Jackie Ann Hickman - Farrier

Programme Outline

Jackie Hickman shoes Sailor, the horse.

Jackie arrives at the stables and sets up her mobile anvil and tools. Sailor, the horse is led out and given some hay to distract him, although none of this process hurts him. Jackie uses pincers to prise off the old shoe. Next, she cleans out any dirt and growth from the foot, before filing down the edge of the hoof.

Jackie tries a new shoe against Sailor’s hoof to see how it fits. She heats the horseshoe in her mobile forge and hammers it into shape on the anvil. She fits the hot shoe against his hoof. (This doesn’t hurt him.) She beats holes into it and cools it in a bucket of water. Finally, she fixes the shoe onto Sailor’s hoof using metal nails and gives his hoof a final file.

This method of shoeing a horse is called ‘hot shoeing’. It is the best way to shoe a horse because adjustments can be made to the shoe to make sure it fits exactly.