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Post by rabatsa on Oct 12, 2007 14:43:42 GMT
I just wondered how our more remote members coped with getting their horses feet done now the law has altered.
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Post by donkeymad on Oct 12, 2007 19:42:24 GMT
What law? When?
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Post by wally on Oct 13, 2007 11:40:10 GMT
Don't get me started on that, there's a rant coming on, you have been warned!
last year the Farriers act only covered England, Wales and lowland Scotland -Northern Ireland too I think.
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland were exempt. Then there were reports of un qualified "cowboys" nipping into the Higland region and shoeing for peanuts and doing a bit of damage. So they have the cruelty to animals act, sale of good act and loads more legislation to cover that one.
The BHS in their wisdom kicked up and got the Scottish Exec. to "consult" and get the law to extend to the Highlands and Islands.......the Scottish exec. consulted with themselves.....the BHS and the Farriers, ......nobody else! They said they asked the vets but none of the vets here can remember being consulted.
Anyway. I was taught to shoe by a Farrier who held the full diploma. Been shoing my horses for 10 years, then out of the blue, through "radio latrine" I am to find out at the stroke of a pen I will be a crinimal!
At the time I held a riding school licence, you'd think they would have the decency to write and tell you, we were not hard to find.
Told you I was about to rant!
Anyway, after a lot of letter writing and telling the BHS and Ross Finine what I thought of him and his "consultation" I am now a registered Farrier! I don't want to be, as it cost me £130 a year to register just to shoe my own horses. I get hassled to knock shoes back on if folk are stuck. But I make it clear I only do it in dire emergencies and would rather not!
So rant over, but not happy that the first I heard of the "consultation" was when I was about to be made a criminal without warning.
Donkeymad, you did ask!
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Post by donkeymad on Oct 13, 2007 19:18:23 GMT
I did Wally. I thought that there must be something newer that I hadn't heard about yet.
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Post by fly on Oct 14, 2007 11:56:26 GMT
Wally, if the 130 pounds becomes too much ,move to France!!, we haven't got that law - yet............ my farrier taught us how to do a basic trim and take off shoes if we need to - he would rather we take off a shoe than it be ripped off taking a lot of horn with it, I also know of a few people that shoe their own horses correctly over here . I was told once by an english farrier over here that all of this would be illegal in the UK!! Seriously, why can't they leave people in peace,As you so rightly point out there is other legislation that cover cruelty
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Post by wally on Oct 14, 2007 16:52:23 GMT
I felt dreadful as the registration bunch sent my vet a document he had to fill in......and they made him swear in front of a JP! AS though his professional assement of my shoeing and my horse's way of going was not to be trusted. I felt really awkward asking him to take himself off the the JP!
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Post by jinglejoys on Oct 14, 2007 18:12:49 GMT
So aren't you allowed to trim your own horse then?Or is it only shoeing?
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Post by donkeymad on Oct 14, 2007 19:52:22 GMT
You are allowed to trim as long as it is not in preparation to shoe.
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Post by rabatsa on Oct 14, 2007 20:03:18 GMT
My sister not as lucky as Wally. She has to rely on the islands farrier who goes off to shetland every now and then. She has learnt how to remove shoes though and is thinking of boots.
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Post by rabatsa on Oct 14, 2007 20:05:36 GMT
My sister not as lucky as Wally. She has to rely on the islands farrier who goes off to shetland every now and then. She has learnt how to remove shoes though and is thinking of boots.
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Post by gonewiththewind on Oct 15, 2007 13:49:02 GMT
where does your sister live rabasta, Orkney or Shetland. We have a perfectly good farrier here who is shared with shetland since their farrier retired but my husband has been shoeing for over 20 years and is on the register for shoeing our own horses. It doesnt cost £130 so not sure where that comes from. And it hardly came in with no warning either, there have been rumblings for 25 years at least and a lot of consultation over the last few years, I have certainly filled in questionnaires, which is why my husband got registered when he started shoeing rather than get caught out when it did change. The silly thing is, he could legally have been earning a living from shoeing during all this time if he hadnt been on the register but as he was on part 3 of the register it was an offence for him to shoe other peoples horses for gain. He could have changed to part 2 when the law changed but didnt want to pay the extra or shoe other people's horses really. I dont find it expensive to pay out each year, even at £130 thats only the cost of two shoeings and it is protecting horses from having just anyone banging shoes on. Sorry Wally, we disagree on this one! To go back to the original question, it shouldnt actually make any difference at all. Anyone who has been shoeing in the past can get registered as Wally did, not difficult. Its in the future the problem is going to come in as new people are going to have to be properly qualified and registered.
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Post by wally on Oct 15, 2007 15:24:36 GMT
The register is now closed to new applications under "grandfather rights" so if you missed the boat that's that.
Not one person I have spoken to in the vets offices, the vets themselves, the Agri. College, the riding club, who are supposed to be BHS members, nobody was even given any warning of this "consultation"
At the time, as I say we held a riding school licence, so you'd think, at least they would drop a line to any relevent equestrian business.
Sadly it is £130 per year to remain on the register, £60 to apply, and £130 to have your name placed on the computer.
Yes, there have been rumblings, yes, it has always been on the cards, but having the decency to actually speak to folk in the Islands might have helped. I spoke to a lot of trekking centres and riding school in a lot of the Western Isles and it was as big a surprise to them as it was to me.
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Post by gonewiththewind on Oct 15, 2007 16:20:25 GMT
maybe its just because he was on the register already but I do have a feeling we got sent consultation stuff as a driving business too. Maybe from Seerad though, I cant really remember. Its certainly been in the horsey press for a long time though. Which part of the register have you gone on, my husband has never paid that much though it does seem to go up each year. Incidentally if you werent notified how did you find out that you had to register and how to register.
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Post by wally on Oct 16, 2007 8:08:40 GMT
A friend saw it in H&H which I never read! I don't buy horsey Mags, only Carriage Driving. It wasn't even in the Shetland Times.
We were a riding school for goodness sake, Horse Business, not a whisper, not a sausage.
Can you ask him how much they stiff him for for part, 3. The last thing I was going to do was go on any other part of it, I have enough to do shoeing my own let alone anyone elses. 'Tis a great excuse to tell them I am only on part 3.
The lass who taught me, WAS on the register, she never knew either that the law had changed!
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Post by gonewiththewind on Oct 16, 2007 8:14:06 GMT
if she was on the register she certainly couldnt have missed it! There was lots of stuff sent in the post about it and she would have got Forge magazine automatically which had lots about it too. She must chuck her post away, which is what our local farrier does too! I know the fee went up last year but I really hope it hasnt gone up again this year, its a real cheek to charge that much. Forge is a good magazine though!
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