<b>By NANCY VORIS<br>
Indiana Correspondent</b></p><p>

FRANKLIN, Ind. — Hoof care in cattle is known to contribute to the overall health of bovines. One young entrepreneur sees it as job stability and a way to stay connected to his agriculture roots.
Caleb Spencer, 22, grew up with farming in his blood and was a 10-year 4-H dairy showman. But like many young farmers, he needed a trade for financial stability.<br>

He attended Vincennes University where he learned construction trades and became a union carpenter - working six days a week and earning good wages. But he had met some hoof trimmers through the years and felt drawn to the lifestyle.<br>

At 19, he traveled to Montana with other trimmers for the Hoof Trimmers Assoc. Northwest Hoof Health Rendezvous. The gathering provided leads for a couple months of work with dairies across Montana owned by Hutterites, which Spencer described as “electric Amish.”<br>

“They fed us good,” he said. “I loved the work, and decided I did not want to work (construction) in the cities,” Spencer said. “I wanted to work in agriculture, and I wanted to make a living at it.”
He struggled with the decision, wondering if it was the right thing to do. His answer came while walking in the Montana mountains.<br>

“I was having a hard time spiritually and was praying hard and heavy,” Spencer recalled. “On that mountain I talked to the good Lord and got a peaceful feeling. I turned around and took three steps … and there was an elk hoof.”<br>

Spencer said it was rare to find an elk hoof, and took that as confirmation to pursue the new career.<br>

He traveled across the country with veteran hoof trimmers including Bill Mink and Ritchey Roberts on their circuit of ranches and dairies, knowing their experience and knowledge would get him moving in the right direction.<br>

“I probably spent more time with hoof trimmers than anyone else in the country,” he said. “These guys helped me get along.”
Spencer traveled to Utah with Mink, trimming 16,000 cows in nine days. He spent another six months on the road covering the eastern states, building experience and memories, some a little harrowing.<br>

He started accumulating the equipment needed, including a used layover table that lays cows on their sides to do hoof work. In January 2007, he attended the HTA Annual Conference in Tampa, Fla., and made some cold calls in the area to gain more experience.<br>

“You just pull and ask, and maybe they’ll say ‘OK, let’s see what you can do.’ Sometimes they may call a couple months later,” Spencer said. “You just have to make a name for yourself.”
Spurred on by the conference, he loaded his Dodge pick-up truck and headed back to Utah. He needed to buy a chute, so he got on at a dairy in Colorado to earn some extra money. By April, he had bought a chute and headed back to Utah.<br>

As one trimming job led to another, Spencer wound up trimming in New Mexico, earning $4 a head to trim, wrap, block and treat hoof problems.<br>

“The saying is, ‘the better you take care of the cows, the better they’ll take care of you,’” Spencer said.<br>

But then his luck ran out. No work. No leads. No gas. No money.
With his last few coins, he called Roberts for advice. Roberts told him to make a sign reading, “Will trim hooves for food.”
A friend took him to the Holy Ghost Coffee Shop in one of the city churches for help.<br>

“It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. I got a shower and got cleaned up.”<br>

The people at the church also gave him a map of every dairy farm in the area and sent him off with prayer. Then Spencer got a much-needed break. He got on at a Texas ranch with 4,500 head of cattle and a 2,200-cow dairy – a six-month stint where he worked seven days a week.<br>

“I almost had a meltdown,” he said.<br>

He moved back home in September of last year and for now is working close to home. Spencer estimated he trimmed 12,000 cows before going out on his own and advertising his trade, and credits his friends in the HTA for helping him break into the business.
“There’s not too many young people getting into trimming,” he said.<br>

“It’s a dying trade. These guys helped me get along.”
For details, call Caleb Spencer at 317-412-1658 or visit www.hooftrimmers.org