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Shoeing competitions, remedial cases, apprentice successes and life on the yard at Hook Norton Farriers.
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We are very lucky to have Cornbury Festival on our doorstep, and this year we enjoyed a meal prepared and served by the Hairy Bikers. A great day out and delicious food, finished off with a bit of live music. Brilliant!
Once every 5 weeks Andy takes a quick trip over to Holland to shoe a client’s horses. All the horses are used for dressage; they are based in the UK but have returned home for a few months and will return at the end of the year.
In June Andy had an open day for his fairly new business as a fully licensed racehorse trainer. The racing yard is situated on the same site as his forge: a small yard of 8 stables designed for NH racing. Andy gained his full public trainer’s licence in November 2017.
He has always trained his own horses as a permit holder, but he would now like to train owners’ and syndicate horses. Having the forge on site and Andy’s vast experience in all types of shoeing, this facility is a great asset to those racehorses with problematic feet. Andy will be shoeing every day as normal and will run the racing business alongside his farriery business.
Here at Yew Tree Barn we have for the last 27 years bred thoroughbred horses and trained them to race. This is the latest addition by Schaperelli, a bay colt. He has a full brother called Teddy, so we thought Bear was a good name for this one!
The NH season is coming to an end. We shoe for Kim Bailey, who has had a successful season with his racehorses, and the majority are now having shoes off and a trim for holiday and field turn out before coming back into work in July.
I was asked to be one of the judges at the Ayrshire Shoeing Competition this year. A fantastic event celebrating its 40th anniversary, with over 80 farriers and apprentices from all over the country, including overseas farriers. Photos of the shoes I made were for the 3rd and 4th year Apprentice classes, Open shoemaking class and the Draft shoemaking class.
Whilst judging I took part in the 4 Man Team Shoeing, competing against 12 other teams and working with 3 top farriers: Nigel Brown, Billy Crothers and Ryan MacDonald. A nail biting wait to see if we had come anywhere as the results were read out in reverse order. Awesome to be back at the top with a win in the team shoeing. Well done guys, a brilliant end to a fantastic weekend of shoeing and judging.
Copper nails versus mild steel nails. For the last 18 months I have been using copper nails on horses that tend to have brittle, cracked feet and suffer from bacterial hoof problems causing the hoof to crumble.
Horses that displayed bacteria around the nail holes from steel nails showed an improvement of the hoof wall when shod with copper nails. Both nails have their place, and the condition of the hoof will determine what type of nail to use.
Well done to my latest apprentice Jim Bendon on passing his DipWCF. Awesome result. Jim is one of 15 apprentices successfully trained and passed by Andy. Here is a list of previous apprentices Andy has successfully trained:
Spider shoe made and fitted to a thoroughbred to help with arthritic changes within the foot.
Hard work, dedication and lots of practising for my 4th year apprentice Jim Bendon in the forge, in preparation for his forthcoming final exams for his diploma. Good luck Jim, I know you will do really well.
Thanks to Allen at NWT Horseshoes for organising a clinic with Danny Elliot at the forge on Saturday. A good turn out of farriers and an informative day looking at foot balance and shoeing applications.
A visit from the American farrier team, who stopped in to have a last team practice before the International Shoeing Competition held at Stoneleigh. All talented lads that worked really hard to turn out some nice work. Well done lads and good luck for the competition.
Andy and his team have been shoeing Kim Bailey’s racehorses over the last few months as they come in from their holidays to start their training for the coming race season. Our little bunch of racehorses have not long come in, shoes fitted and scruffy manes and tails all tidy.
Good luck to Fitz Volonte, a homebred racehorse that has been so much fun for us, who is now going to be a schoolmaster for the coming point to point season for a jockey based at Kim Bailey’s.
Moreton in Marsh Show just gets bigger and better every year. Lots to see and do and just a great day out. The shoeing competition was extremely well organised by fellow farrier Phil Martin (no relation!), who puts in relentless free time to organise and set up this competition. Some really good work carried out by all the farriers that competed. Great to catch up with everyone and to check out any new ideas.
Local client visiting the forge for a set of shoes. Horse shod by my son James Martin (Qualified Farrier DipWCF). Handmade shoes fitted and finished off with Kevin Bacon’s hoof dressing. We also had eventer Keatinge Indie shod at the forge by our 4th year apprentice Jim Bendon, with a set of shoes fitted with studs all round and Kevin Bacon’s applied to her hooves. Nice job.
Thanks to all the support I have received towards doing this challenge. The estimated total raised by all those who took part so far is £15,000 and rising. An amazing bunch of people rode the 230 miles, and the volunteers that offered to help organise and run the 3 days were superb. Well done everyone and thanks again.
In 2015 Andy helped raise money for The Farriers Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support by cycling with 40 other farriers 180 miles in 3 days from the west to east coast in Yorkshire. In August 2017 he cycled again for this good cause with 50 farriers, covering 230 miles over the Welsh hills near Aberystwyth.
Lateral support shoe made and fitted to an event horse for the purpose of greater support to the hock area.
Andy has just returned from shoeing out in Holland. A client of Andy’s based in the UK needed a farrier when they returned with their dressage horses to Holland. Andy agreed to shoe them once they were settled in and made his first trip this month. All went well and he will share these trips with his son James.
Andy also judged at the Royal Welsh Spring Fayre with John Benfield, a former apprentice of Andy’s. Both judges were impressed with the high standard of shoeing from both farriers and apprentices. The shoes pictured were handmade by Andy for competitors to make in the competition, and it was lovely to receive a thank you letter from The Welsh Farrier & Blacksmiths Association afterwards.
Fitz Volonte, a 10 year old TB homebred and trained by Andy, ran at Aintree at the beginning of April. His son James rode him but pulled him up 3 from home. Not disappointed, as it was his first time over the Grand National fences and no one was sure how he would take to them. He then ran 10 days later at Stratford and won by 30 lengths! He pinged the fences and galloped everything into the ground.
Well done to James Martin on passing his DipWCF exam. James is Andy’s son and successfully passed his DipWCF in November 2016, one of 14 apprentices now successfully trained and passed by Andy. Apprenticeship term 4 years and 2 months.
In 2011 Andy won the world horseshoeing draft horse class. The trophy was presented by a farrier who made the shoe and fitted it to a wooden hoof of a heavy horse’s foot. A really cool trophy to win!
NH racehorse Thisonetime fitted with copper race plates and copper nails.
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