Education Qualifications
Ideally a farrier should be an accomplished horse rider as they need to be able to understand and emotionalise the effect of hoof care from the horse’s perspective and comfort.
There is no minimum schooling requirement to be a farrier. You may complete an apprenticeship in Farriery Training for a farrier is both on and off the job. On the job you will gain hands-on experience, learning the correct methods and off the job will be theoretical learning through a TAFE or other registered training organisation.
Through experience and training, you will gain an understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, conformation and biomechanics of horses.
In Australia, to become an accredited farrier you will be required to complete your Certificate III in Farriery. You may wish to undertake training at one of the following institutions: TAFE NSW, NMIT, or at Educational Services and Consultants Pty Ltd. There are no legal requirements in Australia to stop any person calling themselves a Farrier and shoeing horses. Farriery is an unregulated industry in Australia.
An accredited farrier has no obligation to continue with further study.
The entry criteria for tertiary institutions differs from year to year. The above comments are a guide only. To gain specific entry criteria, contact the relevant university or use Hobson's The Good University Guide.
Relevant Universities Colleges & TAFE
Careernav have trolled through all the universities, specialist colleges and TAFE’s across the nation to identify those courses we consider relevant to this career. We have only focussed on the core single degree and its full time period. We acknowledge many combination degrees are available and different students combine different degrees. Course names also differ by university and we have grouped like courses together. We may have missed the odd course being offered, so we recommend for a more detailed guide check with the universities direct or one of the university course guide books such as Hobson’s. Please note Careernav are totally impartial and do not recommend one tertiary institution over another. To view the A to Z of tertiary institutions that offer relevant courses for this career.
Promoting Tertiary Institutions
All tertiary institutions have an open invitation to make available their course outline using the ‘For Institutions’ tab in the footer section of each page. From time to time universities, colleges or TAFE will take up Careernav’s offer to promote their courses and make available ‘Course Outline’ for your consideration. When an icon appears, consider its relevance and download the Course Outline on the one that interests you by clicking “I would like to learn more” at the end of the course profile.
Our Privacy Policy confirms your contact details including your email address will remain in the strictest of confidence. If you would like your email details provided to selected tertiary institutions to talk further about the course you need to click the checkbox. Only then will Careernav invite the tertiary institution to accept your email address and facilitate contact between you and them.
About the Author
David Farmilo, Accredited Master Farrier
David Farmilo is an Accredited Master Farrier with 52 years farriery experience. He has been teaching for 10 years and consults (at no charge) on his website (www.horsefarrier.com.au). Currently the President of the South Australian Farriers Association, David's mission is to put back into the industry what he has gained out of it. He also mentors many young farriers around Australia, while encouraging horse owners to take more of an interest in the understanding of their horse's hooves.
Did you know that horses spend more energy lying down? (And that is one reason why many horses sleep standing up.)