H&H readers are asked to check a list of farriers struck off for non-payment of fees to the Farriers Registration Council (FRC) and alert their farrier if he or she is on the list.
Sixty farriers were struck off the official register of farriers last month for non-payment of their retention fees and although some have since paid up and been reinstated there are still around 40 who are suspended from practicing their craft.
Assistant FRC registrar Vicky Masters told H&H: “Farriers must pay their fees by 31 December and if by 12 January they had not paid up we took them off the register.”
It is illegal for an unregistered person to shoe a horse, so farriers who do not reapply would be working unlawfully.
“All we could do was write to the address on the register so there may be farriers who have moved house since,” said Ms Masters.
“If any H&H reader sees their farrier’s name on the list they should ask them to get in touch with us.”
Stuart Craig, vice chairman of the UK Horse Shoers’ Association (UKHSA) told H&H: “Every year a certain number of farriers are lazy in paying, but 60-odd out of 2,500 working farriers is not a large number.
“If this is the only way to get them to pay up then it’s a good idea. Personally I pay mine by direct debit.”
http://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/
