Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations

See Appendix 2.

Identification of Candidates

See Section 16 – Identification of Candidates.

General

The conduct of the Practical section of the examination is the responsibility of the Worshipful Company of Farriers. For the diploma examination, candidates are required to shoe two feet, one fore, and one hind.

The time allowed for the Practical Part is 2 hours.

The Practical Examination is assessed by two Company Farriery Examiners, with a Company Veterinary Examiner in attendance.

Candidates are responsible for providing their own tools for practical examinations.

Strikers are not allowed for the Diploma Examination.

Candidates are required to comply with the statutory provisions for Health and Safety at Work and are not permitted to take the practical part of the examination without wearing protective footwear and safety glasses in the forging and shoeing areas. The wearing of watches, bracelets, and rings is not permitted during the conduct of a practical exam. A summary of the Health and Safety requirements is at Appendix 6.

The welfare of any horse provided for the examination is of paramount importance and the Senior Examiner is authorised to stop the practical examination of any candidate where he considers that the welfare of the horse is threatened. If the practical examination is interrupted because of a welfare issue, the Senior Examiner will inform the individual candidate how to proceed for the remainder of the practical examination.

During the whole of the period of the practical examination and for as long as necessary thereafter, the shoeing area is out of bounds to all unauthorised persons. Any breach of this instruction will be reported to the Senior Examiner who will investigate the incident, discuss the circumstances with the candidate concerned and will resolve the matter in accordance with the current disciplinary procedures.

The Approved Training Centre, or college venue where the examination is held, will provide a College Examination Organiser to be present throughout the practical examination.

Responsibilities of the College Examination Facilitator

• To organise the initial reception of candidates for each of the practical assessments that are scheduled for the day.
• To ensure that horses are available, on time and in a suitable condition to meet the examination requirements.
• To provide the completed Owners Consent Forms (Appendix 21) to the Registrar before the examination commences.
• To provide personnel to trot up horses for the initial and final assessments.
• To organise the trot-up as required by the Examiners.
• To provide personnel to attend the horses as required throughout the practical assessment.
• To ensure sufficient coke/gas for the forges, and the availability of sufficient bar steel on site.
• To provide a large clock in the forge area to assist candidates with their time management during the examination.
• To provide one set of spare shoeing tools for use in unforeseen circumstances.
• To ensure that the forge area is clear of previously made shoes.
• To work with the examiners to provide whatever additional support is required.
• To ensure compliance with the WCF Health and Safety procedures/requirements, and providing the completed Appendix 5 to the Registrar.

Facilities for the Practical Test

Practical examinations must be conducted under conditions that will provide candidates with the opportunity to complete their tasks and to display their level of competence. The facilities must not disadvantage any individual candidate.

A notice stating “Examination in Progress” will be affixed to the door of all examination rooms used for the practical examination. See Appendix 7.

The allocated area for the trotting up and assessment of horses both before and after a practical diploma examination should be secure, with a flat, hard surface. It should be free from traffic or other interference.

The forge area should have serviceable forges of either coke or gas fuels. Adjacent to each forge should be a serviceable anvil on a stand.

The shoeing area must have sufficient space for candidates to shoe simultaneously without disrupting each other’s work. The floor must have a suitable surface that is not slippery for horses.

The shoeing area must be divided by suitable partitioning so that each candidate has his/her own bay in which to work when shoeing the horse. Each bay must have its own tie ring or similar fitting to which the horse’s halter lead can be tied.

The forge and shoeing areas must conform to current Health & Safety Regulations, and a recent Risk Assessment must have been carried out by the College Health and Safety Officer prior to the start of the practical examination. The Proforma is at Appendix 5.

An appropriately equipped first aid kit must be available in the forge. A qualified First Aider, provided by the College, must be present throughout the test, and must be identified to all of the Candidates and Examiners before the start of the test.

Provision of Horses

Arrangements must be made by the examination centre to ensure that an adequate supply of suitable horses is provided for the practical examination. These should be selected in advance by the College Examination Facilitator. All horses should be well used to being shod and not averse to being handled by unfamiliar people. All horses will be presented with clean feet so that no unreasonable problems are posed for the candidates. The examiners will inspect the horses for their acceptability prior to the commencement of the practical assessment.

In addition to the requisite number of horses for candidates who are to be assessed, sufficient spare horses should be available on each examination day to allow a horse to be rejected if found to be unsuitable for the shoeing task.

The horses are to be of a similar type on a given day i.e. they should not be a mixture of cob and thoroughbred on the same day. The horses are to have sufficient hoof for candidates to work on i.e. the horses should not have been shod for at least 4 weeks.

