Bachelor Thesis - Christina Kuenen - Hufpfleger

2.3.3 Differences in Education
It can be seen that a lot of differences between the educations exist. The organization varies from full time to
weekend educations. The length varies from six months to three years. Some institutes require a placement of
two years, others no one at all. Also the fees for the educations vary on a wide range.
The only regulation existing at the moment refers to the education for certificated farriers in Germany. They
need to stick to the rules and regulations of the “Hufbeschlaggesetz” and the “Hufbeschlagverordnung”. This
means that farriers have to follow an education up to six times as long as the other practitioners have to. Also
the fact that they have to work for two years for a low loan at a farriers business after completing already
another education, makes the education less attractive.
The situation that a lot of interested people in farriery take the line of least resistance is also unsatisfying for
the German instructive farrier institutes (Heym, 2011). Farrier candidates can follow the farrier education in
the Netherlands and are certificated according to the 'Hufbeschlags-Anerkennungsverordnung' in Germany.
They are allowed then to work like a certificated farrier who followed the German education Wurthmann,
2011). This means less time and money expenditures for the participants. For the instructive farrier institutes
in Germany it means less demand. The regulation for traditional farrier instruction institutes is quite strict.
Figure 1: imbalance of educations
On the other hand alternative institutes are relatively free within the organisation and certification of their
courses. Some institutes require a practical placement lasting months, others do not have any requirements
for practical experiences in hoof treatment businesses. This is one of the reasons why the alternatives are not
always respected by equine experts, like vets or farriers, or horse owners. There is no transparency about
their knowledge, skills and attitudes (Heym, 2011).
Nevertheless, according to the history of horses, the hoof treatment and the use of horses, it can be seen that
all the different occupations around the horse have their legitimacy of existence.
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