Both organisations will work together to impart formal training to equine Farrier workers

Solution World Bureau

Ghaziabad, Dec 22: An age old saying “No Foot, No Horse” tells us about the importance of health of horses’ feet. But over the years, especially after the use of equines decreased due to mechanisation, very little attention was paid to health of equid’s feet. Now, two leading international equine welfare organisations –Brooke India (BI) and Equine Farriery Foundation (EFF) – have joined hands to provide skilled and certified training for developing a professional multi-skilled Farriers workforce across the country.

Farriery is a craftsmanship used to fix horseshoes on the hoof of equines and properly shaping up the hooves. In India, Farriery is a hereditary craftsmanship, which is passed down generations, and there is a lack of formalised structured training programmes. The only formal Farriery training available in the country is in Indian Army/Para-military forces, which is not accessible to the Local Street Farriers (LSFs). As a result, these LSFs adopt faulty practices and demonstrate poor Farriery skills, thus resulting in hoof related issues and reduction in efficiency of the working equines.

In the past decade, BI through its programmatic intervention has identified that a majority of the working equines suffer from lameness, poor conformation, hoof imbalance, bad hoof shape, incorrect hoof angle, frog cutting and low hoof quality. The delivery of quality farrier services for working equine remains a big challenge for BI.

To transform the farrier trade and address the farriery related skill and resource gap issues in the country, BI has been exploring collaboration and resource sharing opportunities with Veterinary Universities/ Colleges and other like-minded organisations.

Towards this end, BI and EFF have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) cementing their commitment to address the equine centric issues and develop a professional multi-skilled Farriers workforce through formal training programmes.

As per the agreement, BI and EFF will work together to impart trainings at the EFF’s Equine Farriery Institute and at other places in the country, to identify, mentor and upskill LSFs, professionally develop BI’s Senior Vets, Global Farrier Trainers (GFT), Master Trainers Farriers (MTF), other selected Vets and EFF’s Farrier Trainers and Trainees.

BI will also support EFF in employing its trainees, who have completed the certified course. Besides, both organisations will also share resources, expertise and knowledge to support each other’s endeavours to improve Farriery Education and Training.

Furthermore, both organisations also plan to organise joint media campaigns and messaging on mutually decided issues related to the Farriery profession. The MoU further acknowledges that the partnership between BI and EFF will leverage support from their respective networks to make Farriery a recognised, respected and regulated profession in India.

Since its inception in 2001, Brooke India (BI) has been focussing on the upliftment of marginalised equine owning communities in 11 States and Union Territories in India which include Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Over the years, BI has been exploring opportunities to work with government bodies, veterinary universities and rural development agencies to propagate equine welfare issues and advocate for equine centric research and development. (https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/india)

Equine Farriery Foundation (EFF) is a Non-Government company and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai. EFF runs an Equine Farriery Institute at Dundlod (Rajasthan), which teaches Farriery in India, which was established under the aegis of the Flying Anvil Foundation (FAF) Geneva, Switzerland as a joint venture with the Indigenous Horse Society of India (Jaipur) and the EFF. The EFF’s goal is to promote the professional competencies of Ferrari in India. To achieve its goals, it organises training courses for the farriers regularly, it initiates collaborations with local authorities, and seeks to open local training facilities- these become self-sustaining at a local level.