Iain Ritchie, DWCF
Iain Ritchie, a true Scotsman, brings 18 years of farriery experience to Jaquima Ranch, where he takes care of the majority of the horses.
An accomplished horseman and horse enthusiast since the age of eight, Iain embarked on his farrier career in Scotland at the age of 16. While studying at the Hereford School of Farriery in England he served a four-year apprenticeship in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a 7th generation farrier. Iain earned his Diploma of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (DWCF) at the age of 20.
In addition to his daily farrier practice, Iain enjoys keeping his skills sharp and puts them to the test on a regular basis. Before moving to Canada in 1999, he won the draft shoeing contest in Closeburn, Scotland and he still attends many shoeing competitions around the world including the world championships in Alberta, Canada. Since 2002 he has amassed no less than three wins at the world championships in Alberta in the team draft shoeing competition.
Iain loves working on all kinds of horses and has extensive experience with a large variety of corrective shoes including eggbars, heartbars, glue on shoes and fish tail bar shoes. He also does a lot of further corrective work, treating leg deviations in foals, laminitis, navicular, broken coffin and navicular bones, sand cracks, quarter cracks and seedy toe to name but a few.
Easily reached, Iain is available on short notice if an emergency arises. We're very fortunate to have Iain's skill and dedication as a valuable addition to our team.
