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| profiles |
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| Find
out more about what its like to work in the Racing Industry
by reading the profiles of students who have completed the Equine
Industry Training Scheme. |
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| Andrew
Fisher -
APPRENTICE
FARRIER |
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| September
2003 |
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| Currently
completing: |
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| 3rd
year as an Apprentice Farrier |
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| Qualification: |
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| National
Diploma in Equine (Farriery) |
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| G-Bar,
side weighted pacing hind with heel corks, 3/4 fullered
straight bar are just some of the names of the many different
types of shoes that Andrew Fisher has learnt how to make,
when to use and of course to correctly fit to the horses
hoof! Many people believe the art of shoeing a horse is
as straight forward as tacking a shoe with nails to the
bottom of a horses foot but it couldn't be further from
the truth. As an apprentice farrier Andrew has learnt
about the anatomy and physiology of the horse, to prepare
the horses hoof, correctly fit the appropriate shoes as
well as make them on a forge from a straight length of
steel. |
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| In
the 3rd and final year of his apprenticeship for Cambridge
farrier Wayne Wilson, Andrews day generally starts at
7.30am and goes through to 5.30pm. An average day would
see him shoeing 8 -10 horses per day with a few trims
in between. He shoes racehorses, ponies, sport horses
and even the odd donkey! |
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| When
there is a competition coming up the days get a little
longer with an extra 3 -4 hours back at the forge getting
in valuable practice making shoes. Andrew has certainly
held his own in the competition field being the Senior
Apprentice for 2002. When I met with him he was busy working
on a saucer eggbar shoe (used for a bad case of laminitis)
which is just one of the shoes he needs to be able to
make for this years competition. |
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| In
addition to many hours of practical work Andrew also spends
2 x 1 week blocks per year with Kim Hughes (farrier instructor
for the Farrier Association) completing the theory and
forging training that is part of the course. The theory
mostly covers the anatomy and physiology, as it is very
important to understand how a horses weight is distributed,
how he moves and just where and how the blood flows around
to ensure the best possible preparation of a horses hoof.
If you get it wrong it could result in major damage as
a horse carries a lot of weight on it's four feet! |
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| For
Andrew it was a relatively easy decision to become a farrier,
born and bred in the midst of horse country - Cambridge,
Waikato, he competed at Pony Club, showjumped and evented.
After he finished Hamilton Boys High School he spent 6
years at Westbury Stud and then the Oaks. During his time
at Westbury he progressed from being part of the broodmare
crew to Stallion Manager. He also has spent a season in
England at the National Stud as the recipient of the Wellington
NZTBA scholarship. |
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| With
a burning desire to own his own land with his own horses
he realised that the stud life was not going to realise
this dream quickly enough and as he didn't mind the hard
work associated with trimming all those broodmares he'd
done over the years he felt a profession in farriery was
for him. Andrew stresses it is not an easy job, in fact
his advice to any budding farrier is "There is
no point doing this unless your heart is in it and you
like horses. It's hard but very rewarding." |
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| For
the future Andrew sees himself with a few acres, some
horses and his own business with a few guys working for
him like Wayne. He believes that the "art" of
farriery is a craft that is handed down from farrier to
farrier and it is important to "bring young people
through" and accordingly he would like to play his
part in the future of this age-old craft. |
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