Case studies

Newly-qualified farrier Claire Simpson is keeping it in the family as she joins her father Andrew Simpson in the business after a four-year apprenticeship with him. Claire is one of only three women apprentice farriers to qualify this year.

Melanie Pannewitz has had an exciting few weeks that will culminate in a very special ceremony during Apprenticeship Week. She is celebrating the completion of her farriery apprenticeship, her birthday and buying a horse - a piebald Welsh sports horse called Tom Flynn.

At 22 years old, Lauren Carey is not only qualified as a farrier, but also looking forward to starting her own business by the end of this year.

Approved Training Farrier, Steve Hewitt has devoted more than 20 years of his career as a farrier training apprentices.  He talks about his career, the farriery apprenticeship and how the industry has changed.

Mike Williams’ choice of career was all but inevitable. The son of a professional groom, one of his earliest memories at the age of five is of putting an anvil into his older brother’s farriery van. Today that same anvil has pride of place at The Farriery Practice in West Sussex.

 

Farrier John Hughes is the third generation of his family to shoe horses in Malpas, Cheshire. He has trained nearly 20 apprentices and now his 26-year-old son Charlie - one of those apprentices - has his first ‘lad’ training under him.

In the world of farriery Ian Hughes has to be unique. He comes from a long line of farriers stretching back hundreds of years. He works as a lecturer and with veterinary hospitals as well as his usual customers. Ian also serves as the British para dressage team's farrier and spent two months in Hong Kong, working for the Beijing Olympic Committee as Head Farrier for their equestrian Games.

 

And in the midst of all that he is also an Approved Training Farrier working with two apprentices who gain enormously from his diverse experience and roles.