Farriers fear for the trade’s future
Clutching a glowing red horseshoe between blacksmith’s tongs, Meddah Larbi delights in his passion caring for horses’ hooves, as one of Algeria’s last farriers.
At his workshop at the Chaouchaoua national stud farm in Tiaret, 340 kilometres southwest of Algiers, Larbi hammered the hot horseshoe on an anvil.
He has spent years crafting shoes of all shapes and sizes, after first visiting the workshop with his horse as a 16-year-old.
“At the sight of an old man wielding a horseshoe over the coal forge, taking it from the flames, I fell in love. I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Larbi said.
He left school to become the apprentice of the farrier at Chaouchaoua and after four years took over the job when his mentor retired.
For the next decade, the former champion showjumper continued to ride competitively, combining his passion with a useful craft.
“In Algeria, riding horses is more of a hobby than a trade,” he said. “I had to have a profession to live by, to have social security.” His tools of the trade hang from the workshop walls, some pieces dating from its establishment in 1877 by French colonialists.
“For me, the best symphony is the sound of the hammer on the hot iron. It’s as if I’ve turned the radio on, it fills me with happiness,” said 39-year-old Larbi.
Some of the tools he still uses have barely changed since the Middle Ages, while the work of a farrier dates back more than 1,000 years.
In recent times, more and more people are turning to machinemade horseshoes, which are lighter.
Even those factory-made shoes still have to be adapted, however, and fitted to each horse’s hoof.
Despite the technological developments, Larbi remains determined to continue crafting his own horseshoes.
Working eight-hour days in Tiaret, he passes his free time with private clients across Algeria.
The process of removing an old horseshoe, cleaning and caring for the hoof before adding the new shoe can take up to four hours per horse.
The work is tough and farriers need to be fit, Larbi said, with long days spent bending down holding onto a horse’s leg.