Page 203 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 12
Farriery: Horses, Hammer and Tongs
Farriery is defined in the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 as: “Any work in connection with the preparation or treatment of the foot of a horse for the immediate reception of a shoe thereon; the fitting by nailing or otherwise of a shoe to the foot or the finishing off of such work to the foot”.1 There is an air of simplicity in that definition which detracts from the truth that the skill of the farrier is not easily attained and requires, in addition to extensive training, a great deal of patience, strength, stamina and the ability to manage and handle horses.
An early mention of the Army farrier may be found in Sir John Smythe’s treatise Certain Instruc- tions and Orders Militarie (1791)2 and in Major General Sir Frederick Smith’s, A History of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1796 – 1919, there is a reference to the farrier as the ‘progenitor’ of the Veterinary Surgeon, as the farrier made provision and cared for the sick and lame horses.3 One thing is for sure, the multi-skilled craft of the farrier is unique, and some say, as old as Christendom.
History tells us that farriery is an artisan practice that encompasses a number of specialist occupations including; welder, forger, toolmaker, and shoemaker in addition to being an anatomist and physiologist who is able to diagnose lameness and devise a treatment plan – these days, alongside a veterinary surgeon. But on the battle- fields of the world, the centuries old custom of burying a warrior with his horse has provided useful clues as to when the practice of attaching ‘shoes’ to horses’ hooves came into being. Celtic remains have revealed examples of nailed-on, iron shoes but it was the Roman army, with over five thousand light cavalry horses and pack mules, that retained farriers and blacksmiths in their ranks. Their skills made them so highly prized and respected as soldiers that they were exempt from having to conduct any of the normal routine digging or cleaning duties that the other soldiers had to endure.
To the conquering Normans, farriers were so important to their army that they brought
their own over to Britain in 1066. Massively influential in the communities they infiltrated, the Normans popularised the trade which no doubt acquired its name from the middle-French ‘ferrier’ (blacksmith) and the Latin ‘ferrum’ (iron) – although there are several stories claiming the right to the word. Under Norman influence, by the thirteen and fourteenth centuries, with the arrival of more roads and heavier horses, the shoeing of farm horses was on its way to becoming common practice. By 1359 when Edward II took his Army – and his own forges – to France to compete for the throne, the Farriers in the City of London had already been called together by the Mayor, and, in 1356, been established as a Fellowship giving them a professional status in society.
Sadly, the records of the Fellowship were lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666 but there is enough evidence in other documentation spread over the next three hundred years to prove that farriers were continuing to practice their craft – and at this time, were also treating horses for all kinds of illness and injury too. The National Army Museum records show that the tasks of a military farrier also included “the humane dispatch of wounded and sick horses,” which alluded to the responsibility of the farrier being to the overall health of the horse in its entirety – not just its feet. It wasn’t until after Charles II granted the farriers their first Charter on 17th January 1674 that their valuable role became linked specifically with horse welfare, or in the words included in the Charter: “...for the preserving of horses.”
Although the definition of ‘preserving’ horses was not made entirely clear within the document the message that was to be gleaned from its pages was that good farriers (who were skilled and knowledgeable) and who did no harm to their charges, were to be tasked with the respon- sibility of passing on their craft, while inferior workmanship was to be reported and punished. The desire behind the Charter was to govern the trade and establish good standards. However, it took almost another hundred years to see the
1 https://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/what-is-a-farrier as of 29th June 2018.
2 Quoted in A History of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1796 – 1919 by Major General Sir Frederick Smith 1927, Bailliere, Tindale & Cox.
3 Ibid.
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