Newmarket farrier awarded PhD in horseshoe making

Newmarket farrier awarded PhD in shoeing horses Credit: ITV Anglia

A Newmarket farrier who received a PhD for his research into horseshoe making has written a book on the craft.

Simon Curtis is an experienced farrier having spent more than four decades mastering the art of shoeing horses.

He was completed a six year Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme at the University of Central Lancashire studying the development of the foal's hoof.

And now he has written a new book ''The Hoof of the Horse'', based on his years of research.

Simon is using the new knowledge from his studies to improve farriery work on foals and older horses. Credit: ITV Anglia

The 2,000-year-old craft has not changed much since it first began two thousand years ago.

Horseshoe maker's equipment still consist of a furnace or forge, an anvil, tongs and hammers.

Farrier's equipment today are still like those used thousand of years ago. Credit: ITV Anglia

Simon says that regardless of who the horse owner may be, he will give the horse the best treatment possible:

Simon Curtis has been making horseshoes since he was sixteen. Credit: ITV Anglia