Veterinary training course gives new lease of life to waning farrier craft

The Cluj University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) has started a farrier training course, under a project intended to produce experts capable to further teach this profession in Romania.

The initiative for the course sprang from the finding that there is a large number of substandard shod horses, which can cause severe pathology and serious health issues to the animal. Then there is also a shortage of specialized farriers in Romania, which is why many horse owners resort to experts from abroad.

"One could compare horse shoeing with the craft of making human footwear, a comfortable shoe makes one's life easier, less comfortable footwear turns it into torture. Horseshoeing must be viewed as an individual measure adjusted to the horse's specific work, as all these animals are used for various activities - leisure, sport, or draft. The way to shoe a workhorse is different from that required for a sport horse, a steeplechase or a flat race horse, these elements must be adjusted to the animal's activity and anatomical features (...) Having seen a lot of cases of badly shod horses, even in highbred animals, the idea of a farrier school sprang to mind," explained Iancu Morar, a Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and head of the Equine Clinic.

He said that proper horseshoeing can add 40 percent to the horse's work efficiency, whereas a bad job may induce severe hoof pathologies that can even end up with the hoof falling off.

Another goal of the project is to revive a craft that is disappearing in Romania.

"This craft is severely waning in Romania and we are trying to revive it through this project which implies providing our students superior training in the art of horseshoeing. This is not just about the work of the classic farrier who may still be found in villages, although quite infrequently, but we are talking about specialists who work together with veterinarians and take care of the health of the horse's foot, which goes far beyond the skills of the traditional blacksmith-farrier," said project manager Cristina Pocol, a Professor at USAMV.

The project will run for several months, and the first trainer has already been in Cluj for several weeks now and will stay here till next spring. Charles Leguy Vandevelde is 26 years old and completed in his home country France a three-year course to specialize in this profession. He will teach the Cluj students the tricks and subtleties of this profession.

On average, shoeing a horse takes about one hour and the secret is to know perfectly well the structure of the hoof and of the horse's foot and what's inside. First one trims the hoof, then the horseshoe is being adjusted to fit the horse's foot, and the last step is to fix it to the hoof with nails so that it stays firmly attached. It is dangerous work, accidents can happen, because this is a big animal, but we always take security measures, explained Charles Leguy Vandevelde.

The shoes of a horse, he says, must be changed every few weeks, depending on the horse's activity. Thus, for leisure horses this is done once every 6-8 weeks, for race horses - almost every three weeks. Shoeing a horse costs 50 euro in Romania, but in France it is 80 to 150 euro, if the situation is more complicated.

A farrier earns between 1,500 and 2,500 euro a month in France and he is seen as a veterinarian's co-worker specializing in equine orthopedics, said Leguy, adding that he chose this job because he grew up with horses and wanted to earn a living from an activity that would please him.

At the end of the project, the best students will go to France to attend a traineeship of several months, so that they become the future specialists who will teach this job to Romania's blacksmith-farriers.

The project is being carried out in partnership with the Equine Veterinary Association of Romania, the Association des Journees Equestres de Vichy Agglomération, Maison familiale Rurale de Saligny sur Roudon and L'Institut de la Maréchalerie, les Compagnons du Devoir of France.

The project, which will end in April 2019, offers specialization to 20 students. AGERPRES (RO - author: Elena Stanciu, editor: Karina Olteanu; EN - author/editor: Simona Klodnischi)