiths about their health, which takes a beating over the years from the physical workout they put themselves through.
“Most farriers’ posture under the horse is terrible,” he said.
Miller talks to them about rearranging their tool boxes for easier access, propping the horse’s feet in a foot cradle and learning exercises to work out the kinks. Knees can become sore but for many, chronic back problems are the main health issue.
However, he has found standing long hours as a surgeon is actually harder on his body than working with horses and swinging a hammer.
Given a choice, he picks the life of the blacksmith.
“All my friends are horseshoers. I like my partners fine but the people I prefer to spend time with are horseshoers. They are down to earth.”
He has come to love the industry and promotes it wherever he can, especially at competitions offered throughout the world.
“Properly photographed and edited, this could be on ESPN. It’s an exciting event,” he said.
