VietNamNet Bridge – Saigon in the days of old was full of poetic and picturesque images, among which were carts pulled along by horses or cows galloping or trotting along dirt roads on the outskirts. Such images are no longer seen nowadays, as modern times with new technology, new machines and new vehicles have swept away such slow-moving and inefficient carts. However, there remains at least one farrier who is now still sticking himself to the trivial-income job.

Wagon coachman Thien Van Ut.

Huynh Van Dan, a hoof trimmer for cows in Vinh Loc A Commune in Binh Chanh District, still takes pride in the job he has pursued since decades ago, simply because he finds it enjoyable.

“Shoeing cattle no longer brings me a good living. I stick to the job just to meet with friends to chat for fun,” says Dan, one among very few farriers in the city.

A strong passion

Dan is fitting a shoe on two cows of Le Van Sau from District 12 while chatting with us. The man in his 60s says the cows he is fitting the shoes are the first in as many months.

“Hardly anybody uses horse-carts at present. So, I am out of work most of the time,” says Dan. He says he now has another job to earn his living, but is always ready for the farrier’s job when customers come.

Dan recalls the gilded age when he had to fit dozens of cow hooves everyday.

“At present, nobody raises cows for pulling carts, so I have changed my job for three years,” he said.

A complete pair of hooves costs a mere VND50,000. Of this figure, VND30,000 is for hoofshoes and nails, and the little remainder is for him. Dan now only does this as a hobby, so that he can have an excuse to meet and talk with people doing the same job in District 12, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan and Hoc Mon districts.

Picky craft

It is more difficult and requires greater prudence when coming to fit shoes on a cow than doing that with a horse, Dan says. For a horse, shoes can be fitted while the animal is standing still, but a farrier needs a separate cowshed and specific tool set to do the work on a cow.

Before the hooves are fitted, the cow’s head must be tied to a pole while the legs will be pulled up off the ground by two big chains. The farrier, then, will pull the leg that needs fitting towards the pole. Dan shows his tools including a hammer and a special kind of pincers.

The shoes that Dan uses for his work are made at a professional blacksmith’s shop in Binh Duong Province. Nails are also cast in such smithies because of their required durability. Later on, these attachments will be adjusted once again to match with each cow.

“Sometimes it takes only 20 minutes to fit all hooves for a cow. Yet in other times, it may take over two hours for one cow due to hard or damaged nails. In anyway, I cannot get extra money for the service,” says Dan.

Farrier Huynh Van Dan does his job in Vinh Loc A Commune in Binh Chanh District

A cow can use the shoes to travel about 100 kilometers on ordinary earth road before the next replacement. The durability may be affected if the cows go on tough roads with rocks or gravels. “Hoof shoes are just like human’s shoes, the endurance depending on many factors,” explains Dan.

‘How I became a farrier’

Recalling the early days of his job, Dan says he came upon the occupation all by accident. At the age of 18, Dan began to earn his living on a wagon as a transporter. At that time, he usually had to take his cows to Ba Diem Commune in Hoc Mon District to be fitted with shoes. There used to be many professional farriers working in District 12, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon and Cu Chi districts in the 80s.

“Due to a large number of customers, I had to wait for a very long time for my turn. I realized I waste too much time for waiting, so I made my own cowshed and bought a set of tools to fit shoes for the cows of my family. A few years later, the old workman in Ba Diem grew old and weak and quitted his job. Customers flocked to my place. The more I did the work, the more skillful I became. That is how I have become a professional,” Dan reminisces.

At present, wagons pulled along by horses or cows are extremely rare in Binh Chanh or Hoc Mon areas.

Thien Van Ut, who still uses such carts in the area, says there are only about five people still sticking to the job in both districts. In the old days, wagons were used to carry cow or buffalo droppings and soil for betel growers in Ba Diem Commune, or to transport goods to the market. Yet not many people do farming and raising cow and buffalo for manure nowadays. Therefore, many have had to switch job.

Both wagon coachman and farrier in Saigon are seeing their careers coming to an end. As Huynh Van Dan is among the last farriers, such poetic and picturesque scenes are becoming part of the history of Saigon.