Saddling up for a new career

SHE’S a shoe-in . . . newly qualified farrier Deborah Connell at work

A Moorside woman has broken into the male-dominated profession of horse farrier and starts work this autumn.

Newly-qualified Deborah Connell (24) will be presented with her diploma by the Worshipful Company of Farriers in London in September.

Then with her black Land Rover kitted out with a forge and her farriery tools, she will be ready to shoe horses across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Deborah has always loved horses and has had her own pony, Ed, since she was 13, and also has a 17-hand-high gelding called Storm.

There are probably only two other female farriers working in the Lancashire area, and it was work experience at 16 with Oldham farrier Dave Rothwell, also a diploma holder, which made up Deborah’s mind about her future career.

Deborah, from Coupland Close, Moorside, said: “I decided I wanted to work outdoors and definitely not in an office.”

After taking GCSEs and A-levels at Rishworth School, Deborah went to Myerscough College, near Preston, for a year’s pre-farrier course, began an apprenticeship with Dave Rothwell and was then taken on by farrier Paul Conroy, of Littleborough.

She said: “There is so much hard work and without Paul I would probably have given up by now. He built up my confidence and gave me a lot of help and support.

“Training is 50/50 practical and theory — we have to know as much about a horse from the shoulder and pelvis-down as a vet does.

“People think it is just putting shoes on horses but it is more than that, we have to know how we are affecting the horse. That is why this is the best country in the world for farriery.

“It is a very physical job and the training starts by watching a farrier taking off the old shoes, trimming feet, then you start nailing on.

“The practical exam lasts for two hours and we start by making shoes from a stainless steel bar. There is also two-and-a-half hours of theory and a half-hour oral exam. You have to get over 60 per cent in each section to pass. I’m excited about working on my own and looking forward to being independent. I’d rather work on five horses a day and do a good job than 10 and not. I’d like a good reputation.”

She praised her own horse Storm, for being her practice client, and added: “I owe a big thank-you to my mum and dad Maureen and Edward, who are coming to London with me, they have given me such support and seen me through difficult times.”