Photo: Supplied
Our BetaVet Under The Radar focus this month is John Atkinson of Whitehall Farriers. John is extremely passionate about his role as a farrier and with three apprentices under his tutelage, he is also passionate about ensuring the future of the hoof is in good hands!
Explain your role and how long you have working in it?
My name is John Atkinson, I am a New Zealand qualified Farrier and the owner-operator of Whitehall farriers.
I began my apprenticeship with my father in 2017 and passed my Certified Farrier Practice in 2021. I then worked in partnership with my father before taking over the family business in 2022. The business currently consists of myself and 3 apprentices servicing mainly thoroughbred studs in the Waikato region as well as some breaking and pre-training yards in the Cambridge and Matamata areas.
My main role as a farrier is to ensure horses are sound and to make sure they have healthy hooves through regular maintenance or the application of horse shoes, in younger horses we also trim them to try to improve their conformation and ensure they have strong straight legs.
What training is required and what further training, if any, have you done to expand your knowledge?
The best way to become a farrier is by doing an apprenticeship. In New Zealand this takes 4 years and requires you spend 2 weeks per year on block courses before you can sit your exam and become qualified. During this apprenticeship you will learn how to properly trim hooves to keep them strong and fit for purpose, how to apply shoes to keep the horse sound on different types of surfaces, as well as how to make a wide range of shoes from scratch in the forge.
My apprentices and I are constantly trying to up skill ourselves by attending farrier competitions in New Zealand and Australia. These competitions open us up to learning new skills for forging new shoes as well as allowing us to be judged by other farriers both national and abroad who are all there for the betterment of the trade. We also regularly attend clinics and seminars to stay up to date with the latest research in the industry.
What advice would you give someone interested in becoming a farrier and what is the best way to go about it?
If anyone is interested I'm becoming a farrier, the NZFA website, New Zealand Farriers Association, is a great place to start to look for a potential employer. The NZFA is responsible for organizing and overseeing our training courses and running our exams, as well as organizing and running clinics and competitions throughout the country.
The association recently organized for 7 apprentices to attend the Australian apprentice of the year competition in scone NSW. It was a brilliantly run competition where 5 of our apprentices, my 2 senior apprentices included, placed in various classes, . The association was able to sponsor uniforms for the apprentices, and Wentwood Grange where kind enough to provide a fundraising opportunity to help cover more costs.
What is a typical day for you?
My work consists of working with a lot of young stock, foals, weanlings, yearlings and we shoe a large number of breakers and pre-trainers. A typical day currently tends to start with walking up and accessing weanlings to establish their conformation, then trimming them to suit. Often some mares that require remedial work to keep them sound and healthy, followed by shoeing breakers in the arvo once they have done there mornings work.
What is your favourite part of your job?
I really enjoy working with the young stock, as my clients breed the horses and I begin trimming them as foals, I then do follow up trims every 4-5 weeks all the way through to their first set of shoes as yearlings heading to sales. I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing clients get a great result on the track or in the sales ring and knowing that I had a part in getting the horse to that stage.
What are some of the difficulties your role can face? If any.
Being based in the Waikato one of our main difficulties can be the weather in winter. Excessive rain and mud can make our job hard work and can cause problems with the horses feet in terms of abcesses or the feet becoming waterlogged and soft. But this environment also allows for grass growth year round which helps the horses to grow, so it's a bit of a catch 22.
Are you involved in the industry in other ways?
Outside of work I own a mare in partnership with Brad Molander and we have breed multiple foals from her. We have sold one at the weanling sale in 2023, he then went on to run in the 2025 karaka million 2yr old race under the name "in the air". It was great to see a horse we had breed and sold make it in to this race and it was great fun to cheer him on that day. We when sold the 2nd foal at the 2025 yearling sale for a great result, and we are very excited to see the mare foal down to Shamexpress this year.
What do you love about the thoroughbred industry and why should someone get involved at any level?
There are so many different career pathways in the racing industy from farriers to stables hands and even owners, to anyone keen on giving it a go I would suggest you reach out to any of your local business that operate in the industry and see where you could make your start.
Horses are amazing animals to work with and they can take you to almost any country for work. Thoroughbreds in particular are extremely adaptable horses capable of doing almost anything, but there is something very special about seeing a horse you have worked with go out and win a race.
