€700,000school puts farriers on firm footing

THE horse industry, which employs 40,000 people and is worth an estimated €1.2 billion to the economy, is to be put on a firm footing.

A €700,000 school has been developed to train farriers at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) in Kildare, which has a stand at the Dublin Horse Show.

There has been a shortage of farriers to shoe the thousands of both thoroughbred and sport horses in the country, due in part to the absence of formal farrier training since the demise of the old Bord na gCapall in 1987. This is despite an increase in the demand for farriery services in the same period.