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Farrier

About

Farriers inspect, trim and shape horses’ hooves, as well as making, fitting and nailing horseshoes or racing plates as required.

Farrier’s are required to have an intimate understanding of a variety of hoof-related ailments and can be required to work on race days, as well as throughout the week.
  • pathways
    • Certificate III in Farriery (Trade) NMIT

    For more information on courses available, please visit the Skills Australia website 

    • pathways

      • Certificate III in Farriery (Trade) NMIT

      For more information on courses available, please visit the Skills Australia website 

  • profile
    Laurie Paltridge - Farrier

    About Me
    Horses have been my passion all my life, and I have been lucky enough to be able to make a living out of that passion. I completed Year 12 at St Peters College Adelaide and went on to obtain a degree in Horse Management at Marcus Oldham Agricultural College. My mother was big on education, and always taught me to keep updating my skills and knowledge. This is something that has kept me to the forefront of my profession, and made my job both interesting and rewarding.

    About the Job
    I look after three racing stables in Warrnambool, working each stable on a specific day. My role is to shoe the horses when they first come into work and put race plates on them when they begin their racing campaigns. There are about 70 horses that are under my care. Horses are generally shod every four to five weeks and I check them before every race to make sure their race plates are in good order for racing. With racehorses, there is a lot of stress and strain put on their hooves due to their training and racing. This can cause problems, which at times I am called upon to manage things like therapeutic shoeing. Some of this work is done in conjunction with the stables vet. I also look after a stud where I trim the foal’s hooves and inspect them for limb deviations and, if appropriate, apply special shoes to rectify the problem.

    • profile

      Laurie Paltridge - Farrier

      About Me
      Horses have been my passion all my life, and I have been lucky enough to be able to make a living out of that passion. I completed Year 12 at St Peters College Adelaide and went on to obtain a degree in Horse Management at Marcus Oldham Agricultural College. My mother was big on education, and always taught me to keep updating my skills and knowledge. This is something that has kept me to the forefront of my profession, and made my job both interesting and rewarding.

      About the Job
      I look after three racing stables in Warrnambool, working each stable on a specific day. My role is to shoe the horses when they first come into work and put race plates on them when they begin their racing campaigns. There are about 70 horses that are under my care. Horses are generally shod every four to five weeks and I check them before every race to make sure their race plates are in good order for racing. With racehorses, there is a lot of stress and strain put on their hooves due to their training and racing. This can cause problems, which at times I am called upon to manage things like therapeutic shoeing. Some of this work is done in conjunction with the stables vet. I also look after a stud where I trim the foal’s hooves and inspect them for limb deviations and, if appropriate, apply special shoes to rectify the problem.