PRESS RELEASE
BRIDGING THE FARRIERY SKILL GAP THROUGH UPSKILLING TRAINING MODULES
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 12th March 2021
Brooke India (BI) & Equine Farriery Foundation (EFF) joined hands to conduct the first module of the Farrier training course from 8-19 February 2021 at Dundlod, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The two-week-long training programme was jointly facilitated by expert Farrier Trainers from BI & EFF. The programme encourages individuals to take up Farriery as a profession. The long term vision of BI is to improve the Farriery skills of Local Street Farriers (LSF) and thereby improve equine welfare in the country.
Dr Nidhish Bhardwaj, Head of Animal Welfare & Health (HAWH), Dr Asheesh Pratap Singh, Senior Veterinary Officer (SVO) and Devi Singh, Master Trainer Farrier from BI and trainers from EFF facilitated theory and practical sessions. All the participants were introduced to the five domains of Animal Welfare and Compassionate Handling by the BI team as a precursor to farriery training. He further added that the participants who complete all four modules of the course in a year will become Certified Farriers. BI also sponsored two LSFs for this course.
Alex Ridgeway, Farrier Consultant, Brooke UK and Bernard Duvernay, Founder of FAF and Farriery experts from Spain, Scotland, Germany, United Kingdom conducted online sessions on a wide range of technical topics covering equine limb anatomy, hoof physiology, conformation, a study of joints, ligaments, the blood supply of the foot & limb, sensitive structures of the foot, functions of the foot, the importance of trimming etc.
This training programme was conducted as part of an agreement signed between BI & EFF to organise joint programmes for developing a professionally trained cadre of the Farrier workforce in the country. The EFF works under the aegis of Flying Anvil Foundation (FAF), Geneva, Switzerland.
Elaborating further on the new initiatives, Dr Nidhish Bhardwaj acknowledged the lack of formalised structured training programmes for the LSFs. BI was trying to bridge the farriery skill gap, by collaborating with veterinary universities to upskill LSFs. The first such Farrier Training – Bridge course for 10 LSFs was being conducted by BI in collaboration with UP Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya Evam Go Anusandhan Sansthan (DUVASU) Mathura. Thus, BI aims to establish Farriery as a recognised and respected profession in the country in collaboration with Vet Universities and the EFF.
Ends
About BI & EFF:
BI: Since its inception in 2001, BI has been focussing on the upliftment of marginalised equine owning communities in 11 States and Union Territories in India which include Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Over the years, BI has been exploring opportunities to work with government bodies, veterinary universities and rural development agencies to propagate equine welfare issues and advocate for equine centric research and development. (https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/india)
EFF: Equine Farriery Foundation (EFF) is a Non-Government company and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai. EFF runs an Equine Farriery Institute at Dundlod (Rajasthan), which teaches farriery in India, which was established under the aegis of the Flying Anvil Foundation (FAF) Geneva, Switzerland as a joint venture with the Indigenous Horse Society of India (Jaipur) and the EFF. The EFF’s goal is to promote the professional competencies of Ferrari in India. To achieve its goals, it organises training courses for the farriers regularly, initiates collaborations with local authorities, and seek to open local training facilities- these become self-sustaining at a local level.
