Blacksmiths

The only remaining part of the orangery is the small building at the end of the north wing, with its imperial roof. It used to be one of the orangery’s bedrooms.
Today, it has become a forge. It is very important for the stud farm, which used to have several forges and permanent blacksmiths.
There are several shoeing techniques : the old French technique in which blacksmiths had a helper to hold the horses’ hooves ; and the more modern English technique, for which no help is required. However, heavier horses often need to be immobilized, and their feet need to be tied up, without having to lift them. The different shoeing stages involve removing the old horse shoes with pliers, after having loosened each nail. Then, the excess horn in removed from each hoof, and the horse shoe is heated to adjust it to the horse’s hooves. The last step involves nailing the shoe on, clinching it and filing the hoof.