One of the first things I ever learned as a lady horseshoer is how important it is to think ahead. I can do anything that bigger, brawnier farriers can, I just have to think about it in advance.
Take bathrooms, for instance. As a woman who goes to the furthest ends of the pasture for a horse, I've learned to take any decent restroom as I find it, whether it's necessary right at that moment or not. Sure as stars shine, I WILL need one when there are none for miles if I don't. Having a barn restroom is a great way to make it onto my A list of clients.
On a more serious note, anvils are another sticking point. As a hot shoer, I have to haul a 100 pound anvil into and out of my truck on a daily basis. Considering that I weigh right around 150 pounds, picking up 100 pounds of dead weight isn't something to be done lightly. Feel free to mentally beat me for that pun, but I stand by it. Point is, I have to think about my weightlifting technique and the route to my anvil stand ahead of time in order to save myself from injury.
Where brawn and size make no difference, however, is with the horses themselves. It doesn't matter if I were a waif or a 200 pound bodybuilder, even the smallest horses can yank me through the air like I'm a feather. They can yank nearly anybody. Horses are four to five times as strong as most people think they are by weight, and NOBODY has ever actually physically wrestled a horse with their bare hands into doing something they fundamentally did not want to do. When dealing with horses, nobody is free from the necessity of thinking ahead, because it's the one ability we have that they don't.
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