first attempt at a concave straight-bar 15 1/2 inches 3/4 x 7/16

Wow! He must have a good teacher!

I am still looking for someone to app to. If ya want to take on another Smitty, let me know...

I'm about 10 months in mine right now.... a few smashed fingers and lost a thumbnail but hanging in there.....

Troy

Smitty,

What type of curriculum do have set up for apprentice from start to finish.

The Foundation in Farriery Training Course provides farriery trainees with the basic knowledge and skills of the trade. The course is sponsored by Foras Aiseanna Saothair(FAS) and the trainees are required to attend the Irish School of Farriery for a period of 42 weeks, during which they receive a maintenance and trainee allowance from FAS.

The training period culminates with end of course examinations, and following successful completion of these exams the trainees return to their Master Farrier to continue their on-the-job training. Progression to 2nd year of the farriery apprenticeship is dependent on each trainee passing final 1st year exams held by the Irish Master Farriers Association.

To be eligible for the course, a candidate must:
• Be over 16 years of age.

• Have educational qualifications to at least Junior Certificate level (to include Maths and English)

• Have a desire to acquire the skills offered and to pursue a career in the equine industry.

• Have secured an apprenticeship with a Master Farrier (Member of Irish Master Farriers Association)


Eligible candidates should then:
• Register with FAS for course AT59Y

• Completed Foundation in Farriery Training course application form

• Submit a CV and references.


* It is recommended that applicants complete a three week work placement with a Master Farrier prior to applying for the course.

Subjects included on the First Year Foundation in Farriery Training course include:
• Basic Forging
• Equine Veterinary Knowledge
• Basic Farriery
• Manual Handling
• Welding
• Computer Studies
• Occupational First Aid
• Equine Studies
• Business Studies • Equine Anatomy & Physiology
• Educational Visits



Mike here is a little insight into it

Sounds like you have a very good program for training new farriers. Is it hard to find a master farrier to apprentice with?

Mikel

i am participating in an apprenticeship. I had trouble finding a farrier to learn from that wasn't overly arrogant, had the ability to make handmades and works with everything from gaited horses to darfts. I am now driving 3+ hours to CT. to learn from him a couple of days a week. He's also willing to work with my coast guard schedule.

beslagsmed wrote:
Mike,
it can be hard to find a master here in Ireland
to take you on

i think its the same everywhere

smitty88 wrote: Smitty,
I'm not looking for one to take me on, I was just courious about the new guys around there wanting to get into the farrier business. Do they have to interview with the master to be accepted? How is that determined?

Mikel

Hi Smitty, nice work by the apprentice.

Not much of an apprenctice program in the US and forgeing skills are not taught that much. Most farriers learn how to shoe useing keg shoes and I see no problem with that, time is money. The way it works over here is you try to find someone who will allow you to ride with them and you might not get paid. When I started out I was willing to work for nothing just to learn. As I became more of a help to the farrier I got paid, getting paid was not the priority, learning was my priority so that I could eventually do it on my own.

One thing I have learned about how things work in the US is a new farrier is very fortunate to find someone that is willing to let them ride with him/her.

It takes several years for a farrier to build up a good buisness and it is a risk to take on an apprentice. Teaching is usually done on clients horses. Never know how a client will handle it, risk of injury to person or horse. The farrier I rode with in my first couple of years helped me get up to speed and also helped me build my buisness. I am gratefull to him to this day and feel very lucky that he allowed me to ride with him.

The best advice I can give a new farrier is to be patient and gratefull to anyone who allows you to ride with them. A good helper that is willing to listen and do what is needed is great help. At first the job might be holding horses, setting up, cleaning up, putting on pads, drilling stud holes, safeing and boxeing shoes with a grinder and other time consumeing things. As time goes on and the teacher feels more comfortable with the student's ability. He/she can pull shoes, clinch and finish and maybe do the barefoot trims. Usually by the time an apprentice is good help they go out on their own.

I find some new farriers are only interested in getting paid and do not have patience to learn. They want to get under horses right off and make money.

Forgeing and welding skills vary over here. I know a lot of good farriers keeping horses sound to compete that never light up a forge or have the need to weld. Some hardly ever use steel shoes, just aluminum.

What does it take to be a good farrier? Probably the most important things, people skills, good horsemanship and know how to balance a foot.

Hey Smitty, is it hard for a horse owner to find a good farrier over there?

Roy,
the old 10 mark question whats a good farrier
some owners think because if you turn up on time

your a great farrier
some say i have never lost a shoe with my farrier

but over look he / she is shoeing him 1/2 inch short

the gas thing is we all think we are good farriers
horse owners dont have a problem getting there


horse shod as you know there are good and bad farriers
every where

one thing i know we can all do a poor job at some stage of the
week

what do you think of the standard around your area

is it on par with yours better, below or poor work

in a 20 mile radius from me there is aprox 40 farriers
in these fourty i reckon 2 are poor

these would be all qualified and regestered

I think the "difference" in work is what I deal with the most. There are alot of "platers" in my area.... I would venture a guess that about 85% of horses can do OK being plated but the other 15% need something else. The price difference is a factor in this equation too. Platers charge about half what I charge and do the work in about a quarter of the time I take.

When I apprenticed I was fortunate to find a good Farrier to follow behind. His standards are very high and his work is top notch. Because of his influence I'm not out there doing 200 head a month at a low to medium rate. I'm out here with about 60 regular and 20 stragglers making a very good living. I am able to give my clients good service and I still have time for myself and family.

I feel very lucky to have found someone to point me in the right direction. I know it is not always this way, so maybe someday I can make a "contribution" by helping get someone started down the road.

Smitty,

Around here, I think If I drew a 50 mile circle in it there would be probably be- a dozen farriers you could count on for a solid job, 5 or 6 that could make shoes to the same standard as your apprentice, and 3 or 4 that that do work that you would call nicely finished. Probably between 15-20,000 horses in that area. There's no way to tell how many farriers there are alltogether.