Warickshire College and War Horses

Jonathan's son, Josh, started his first block at college this past Tuesday and I was invited to go along to the Induction at Warwickshire College.  The apprentices do mostly on-the-job training but go to college for certain periods, called "blocks," throughout the year.  There are eight blocks in total.  For this first one both the apprentice and their Approved Training Farrier (ATF) should be there on the first day as there is a good deal of paperwork to sign, rules and regulations to go over, and so on.  After an explanation of the apprentice system and recent changes to the system- made in attempt to bring it more into line with the job training system for the rest of the UK- the AFTs were packed off to the forge and the apprentices had to endure a lecture on health & safety and workplace rights.  

I went along with the ATFs because I wanted to see the college and I also didn't want to sit through another hour long lecture.  What surprised me most during the Tutors' presentation was their opening statement that college was no longer about learning anatomy but about shoe making.  The expectation is now that the ATFs will do most of the anatomy and pathology teaching and were even encouraged to give their apprentices homework.  Simultaneously,  the ATFs were given a lecture because their apprentices had appeared with improperly sharpened punches, pritchels, etc. which doesn't make much sense to me if the college is supposed to be teaching shoe making.  This aside, I was very impressed by the forges, which were in very good shape and immaculate.  The presentation and follow-up exercise for the ATFs was also very clear, outlining the standards that would be expected of students' shoe making ability at each block.

The Warickshire College Forge.  This is one of three colleges that provide farrier training in the UK.

Work stations in the forge.  It was a nice, airy, light building and there were doors on either side of the stalls, then two more work stations and so on around.  I forgot to count, but there were at least eight stations.  Apparently the place is always this clean.

The coke fires were located in another building nearby.

The ATFs grading student work in an exercise designed to help them understand exactly what was going to be expected of students' shoe making and what standards would be expected at each particular point throughout their apprenticeships.

The minimum standard.  After block 6 there are two more, with block 8 being the Diploma exam.

Just because we went to Warwick for half a day doesn't mean that we got out of working.  Luckily we didn't do much, just two trims and a set.  The horse we shod was really well behaved though, and I am not at all surprised, not after I found out what he does for a living.

He didn't look like all that much...

... but just in case I needed a reminder that I'm in England, I got to shoe a jousting horse!