Farriery

Regular farriery is vital for all horses.

There are a few old English proverbs that apply to farriery:-

“No foot, no horse”

“For want of a nail the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost.”

The consequences of poor farriery can be catastrophic for horses. Orthopaedic (lameness) problems can be caused by trauma due to accidents with the best trimmed or shod horses. However if the feet are imbalanced or overgrown, the chances of orthopaedic injury increase substantially. The imbalance puts excessive strain on tendons, ligaments and joints within the limbs that may lead to severe injury.

Statistically, 80% of lameness in the front feet arises from the foot!

We recommend the use of a registered farriery who would normally recommend a trimming interval of 4-8 weeks and a shoeing interval of 4-6 weeks. These intervals can vary at different times of year or with different ponies or horses. When an injury or condition is being treated this interval may be as short as every 2-3 weeks.

To check if your farrier is registered visit the Worshipful Company of Farriers at www.wcf.org.uk.

We do not recommend the use of unqualified people for trimming or shoeing any horse.

Simon has a huge interest in farriery and it could be said that he’s a frustrated farrier!! He has learned how to make shoes at both Hereford School of Farriery and at Dave Rothwell’s forge in Oldham. He also lectures in orthopaedics at Myerscough College to apprentice farriers, foundation degree and BSc (Hons) degree farriers.

All our vets have a great working relationship with all farriers in our area. We work alongside farriers regularly on cases requiring corrective or surgical shoeing and attend farriery meetings. It is vital for this cooperation between vets and farriers to get the best outcome with individual cases.

We are happy to work alongside any qualified farrier on any case.