Provision of Bar Steel

Sufficient variety and quantity of bar steel must be available to allow candidates to make any of the shoe variants listed in the examination syllabus in all normal sizes of metal.

Late Arrival of Candidates

Where a candidate arrives after the appointed time for the start of the practical examination, he/she will be allowed to enter the forge and carry out the practical assessment but he/she will be warned that the Examination Board reserves the right not to accept the work. In determining whether to accept any of the work completed by a candidate who arrives late, the Senior Examiner will pay particular attention to the extent to which it can regard the security of the examination as having been preserved.

A candidate who arrives after the scheduled starting time of the examination may be allowed the full time for the examination, however this will depending upon the individual circumstances as described below.

In cases where a candidate’s lateness has been caused by exceptional circumstances beyond his/her control, such as sudden illness, transport difficulties, and provided that the Senior Examiner is satisfied that there has been no breach of examination security, the work will be accepted. This will include all work completed in the examinations, including that completed in the additional time allowed to compensate for the late arrival. In such cases, the candidate’s Practical Examination Mark Sheet will indicate, where practicable, the work that was completed at the time the test was due to finish.

In all other cases, additional time will NOT be allowed in order to compensate for late arrival.

OUTLINE OF THE PRACTICAL TEST

The time allowed for the Practical Part is 2 hours. If there are more than three candidates in any one round, the start of the test will be split by 10 minutes for half of the candidates in order to avoid the need for candidates to queue for examiners at the end of each section.

Specimen Shoes.

The Candidate will produce a portfolio of practical work (of at least 6 shoes) of his/her own making for inspection at the time of the Practical Examination. Specimen shoes should include examples of concave, hand fullering, forge welding and plain stamping. These samples are important as Examiners compare the standard of the samples with that achieved in the exam; although the specimens themselves are not marked. Candidates will be questioned on their specimen shoes during the oral examination.

Live Horse Shoeing

• Candidates are expected to assess the conformation and movement of the horse allotted to them during a trot-up.
• The candidate should confirm to the examiner his/her satisfaction with the horse provided. He/she should inform the senior farriery examiner of any abnormality of the wall, sole or frog of the horse that he/she has noticed.
• The Candidate will be asked to prepare a fore and hind foot to receive a shoe, and this will be followed by the making of one fore and one hind shoe. Any shoe listed in below can be requested by the Examiner. These shoes are required to be fitted correctly and finished.
• The Examiners may change the specified task on each day of the examination.
• Students must be prepared to use either coke or gas as a heat source for forging and shoeing during the exam.

Styles of Shoeing:

• Thoroughbred (racing).
• Hunters.
• Show jumpers.
• Leisure horses & ponies.
• Driving horses and ponies.
• Draught horses.
• Eventers.
• Hackneys.
• Polo ponies.
• Dressage horses.
• Harness racing.
• Donkeys.
• Mules.

On completion of the task, at the final trot up, candidates will be expected to evaluate their work to the examiners. Candidates can expect to be questioned on their own assessment of the shoeing; their response will be assessed and included in the practical assessment mark.

EXAMINATION PRELIMINARIES

Before the Practical test begins, the Registrar will brief all candidates who are to be assessed on those administrative points that are relevant to the test.

Each candidate will be issued with a badge bearing his/her Candidate Identification Number. This will be worn and clearly visible throughout the practical test, including during the pre- and post-examination trot ups. Candidates are not permitted to wear nametags or any other form of individual identification during the examination. Nor may candidates wear any badge or logo that could identify his/her Approved Training Farrier. Each candidate is individually responsible for checking that his/her identification number corresponds with the number displayed for the horse and at the forge. The Candidate Number must be clearly displayed on both the candidate’s forge and above the horse bay.

The candidates will then be introduced to the Examiners. The Senior Examiner will inform the candidates as to what the practical task is to be, and take any appropriate questions to ensure that the candidate is fully conversant with the task allocated.

Allocation of Horses

Assessment of Horses - the Initial Trot Up

Although the candidates are not assessed or awarded marks during the initial trot up, it plays an important role in the Diploma examination. Candidates are to ensure that their Candidate Number is clearly visible during these assessments. The objectives of pre shoeing trot up are:

• To give the examiners an opportunity to evaluate the soundness (or otherwise) of the horses that will be used in the examination.
• To give the candidates an opportunity to evaluate the movement and foot fall of the horse they are about to shoe. This should help them formulate their shoeing plan as well as reinforcing best shoeing practice. The candidates / examiners should discuss any problem areas.

