Insurance company NFU Mutual adds new shoeing clause
An insurance company has changed its policies to tackle concerns that owners are using unregistered farriers.
But professional equine podiatrists and other “trimmers” are concerned that the amendment is targeted at them.
NFU Mutual has added to its small print, stating: “Should a policyholder choose to use someone other than a registered farrier to provide foot care then, in the event of a claim involving or related to the foot, NFU Mutual could repudiate the claim.
“However, each situation is considered on its own merits and we take a fair and reasonable approach at all times.”
Nikki Whittaker of NFU Mutual said: “We changed our wording to ‘registered farrier’ to avoid policyholders using unregistered farriers and to ensure owners ask about the qualifications.
“Farriers are regulated by an act of parliament. This is not the case for barefoot trimmers and it can be difficult to establish what type of qualification people hold.”
She added the company “fully supports owners who choose to manage their horses using the barefoot method“.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Justine Jenkins of the Equine Podiatry Association UK said: “If they want people not to use unregistered farriers, it would be easy enough for them to put that in the wording, rather than tar us all with the same brush.”
Jo Grimes of the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry said they approved the change if it included responsible barefoot practitioners.
This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (26 April 2012)
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.