Equine farriery buddy enhancing equine welfare

October 2014 saw the first use of the 'Blacksmith Buddy' in veterinary student practical farrier classes.  This Blacksmith Buddy was developed by a Farrier to help train Farriers for preparing the hoof, shoeing and removing shoes from horses.  It was developed to give Farriers early in their training more practice without involving a live horse or cadaver leg.   Many vets in practice will come across lame horses that need shoes removed, often in an emergency.  This is a skill that many student vets don't get the opportunity to practice often in their veterinary training, but it is an important and required skill.  By using the Blacksmith Buddy not only can we teach students about correct positioning of the horses leg for removal of shoes and the techniques involved, but the Blacksmith Buddy is useful for teaching students about the correct positioning of the equine limb for applying nerve blocks .

 

The purchase of the Blacksmith Buddy was made possible by funding from The Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education. The JMICAWE are leaders in the field of equine welfare and by providing the Blacksmith Buddy, they ensure improved welfare of horses as generations of students benefit from this important learning tool.

 

We’ve already had some fantastic student comments about Blacksmith Buddy:

 

"I thought the blacksmith buddy was very helpful to give us opportunities to take off shoes without having to put horses through this themselves."

"Just wanted to say I found that practical class and especially the blacksmith buddy very useful, especially as a non-horsey student who is actually petrified of horses!"

"I thought the 'blacksmith buddy' used in the farriery practical was really good - it enhanced the demonstration by the farrier on the live horse really well, gave good practice at a useful skill we will need when we graduate,  and was also fun! "

"I really enjoyed the farriery practical and getting a chance to remove a shoe from the blacksmith buddy. I defiantly think it's a great practical to include in the curriculum."

Students can practice valuable skills using the buddy