The examiners may reject an unsuitable horse and ask for its replacement.

Trot Up Procedure

Each horse should be walked away from and back towards the examiners and the two candidates allocated to it in a straight line on a hard level surface. Thereafter it should be trotted slowly away and back with the head as free as possible.

The horse handler should have appropriate protective headwear.

The veterinary examiner should note any lameness present and discuss this with the farrier examiners.

The farrier examiners should discuss any particular aspects of the horse to be shod that they consider relevant with the candidates. Such discussion should be designed to be helpful to the candidates in the formulation of their shoeing plan.

Preparatory Work Prior to the Start of the Practical Test:

Before the start of the 2 hour test, and when instructed to do so by the Senior Examiner, candidates may:

• clean off the horses’ hooves, and remove existing shoes.
• measure the horses’ feet and cut appropriate lengths of steel.
• mark the centre point of the bar they have cut.

Candidates may not cut or trim the feet in any way prior to the start of the test.

DURING THE PRACTICAL TEST

Marking of Practical Work by Examiners

As soon as a candidate has finished a particular phase of work (preparation of feet; shoe making; shoe fitting; and nailing and finishing) he/she is to inform the Examiners or the Registrar so that the candidate’s work can be marked as soon as is practicable. Both Farriery Examiners will mark each Section separately.

Unforeseen Problems

In a situation where there are unforeseen problems, such as an accident, a malfunctioning of the equipment, or a fractious horse which makes shoeing very difficult, the Senior Examiner may at his/her discretion, allow a candidate to have extra time.

If a candidate has a problem during the practical test, he/she should immediately draw it to the attention of either the examiners or the Registrar.

Allocation of Time

After one hour, and at 30 minutes, 10 minutes and 2 minutes before the end of the examination the Registrar, will inform the candidates of the time remaining.

AT THE END OF THE PRACTICAL TEST

As soon as the end of the test is announced, all candidates must stop work immediately, even if the task has not been completed, and must stand away from their horse.

The Examiners will only mark completed work, or that portion of work that has been completed. Marks will not be awarded on unfinished work on the assumption, for example, that the work would have been similar to that carried out on the completed hoof.

Failure to complete the task

If a candidate has not completed the task set, he/she should inform the Examiners who will note what has been finished and what remains to be done. The candidate shall be deemed to have failed the practical task if at the end of the allotted time the shoe has not been fitted and clenched up in such a way as to make it safe, without further work, for the post-shoeing trot up.

In such cases the examiners should award a mark of less than 50% in the ‘Nailing and Finishing’ section. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that shoes are presented for assessment in good time prior to the end of the examination.

Where the work is not finished but sufficient has been done to make the horse safe for the final trot up then the examiners should mark the work that has been done up to the end of the allotted time and then permit the candidate to complete the work so that the horse can be trotted up in the normal way.

Post Shoeing Trot Up

The Final Assessment - Trotting Up - will be made once the Examiners have completed assessing every candidate’s work. All the horses will be taken out of the forge and trotted-up so that a final assessment of the candidates’ work can be made. The two Farrier Examiners will have a short discussion with each candidate at this stage on the candidate’s assessment of their shoeing work. Questions and discussions during the trot-ups of the Practical Test will form part of the Practical assessment.

The horse should be trotted up in front of the candidates who have shod it in the presence of the examiners. Candidates are to ensure that their Candidate Number is clearly visible during these assessments.

The veterinary examiner should observe for any sign of significant lameness and if detected report any such finding to the senior examiner.

Procedure in the event of a horse being found to be lame

Any discussion or investigation should be conducted out of sight of the candidates. It may be best to re evaluate the horse later in the day. Where the veterinary examiner is satisfied that:

• the horse is substantially lame (>4/10ths.) and was not so prior to shoeing.
• the lameness relates to the foot (i.e. an increased digital pulse amplitude and/or heat is present with respect to the contralateral limb), or localised response to the judicious application of hoof testers.
• there is reasonable evidence of a nail bind, prick, or scald or some other evidence of an action detrimental to animal welfare.

he should inform the senior examiner who in his absolute discretion may amend the marks awarded in the ‘Nailing and Finishing’ (Section D) to less than 50% indicating a fail in the practical part of the examination. The examiners will ensure that appropriate treatment is instigated by the college staff to ensure the welfare of the horse.

Access to shoeing area between rounds

After the first session of a practical exam, no candidate is allowed to enter the shoeing area until the start of the second session. During this time, the horses will remain under supervision and no unauthorised person is allowed to inspect them.