Shoeing a horse in Hardhills smithy

  An apprentice shoeing a horse in Hardhills smithy, Castle Douglas. Dr Werner Kissling, 1959. In this photograph an apprentice at Hardhills smithy is pictured shoeing a horse. He has one of the horse's forelegs between his knees whilst the horse rests its head against his back and seems to look at the camera.   He is tightening or 'clinching' the nails with a hammer and pincers. Before this, a hoof-parer was used to crop excess growth from the hoof to allow the shoe to be fitted. The hoof could then be measured, and the shoe shaped to the horse's measurements. The shoe was nailed on and clinched.   Dr Werner Kissling (1895-1988) was a German photographer and ethnographer who spent most of his life documenting Scottish crafts, architecture, and agricultural practices. He was associated with Dumfries Museum from the mid-1950s until his death in 1988.   With thanks to the School of Scottish Studies Archives for additional information.