Farrier
Role lens
Farriers inspect, trim and shape the hooves of horses and make and fit horseshoes, in compliance with any regulatory requirements.
Farriers are skilled craftspeople specializing in equine hoof care. Your days involve travelling to stables and farms to assess horses' hooves, trim excess growth, and apply or replace horseshoes. This requires a keen eye for detail, physical strength, and a thorough understanding of equine anatomy and biomechanics. You must adhere to relevant regulations and best practices to ensure the well-being of the animals you work with.
- • Inspecting and assessing the condition of horses’ hooves.
- • Trimming and shaping hooves to promote healthy growth and proper alignment.
- • Designing, making, and fitting horseshoes to suit individual horses and their activities.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Metal, machinery and related trades workers — 106 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Bulgaria, Italy, Slovakia.
Longest-running shortage: Italy, 3 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $35,360 2025-05 | +12.1% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +15.1% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Shortage reported Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Surplus reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for farrier
The outlook for farrier reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could farrier change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- advise horse owners on farriery requirements
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- analyse animal locomotion
- control animal movement
- prepare equid hooves
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Agriculture
A typical day as a farrier
09 09:00 · Morning assess equid footcare requirements
10 10:30 · Mid-morning attach horseshoes
12 12:00 · Midday carry out post hoof-trimming activities
14 14:00 · Afternoon advise horse owners on farriery requirements
15 15:30 · Late afternoon analyse animal locomotion
17 17:00 · Wrap-up control animal movement
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
-
prepare equid hooves
Trim and dress horse hooves using the appropriate tools and methods. Comply with the agreed footcare plan.
-
carry out post hoof-trimming activities
Discuss and agree on a husbandry plan (written or verbal), which may contain information on workload, environmental conditions, devices and non-prescription topical applications being used.
-
attach horseshoes
Attach the horseshoe safely, securely and in the correct position according to plan. Take all relevant information into account. Finish the hoof according to the specification, trot up the horse to confirm its soundness. Evaluate finished job and welfare of the horse.
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assess equid footcare requirements
Inspect the horse's leg, foot and hoof while they are stationary as well as in motion to check for irregularities, interference, peculiarities in gait (how the horse walks) or abnormalities in size and shape of hooves and wear of shoes in discussion with the owner and given purpose and use of horse.
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control animal movement
Direct, control or restrain some or part of an animal's, or a group of animals', movement.
-
make farrier tools and supplies
Work sections of metal to produce farriery tools and horseshoes to required specifications.
-
advise horse owners on farriery requirements
Discuss and agree the farriery and hoof care requirements of the equine with the responsible person.
-
analyse animal locomotion
Analyse animal locomotion either by eye or using instrumentation for measuring body movements, body mechanics, and muscle activity.
farrier industry
The manufacturers, suppliers and specificities of the farrier industry and its history with product identification.
- forging processes
- types of metal
Path to become a farrier
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Upper secondary education
The closest officially recognised professional qualification in the Flemish qualification structure:
- Hoefsmid Flemish level 4
A closest match, not an exact equivalent: a qualification is often narrower than the occupation. Source: AHOVOKS, Flemish government (Kwalificatiedatabank), reused under the Flemish Open Licence for free reuse.
34 programmes in 11 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 32 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Advanced Certificate in Craft - Farriery
SOLAS · Ireland
Koulutuskeskus Salpaus · Finland
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) · the United States
These are 4 of 66.
Sources
- 1. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 2. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 3. Course information from Qualifax (qualifax.ie), Quality and Qualifications Ireland
- 4. Source: MIT OpenCourseWare (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does farrier fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of physical demands does this job involve?
Is there a formal apprenticeship or training program required to become a farrier?
What safety precautions should a farrier take when working with horses?
Is there a shortage of Farrier in Europe?
How much does Farrier pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data