Before vehicles became common and when Rawalpindi was the headquarter of the British forces, there was a lot of business for the farriers of the city as all the horses and donkeys had to be fixed with shoes before they set out for Kashmir and the adjoining hilly areas.

Till the recent past, even after wagons and cars began to be used for transport, horse drawn carriages could still be seen on the roads of the city as they were the cheaper mode of transportation.

However, recently, business for the farriers of the city has been limited to fitting shoes on the hooves of racing horses, ponies and donkeys. Only two or three farriers’ shops remain open in the city, where the masters can be seen fitting horses with shoes within an hour.

Depending on what they are used for, a horse will outgrow its shoe in between 10 to 30 days, after which the animal cannot walk properly as a gap develops between the hoof and the shoe.

The farrier takes off the old shoe with a pincer, trim the hoof wall and clean the inner part with a hoof knife. The horseshoe is fitted by hammering nails into it. It requires a certain amount of expertise to not hurt the horse in the process.

It takes 20 minutes to fix one hoof and all four hooves are usually done in an hour. The farrier then asks the horseman to check if the horse can walk properly and check if the shoes are balanced.

Niaz Khan has worked as a farrier for 60 years and can now fix shoes on all four hooves of an animal in an hour, “My grandfather and his grandfather were also in the same profession. My father nailed horseshoes for the British army cavalry in Peshawar,” he said.

He said the younger generation does not want to pursue this profession as there is not enough money in it.

“This is a dying art now, as there are no more horse drawn carriages anymore. We just have limited work and only a few customers come in everyday. Ours was a thriving business two decades ago and were in as much demand as motor mechanics are now,” he said.

Mr Khan started his career when he was just 10-years-old.

“We taught horses to waltz, which was tricky,” he said of the start of his career.

Talking of the horse races at the Race Course Ground on Peshawar Road, he said he used to nail shoes made of iron on normal horses and those made of nickel for racing horses. After the race, the nickel shoes would be removed and the iron ones put back on.

“Horse races are not held in Rawalpindi anymore but private races are still hosted on Chakri Road and adjoining areas,” he said.

During his interview with Dawn, a customer brought a racehorse to Mr Khan’s shop, who gave the owner some tips on caring for the horse.

“Give it pickled lemon if it is not eating properly,” he suggested.

“In just a glance, I can tell the breed of the horse and if it is sick. Having worked with them for 60 years, I know their behaviour very well now,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2017