Sam Elder’s Specialized Horseshoeing Service on West Main
(Sam Elder’s) Specialized Horseshoeing Service on West Main
Missoula’s first specialized horseshoeing shop opened at 218 W. Main St. in 1896.
The shop was the realization of Sam Elder’s dreams of designing horseshoes. The ordinary work horse got a shoe out of a keg which came from the factory. The shoe was heated by the blacksmith, adjusted and nailed on.
But the race horse received a shoe made from a bar of iron which was cut and shaped to the foot. The shoe was fashioned to fit odd feet. It was shaped or weighted to correct defective or peculiar gaits.
Before Sam Elder came to town in 1891, all places which shod horses were known as blacksmith shops, and did not only horseshoeing but wagon work, setting tires and sharpening plows.
So during the summer, Elder operated a shop at the race track. The horses would get their workouts at 6 a.m., and in order to be sure their feet were in proper condition for this,
Elder arrived at the track shortly before 4 a.m. Then he would go back to town to open his shop at 7 a.m.
The above article appeared in the 1960 Missoulian-Sentinel Centennial Edition.