Mitchell Norton AWCF Grad Dip ELR DipHE

 

My story with horses started when I was around 2 years old. My mum brought me and my sister a pony which lived in the back garden of our terrace house in the middle of Weston Super Mare. 

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I was 7 years old when i first became interested in Farriery.

I spent most of my days with my uncle when he was shoeing & trimming horses. At the age of 16 i started on a 1 year farrier access course, I passed the horse care with a distinction and passed the basic farrier exams on the first exam intake.

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With one course passed, I knew my heart was definitely set on becoming a farrier.

Not only did i find the job really interesting, but my love of horses was what made me think, if i can love and care for my clients horses as much as i do my own, then that's the first and most important step of being a successful Farrier!

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I started my apprenticeship down in Sussex with Steven Fisher DipWCF. I enjoyed working with Steve, he taught me a lot about a big farriery practice; he also taught me about competition shoeing and race horse shoeing. We would shoe for some big race yards across Sussex and Kent which was an eye opener into the farrier life. 

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After the first year of my apprentice with Steve, i decided i wanted to explore a bit more of what being a farrier was like. This is where i became involved with Haydn Price DipWCF, who at the time was Team GB farrier.

I continued to work for Haydn right through to my exam in 2012, where I qualified my diploma of the worshipful company of farriers. I also achieved the best apprentice portfolio out of all the UK apprentices. I continued to work for Haydn as a fully qualified farrier, helping to train his next apprentices until late 2018. I decided by this time my business needed my full attention. In total I worked for Haydn for 10 years - he taught me so much, and everyday was a school day! We remain good friends now and I still fall back on his expertise and years of experience.

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Nailed it Farriery Services was established in March 2012. We have grown rapidly and will continue to grow more and more each year. 

I have also been flown out to places to shoe horses in top competitions across the world i love every minute of seeing these places for what they are.

It reminds me of how special Horses are and why my job is so important to their health and wellbeing. 

One thing that i really had my heart set on when it came to qualifying as a farrier, was helping other countries understand the impotencies of good farriery skills and to improve their knowledge of the way horses feet work.

So Throughout the years of me being a farrier i have taught and held lectures abroad, e.g Kenya, Teneriefe, Florida, India.

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We have  fantastic working relationships with vets and are regularly asked to look at x-rays for correctional shoeing to be implemented with great success. 

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I have recently graduated in Equine Biomechanic Locomotive Research at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

 This course has expanded my knowledge into the reasons why we as farriers do what we do to horses feet. During this course, I was also writing regular articles in 'The Forge magazine' in England. The articles were about my progression through the course, the easier parts and the more challenging.  

It also taught me the impotency of farriers own research everyday. Since this I have also passed my AWCF exam which is the higher farriery exam. I'm currently studying for my BSc at the University of Central Lancashire which should be completed in the summer of 2023.  

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 I will be continue to study, research and learn as much as I can. I love passing knowledge on to anyone who is keen and eager to learn. 

My main aim is to help horse owners to have a better knowledge and understanding of their horses hooves and biomechanics that go hand in hand with horses conformation.

In my spare time I love to hike, meet friends and most of all flying, I'm currently studying to pass my pilots license. 

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Thank you for your time. 

Mitch Norton

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