Tulsa Farrier's Business Crippled By Thieves

When C.J. Ward woke up last Monday, all he saw in his driveway was a lock sitting where his 6-foot by 10-foot trailer use to be.

"I saw the lock and thought, ‘uh-oh, it's gone,'" Ward said.

Ward's passion for horses led him to the farrier business.

For the past 25 years, he's dedicated his life to making personalized horseshoes for cowboys all over Green Country.

"I go to different barns or horse shows and shoe horses," Ward said.

More than $10,000 worth of equipment was stolen from his trailer.

Now all he really has left is this box of hammers worth $1,100.

A friend and local blacksmith spotted the hammers for sale.

"Hammers are good to have, because I've used them so long," Ward said. "It takes a long time to train a hammer."

Ward is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, but he makes the majority of his income from his farrier business, which disappeared when his trailer went missing.

"There is no business without my tools," Ward said. "My income went to zero."

The crooks have crippled his business.

The 65-year-old said a part of him is gone, and it's difficult explaining this to his customers.

"I've been on the phone, putting them off," he said. "I've got some good friends that have offered loaner tools."

Even though it's been nearly a week, he's not giving up hope that his most prized possessions will eventually show up.

"I'll find them," he said. "Every horseshoe on that trailer was marked and every tool."

Ward did have insurance on his trailer.

He'll meet with the insurance agent tomorrow to see how much money he can get for his tools.