Tom Ryan FWCF

Tom Ryan FWCF

Tom lives in Bedfordshire, UK, with his wife has two adult sons and three grandchildren.

Now retired, Tom comes from a long line of farriers and blacksmiths, his father, grandfather and great grandfather were all farriers and blacksmiths in the West of Ireland.

He started working for his father in 1967. During this time Tom attended Hereford School of Farriery for several months each year. Instructor Wally Inwood would come and visit Tom at his father's forge in Clophill, Bedfordshire. During this period he attained the RSS qualification (Registered Shoeing Smith with the Worshipful Company of Farriers), now replaced by the Dip WCF.

In 1971 Tom started his own farriery practice which he ran until 2021, during this 50 year period he gained the AFCL (Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers), now called AWCF. Presently, Tom now holds FWCF qualification (Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers).

Tom's interest in laminitis developed through daily contact with equines with this condition and puzzling over all the differing and conflicting points of view expressed by all those around him. The results of his research into hoof growth led to him formulating the Dorsal Wall Lifting Theory for equine laminitis in 1998 and a vertical grooving procedure which is still helping many laminitic horses today.

Tom has served on the Farriery Craft & Executive Committees of the British Farriers and Blacksimiths Assocition (BFBA).

Tom’s hobbies include photography, computing and flight simulation, he is combining these interests in the building & flying of a home flight simulator cockpit.

Contact

Telephone: +44 (0) 1234 70 88 45
tom@equinehoof.co.uk

Articles Published

PublicationDateArticle
Peerj.com 15 June 2018

Review of data on hoof growth in normal and laminitic equines suggests a new etiology for acute laminitis

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Forge December, 2015, Vol 2 No 5, Page 4,

Quarter crack, a case history.

( Overall Winner of the Stromsholm Educational Award 2017 )

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Connemara Chronicle Volume 42, 2015, Page 211 Barefoot - The long view
Forge June 2013, Page 8 Hoof wall separation syndrome in Connemara ponies
Connemara Chronicle Volume 40, 2013, Page 183 Hoof wall separation syndrome in Connemara ponies
Connemara Chronicle Volume 38, 2011 Foal limb development
Connemara Chronicle Volume 37, 2010, Page 147 The Equine Foot
Forge February 2010, Page 4 Demystifying Club Foot
Forge October 2009 Minimising hoof distortion in laminitis
Forge August 2009, Page 12 Distortion - the hidden menace in laminitis
Horse Health February/March 2006 (issue 2), Page 20 What do we know about laminitis?
Hoofcare & Lameness (issue 72) Deep Cleft Thrush Infections
Horse & Hound 28 November 2002, page 19 Best foot forward
Forge December 2000 The Dorsal wall lifting theory
Forge October 2000 Laminitis induced by heel trimming of upright feet
Horse & Hound 16 November 2000, page 50 Growing Pains
Horse & Hound 25 May 2000, page 60 Cracking up
Horse & Hound 23 December 1999, page 64 The full picture
Horse & Hound 9 December 1999, page 64 Cover story
Horse & Hound 5 August 1999, page 70 Bearing up
Horse & Hound 7 January 1999, page 69 Road rage
Horse & Hound 13 February 1997, page 56 Finding the right balance
Horse & Hound 20 March 1997, page 82 Hardening up brittle hooves
Horse & Hound 12 June 1997, page 66 Mismatched feet
Horse & Hound 16 October 1997, page 74 Frog damage can be 'shear' disaster
Horse & Hound 15 January 1998, page 70 Trimming feet the natural way
Horse & Hound 9 April 1998, page 78 First steps to a healthy life
Horse & Hound 23 July 1998, page 74 On the level
Forge Forge '89 (issue 5), Pages 11-12, 19-20. Hoof growth in Normal and Laminitic Horses

Updated: 19/01/2023