In 2004, I set off across North Carolina with my mule Woody. Though I’d grown up riding horses, I’d never shod them. I nailed a pair of shoes onto Woody’s front feet and hit the road.

I started that trip in Oriental, on the coast of North Carolina. Two months later, I arrived in Southern Pines. I thought it would be good to have a pack animal so I bought a pony named Maggie from my friend Mel Wyatt in… Continue reading →