What is farriery?

Farriery is defined in the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 as ‘any work in connection with the preparation or treatment of the foot of a horse for the immediate reception of a shoe thereon, the fitting by nailing or otherwise of a shoe to the foot or the finishing off of such work to the foot’.

Registered Farriers are professionals who have thorough knowledge of both the theory and practice of farriery; they are capable of shoeing all types of equine feet, whether normal or defective, of making shoes to suit all types of work and working conditions, and of devising corrective measures to compensate for faulty limb action. Shoes may be made from metal and from other modern materials such as plastics and resins.

A ‘Farrier’ should not be confused with a ‘Blacksmith’. A farrier works with horses but needs training in blacksmithing in order to make shoes correctly. A blacksmith works with iron and may never have any contact with horses and is not registered to carry out farriery.