“THERE’S A LIVING to be earned but you’ll work hard for it.
“I suppose you’ll work hard for a living in any game. The base of the trade hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, but our tools have seriously improved.”
The horseshoe-making is vital when it comes to the racing industry. “No foot, no horse”, as the saying goes.
Farriers play a key role by shoeing racehorses to ensure that their hooves are in top shape, and one man who knows the trade better than most is Eddie Channon Snr.
Originally from Clonmel, he was born into a family of farriers and left school at an early age to go work with his father.
Having later moved to Kildare, Eddie married and settled in Newbridge with their three children.
In the latest episode of Humans of Horse Racing, we hear from the master farrier and his son, Eddie Jnr, about their passion for the trade, how methods have changed over the years and representing Ireland at the European Farrier Championships.
“I loved seeing my father getting up every morning and going out, shoeing horses, and I always wanted to follow in his footsteps,” says Eddie Jnr, a fourth-generation farrier.
“I see myself doing nothing else — just this work. We basically know each other’s moves behind and anvil. If he needs anything in the forge, he wouldn’t even have to ask. It’s in his hand before he knows it.”
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