Wilson Farrier Service

Nathan Wilson, owner of Wilson's Farrier Service, has been a farrier for over 15 years. A 2013 graduate of Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, California, his motto is, "It takes a great horseman to become a great farrier."

Born in North Carolina, Nathan and his family moved to Southern California after his mother broke her back and needed more intensive medical treatment. His father, a retired US Navy Vietnam Veteran, worked as a well driller for General Pump in San Dimas, CA, until he passed from a brain aneurysm when Nathan was only seven. 

Being one of three children and his mom now a single mother with medical difficulties, another move to be near family only made sense. In 1999, he, his siblings, and his mother relocated to Northeastern Nevada. After playing football in high school and being a typical kid growing up in a rural area, Nathan graduated from Mountain High School in Ely. 

Eventually, Nathan found his way to horses, which had no small impact on his life. "And boy was that a lifesaver," Nathan would recall later. 

As Charlie Van Norman would say, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man." Nathan eventually learned this statement to be true. 

While working at the Rose/Calahan Ranch, Nathan frequently rode the nearby trails to help build the horses' confidence when encountering mountain bikes - which was often. During one such ride, he met a man shoeing a horse on the blacktop. That man was Dean Tsuda, the farrier for Julie Winkle of Maplewood Equestrian Facility. Unbeknownst to either of them, this chance encounter would shape the direction of Nathan's life. 

Nathan soon became an apprentice under Tsuda, awaiting acceptance into the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School. He completed the eight-week course and soon graduated. However, he decided to continue his time at the horseshoeing school as a working student. Nathan obtained an additional 10 months of training while he served on staff. 

He helped incoming students set up and prepare for their classes, took care of the dorm, and filled in wherever was needed. In the field, Nathan guided students as they learned to forge horseshoes or modify keg shoes, showing them the necessary angles required for the shoe and the horse's foot shape. To earn extra money, he continued training horses, learning that it takes a great horseman to be a good horseshoer. 

Once leaving school, Nathan had the opportunity to apprentice with Dave Parker, who owned a ranch in Penn Valley in Nevada County, CA. Dave's wife owned a Classical Hoofbeats Dressage facility in Santa Cruz County. Nathan's education continued as he traveled from Santa Cruz to Grass Valley, shoeing dressage horses with Dave - a seasoned farrier with over 50 years of experience in Western and English performance horses.

Working for several other private, boarding, and performance barns from Salinas to San Francisco, Nathan continued to pursue excellence in his craft, earning achievement certificates for Conformation and its Relationship to Soundness, Forge Principals and Applications, EquiAid Emergency First Aid to Horses, and Equine Anatomy. He has received several Certificates of Achievement from the International Association of Professional

Farriers (IAPF) for foundation credentials and nutrition. As a member of various farrier associations, continuing education credits (CE) are required to keep his credentials current. Nathan said, "You never really master the process of horseshoeing - and by the time you do, your body starts to break down."

Nathan and his three children have made Fallon their home, and he is passing on to his children the art of being great horsemen and women. The kids regularly compete at the Fallon Horsemen's Association competitions. He encourages his kids to learn what a horse needs for their feet "because without a good foundation under a horse, there is no horse."

Nathan can be reached at [email protected].

Pictured: Top right, Nathan shoeing. Center right, a straight bar shoe. Bottom left, Nathan and Clydesdale friends. Photos courtesy of Nathan Wilson.