WATCH: Army Farriers Put To The Test In Red Hot Competition

This weekend saw a rather unusual military competition take place.

The Army School of Farriery at the Defence Animal centre in Melton Mowbery has been hosting the annual Army’s farrier competition.

Over the course of three days, Army farriers took on the best civilians in the game.

We spoke to WO2 Chris McCabe, Farrier Major, about how the competition would be judged:

“Foot balance is the most important aspect to the job. The horse has to be able to land level and flat when it’s working.”

“They’ll also be judged on the quality of the forging, and the final stage which is nailing the shoe on, and making the work safe so that the horse can do its job without risk of injury.” 

Experts and apprentices competed alongside one another in order to claim the crown of best farrier.

It’s thought of the more than 2000 farriers working around the UK, about 15 percent of them started their career with the British Army.

It may sound like a relatively simple job, but it takes four years of training and experience to become a qualified farrier.

All in all, 24 qualified military farriers and ex-military farriers entered the forge, challenged with making and fitting a shoe onto a horse, all within an hour.

Luckily, the horses remained calm throughout the competition, which is a fascinating chance to see the men and women who keep the army’s horses in top fettle at work.