Army appoints first female farrier

[SilverLinings]

Another female first in the military, the first woman to qualify as a farrier (KTRHA):

Army appoints Whitwell woman as first female military farrier

Lance Bombardier Abbie Robinson-Wyss began specialising in 2020 and passed the theory with honours.

www.bbc.co.uk

She must be a fit and tough person as I imagine dealing with large horses all day long (without the respite of travelling between jobs) is fairly physically gruelling. The best farrier I have ever used (sadly now retired) was an ex-forces farrier and he was excellent with the variety of horses I owned, so if that's the quality they churn out then I'm pleased to see they are still keeping farriery within the military rather than outsourcing the service (something the military has done a lot of over the last 20yrs in the name of saving money).

 

[teapot]

I'm surprised it's taken this long to be fair - good for her!

 

[SilverLinings]

Yes there's been women in the cavalry for a few years now so I was a bit surprised to read there hadn't been a female farrier when I saw the article!

 

[Snowfilly]

Good for her! According to the ex forces farrier I know, it’s actually easier than shoeing in civvy street because every single horse is done to a proper schedule, they’re all caught up and ready and there’s no-one trying to get you to fix a shoe ‘while you’re here.’ Still bloody hard on the back though.

 

[teapot]

Yes there's been women in the cavalry for a few years now so I was a bit surprised to read there hadn't been a female farrier when I saw the article!

and women in the King's Troop for decades. I'n 99% sure the farrier route has never been closed for women!

 

[teapot]

Good for her! According to the ex forces farrier I know, it’s actually easier than shoeing in civvy street because every single horse is done to a proper schedule, they’re all caught up and ready and there’s no-one trying to get you to fix a shoe ‘while you’re here.’ Still bloody hard on the back though.

Except when the mounted police need a hand!

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[SilverLinings]

Good for her! According to the ex forces farrier I know, it’s actually easier than shoeing in civvy street because every single horse is done to a proper schedule, they’re all caught up and ready and there’s no-one trying to get you to fix a shoe ‘while you’re here.’ Still bloody hard on the back though.

And the horses are certainly mud free for the farrier, and they receive regular veterinary attention unlike some civvy horses. I can imagine it's also preferable to dealing with multiple civvy owners (especially the mad ones!), but it certainly must be one of the hardest jobs physically.

 

[HorsesRule2009]

Good for her.
I also think will be slightly easier for reasons mentioned above, plus the horses will be well handled and well trained.

Some normal owners think farriers/vets have super powers.
They can't do anything with said horse/ pony and are then surprised that vet/farrier can't do their job

 

[Sealine]

It's always good to see a woman doing a traditionally male job. My previous farrier was trained in the Army but eventually moved on to police horses. When he had his own round he didn't like all the travelling or dealing with owners and the badly behaved horses. As a salaried farrier in the army or the police force you don't have those issues although you do have to work with big horses all the time.