Ian Marchant - Farrier

16 x 11.6 in (40.6 x 29.5 cm) paper (Edition of 25)

20 x 14.4 in (50.8 x 36.6 cm) paper (Edition of 16)

24 x 17.1 in (61 x 43.4 cm) paper (Edition of 8)

The Story.

In his forge in Abbotsbury, Dorset. Ian began working as a farrier back in 1964, and since then has made and fixed over 100,000 horseshoes. He works barehanded and has sustained numerous burns over the years, but it’s part of the job. Gloves get in the way, stopping him from feeling both his tools and the horses.

Ian started on hunters and event horses, then specialised in heavy horses that some farmers still use for ploughing and wood-towing on their farms. He also shod the Young’s Brewery horses in London for eighteen years, as well as the horses that pull the Lord Mayor’s coach.

“You have to know how to approach and handle the horse, it needs to trust you. That’s not to say I haven’t been kicked across the yard a couple of times, and even chased across a field.”

— Ian Marchant