It’s not easy to be a woman in what is typically a man’s trade. It isn’t easy to speak up for the health of a horse when your methods go against a way of life dating as far back as the early middle age invention of the metal horse shoe. But this is exactly what my dear friend and barefoot farrier, Susanella Noble did for decades. She WAS the horse’s advocate on the Big Island.
For us, moving to the Big Island from Big Bear, CA, was a feat unto itself. We brought one elderly equine, one goat, 2 vehicles, a 40’ Matson container of household goods, and whatever fit into our rolling suitcases. That was it! The most important need for me wasn’t setting up a home in a vintage yurt, and makeshift barn in the middle of the ohia forest. It was finding what I couldn’t find in Big Bear…a farrier who was trained in the art of maintaining my horse’s hooves without nailing metal shoes onto those hooves. Smoke had suffered a coffin bone rotation two years earlier. It took me a full year to rehabilitate him when most in my sphere said it couldn’t be done. Nailing shoes to his hooves was not an option!
I can’t remember how I met Susanella, but when I did I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. She was firm in her opinions, all based on a lifetime of extensive research, personal experience and common sense. By that time I felt exactly the same way. She said she felt we spoke the same language, and she appreciated the ease with which we could communicate about what it takes to keep your horse healthy. We forged a friendship that lasted over 14 years. She was the one I called when disaster struck of the equine version. She taught me that the horse’s hoof tells the story of the horse’s health, that any compromise to health will quickly show up in the hoof. And, without four healthy hooves you simply don’t have a healthy horse…and in all too many cases, the horse at all!
Within my sphere Susanella was the first person on the island I heard of who contracted Covid 19. It attacked her in many ways, and when the wicked disease was finally under control worldwide, and we were all moving forward, Susanella couldn’t. She now had what is termed, Long Covid. It slowly, relentlessly took her life. Last month, while enjoying my once-every-three-week appointment with Teddy, her son, now my barefoot farrier, he shared that the disease had taken her life. I stood there in shock, even though I knew it was inevitable.
I have lost a dear friend, a remarkable human being, and the best advocate for not only my beloved equine, Palmer, but every equine on this island! She is simply irreplaceable. I will miss her voice, her 100% commitment to doing the right thing when it comes to not only horses, but all livestock, dogs and cats, and knowing that no matter what I am facing in caring for my pets, she was just a phone call away to help guide me through the crisis. I am eternally grateful for her deep friendship and care for me and the 4-legged creatures I have loved these past 14 years. She holds a very special place in my heart, and I will always miss her…
