Five Minutes With... Farrier - Craig Jones

South East Queensland based farrier, Craig Jones, is considered to be one of the best in the business and is the man to turn to if you're looking for top advice about shoeing.

Craig has a Certificate III in Farriery and has been a professional farrier for over 25 years, with practical experience backed up by much success in Farriery competitions. Just a few of Craig's achievements include winning the Open Shoeing Event at Ekka (Brisbane Royal Show) six times, and being part of the award winning three man World Cup Draught Shoeing Team, at the Queensland Draught Horse Shoeing Championships, four times. Craig was the Australian High Point Open Shoeing Champion in 2005 and competed at the World Horse Shoeing Championships at the Calgary Stampede in Canada 2006, where he won the "Rookie Of the Year" award.

Craig currently shoes privately and in consultation with different veterinary surgeons as well as shoeing at the University of Queensland  Equine Veterinary Medical centre. In addition to this he can be found presenting and demonstrating at various clinics throughout Australia and is the resident Farrier Instructor at the Gatton Campus of the University of Queensland.

Craig will be conducting a morning seminar, 'Support Shoeing for the Performance Horse', at the upcoming 2012 Horseland Queensland Festival of Dressage, which will be a fantastic seminar for all horse owners.

Jo Johnson has been privleged to have Craig shoeing her horses for many years, so she decided it was time to tie him down and find out more...

How did you first become involved with horses?

My family moved to an acreage area in Morayfield, Queensland when I was about 13 years old and that's when I started riding and also started to become interested in shoeing.

When did you decide to become a farrier and how did you go about it?

When I left school I worked as a strapper for Brisbane trainer Bruce McLachlan and then spent two years at Longreach Pastoral College and gained a Certificate in Animal Production. While I was at school and then working for Bruce McLachlan, I used to go out shoeing on weekends with farriers around the Caboolture area. We also did a lot of shoeing at Longreach, which is what got me really interested in being farrier, so after that I went to Victoria and did a shoeing apprenticeship and then started shoeing for myself.

What did you do to improve your skills over the years?

I went to a lot of clinics. I attended clinics with world renowned Scottish farrier, Edward Martin, and worked with Keith Swan. After that I realised how much I still didn't know and kept attending as many clinics as possible. I was mainly working at Caloundra race track in those days, as well as shoeing horses around the Caboolture area.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

It's good working for yourself and you're always learning all the time, which is interesting. It's one of those jobs that by the time you learn to do it properly, you can't do it anymore because your body is wrecked!

Are there any horses in particular you most like working with?

Not really. I shoe a bit of everything from race horses to pleasure and competition horses. As I've gotten older I seem to get more problem footed horses, because I've gained the experience needed to help them.

Are there any breeds that seem to have better feet than others?

It's more to do with development of individual horses, rather than their breed. Most horses haven't developed properly until they're about five years old. Being on country that's too soft underfoot or being restricted in their movements is not good for correct development. Ideally horses should be raised on hard country out in big paddocks to develop their feet properly until they're about five. This has a big bearing on the integrity of the internal structure of their feet and how they develop.

When purchasing a horse, what should buyers look for?

Understanding of the four main types of leg deviations, being axial derformities (ie: offset knees etc), angular limb deformities (ie: fetlock varus {pigeon toes}), rotational deformities and flexor deformities and how these deformities affect the hoof capsule is essential. Horses with these issues will be predisposed to hoof problems. Breeders should be trying to breed these leg deviations out of horses. A lot of people don't understand this and need to learn about it for sounder horses - hoof capsule distortions are usually caused by the conformation of the leg above it. If you can pick up on these problems you can see how they are going to affect a horse's long term soundness.

What can horse owners do to help improve their horses’ feet?

Keeping horses feet as dry as possible is the best thing anyone can do. Hooves distort terribly when they are kept wet. Hoof wall is tubular (like hair) and if it's wet for long periods it swells up and the glue that basically holds the hoof together breaks down. Prolonged saturation of the hoof capsule is a major cause of weakness in the hoof.

Top tips for someone wanting to become a farrier?

Go and work under a farrier and see if you like it. If you do then do an apprenticeship course - it's the only way to go as far as learning anatomy and function. There are 21 modules in the Farriery Apprenticeship and it's over four years. In Australia the only qualification is a Certificate III in Farriery.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at the University?

I work two days a week at the University - I shoe at the Equine Veterinary Medical Centre on Wednesdays and then teach the farrier apprentices on Fridays. I enjoy seeing the young apprentices develop. They have a National Farriers Apprentice Competition and every state sends their best farrier apprentice each year and they do all forging and shoeing classes. Since I've been teaching at Gatton (three years) we've won it every year, which is great.

Do you still partake in farrier competitions and what's the main difference between here and Canada on the competition front?

I still do the Ekka (Brisbane Royal) competitions. As far as the difference between competitions here and Canada, it's mainly the quality of the farriers partaking. You have to qualify to compete there and they only take the top 80 in the world. The actual shoeing competition is basically the same, except the time allowed is a lot shorter - here you get an hour whereas over there you only get 35 minutes. (Craig is pictured at right with fellow team members, Shane Turner and Wayne Morrow, after winning a World Cup Draught Shoeing).

Most famous horse you’ve shod?

I've shod and still shoe a lot of high profile, elite horses. One from the past who was pretty famous is Rebel Morrow's 2004 Olympics horse, Oaklea Groover.

How do you relax?

By spending time with my family, sailing and fishing.

If you weren’t a farrier what would you be doing?

I’d go back to modelling!!

Thank you so much for your time Craig. We're sure there was much sadness in the modelling world when you decided to become a farrier! I didn't ask the question about liking big dogs or little dogs because I know you love all dogs, especially when they're fighting over choice morsels of hoof, while you're under a horse.

Quick Links

• Find out more about the Qld Festival of Dressage
• View details about the Certificate III in Farriery Course