CE053 ‘The Life Guards Farrier’

In the armies of earlier times each cavalry regiment had a ‘master farrier’ who was charged with looking after the horses and assisting the regiment’s veterinary surgeon.

In the Household Cavalry these farriers are a survival of the past and are easily distinguished from other ranks because they carry a ceremonial highly polished axe.

This tool was not issued as a weapon but was to be used to put wounded horses out of their pain and to remove the hooves of any animal killed in order that their identity number, which was branded onto the hooves, could be recorded.

On a uniform side note, this farrier is the only member of the Life Guards regiment that wears a navy blue tunic in place of the traditional scarlet one.