Here’s what you need to know about this month
FARRIERY
A farriery crisis could be on the horizon as numbers of farriers drop across the country. Farriers Registration Council (FRC) figures show that there were 2,686 registered farriers in the UK at the end of 2023, 162 fewer than in December 2019. The situation in Scotland is particularly dire, with around 160 covering the entire country.
An FRC spokesman said: “Equine owners should be able to access farriery services throughout Great Britain. However, those in some areas of Scotland may experience difficulty due to geography and demographics.”
He added that the Scottish situation is being made worse because there is no public funding for farriery students, making it expensive to serve an apprenticeship.
The lack of farriers is due to an increase in the number of farriers reaching retirement age, some choosing to work overseas or leave the profession and fewer apprentices coming into the trade, the FRC said.
The only route into farriery is to be apprenticed to an approved training farrier (ATF) in conjunction with a course at one of three colleges — Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College, Myerscough College and the Warwickshire College Group.
Lancashire-based farrier Craig D’Arcy, who teaches farriery at Myerscough College, said that a declining number of training farriers is contributing to the problem.
He commented: “Steel has become much more expensive and the minimum wage has increased. This means that taking on an apprentice is no longer financially viable.
“I also don’t think that horse riding is as accessible as it once was due to the cost of keeping a horse, so there aren’t as many horses around. Quite a few of my customers have not replaced their horses.”
Craig also has concerns that there is a glut of farriers in their 50s and 60s, with no one replacing them.
The FRC said that the number of ATFs has held steady at between 160 and 170 since 2020, but between a quarter and a third of those aren’t training apprentices currently.
However, the FRC said that it had “not been advised that applicants are being declined access through a lack of ATF capacity”.
ENTERTAINMENT
Guaranteed to touch the heart of every horse lover, the equestrian theatre show Bravo is proving to be a sell-out success. Created a year ago by grand prix dressage rider and Level 4 commercial coachman Emma Nuttall, the show tells the story of a foal named Bravo, who dreams of being part of a grand performance, like his taller and more handsome brother.
Bravo’s journey takes in carriage driving, dressage, quadrill
