Farrier
Farriers inspect, trim and shape horses' hooves. They make, fit and nail horseshoes or, in the case of race horses, racing plates or 'tips'.
Farriers may perform the following tasks:
- look at horses' legs and hooves while the animal is stationary as well as in motion to check for irregularities, interference, peculiarities in gait (how the horse walks) or abnormalities in size and shape of hooves
- talk to the horse's owner or trainer to decide on the type of shoe and nails required
- remove worn or faulty shoes and note wear patterns, foreign bodies, bruising, infections or deformities
- examine, clean, trim and shape hooves using knives, hoof cutters and rasps
- measure hooves, take a template of each hoof on a piece of cardboard and estimate the length of metal required for the shoes
- select and cut metal according to type, size and weight of shoes, and type of horse
- hold shoes against hooves to find out the amount of shaping required
- heat shoes in a forge, shape them on anvils and hammer them to size
- place and nail shoes to hooves and check that clips and clenched nails are smooth and lined up with the walls of each hoof
- remove steel shoes from horses before they race, replace with light aluminum shoes or 'tips' and after the race replace with the steel shoes
- work in the areas of corrective or surgical shoeing.
Farriers spend a great deal of time traveling to attend to horses, mainly in country or outer metropolitan areas. Weekend and after-hours work is often necessary. Farriers must work very quickly and have the ability to handle horses, as they may be unpredictable or agitated.
Farriers usually wear protective equipment.
Personal Requirements:
- physically fit
- good eyesight (may be corrected) and hearing
- enjoy working with horses
- awareness of personal and industrial safety
- good hand-eye coordination.
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