Farriery

When the horse was part of everyday life, farriery or horse-shoeing formed the bulk of the blacksmith's work. In 1850 there were fifteen Haverfordwest blacksmiths listed in Hunts’ Directory, but five were shoeing only. As well as metal-working skills, the farrier required a good knowledge of horses feet, their diseases and the methods of curing them. With the old shoes removed, the foot was cleaned and the hoof pared. The shoe was tried and altered before being nailed in place. The nail points were twisted off, the remaining ends being knocked over to hold the shoe in place more firmly. To finish, the shoe was trimmed with a rasp.

Ernie Owen established a smithy at Templeton in 1920 and Brian Owen, who followed his father into the business, recalls how his father “used to tell me that he would shoe six horses before the train went up at 7.40am. His working day would be anything from six in the morning till eleven at night. After the farm workers had finished milking they would bring the horses to his shop to be done”. Ernie Owen had worked as an underground farrier in the collieries before establishing himself at Templeton. The disappearance of farm and work horses in the twentieth century brought about a decline in farriery as a career.