“You never stop learning. The further I go into it – and I’ve been in it two years now – the more I realise the less I know. I think that’s terrific” – Brendan O’Brien
Just sometimes, the path less travelled is the one that leads to the most fulfilling destination. Brendan O’Brien is a 29-year-old mature age farrier apprentice who is now left without a doubt – he’s found his professional calling. RUSSELL BENNETT uncovered his story.
Spending some of his formative years at Mill Valley Ranch at Tynong North, Brendan O’Brien would help his grandfather out with the horses there.
Having been introduced to them from a young age and grown up around them, he hadn’t initially thought of working professionally with them and making a career out of it.
“He wanted me to become a farrier then, as a 19-year-old,” Brendan recalls.
“To me it looked like a silly idea, bending over all day, and it looked too painful.
“But in the subsequent years I went to Canada and worked at a horse camp over there for about four and a half years.
“I did a little bit there but it was more with riding and training, rather than shoeing or trimming.
“It was coming back here – back to the youth camp at Mill Valley and working there as a groundskeeper – that changed it all.
“The farrier they got in was looking for an apprentice and he and I had a lot in common.”
Brendan explained how his boss, Tim Wilson from Quality Farrier Service, mentioned he was looking for an apprentice and initially he said he wasn’t all that interested.
“I think I just had to get to a point, maturity-wise, where I felt I was ready,” Brendan said.
“At first I said no but then I looked into it a little bit more and the lifestyle opportunities it provided and the balance and what was involved really suited me.
“Going into it as a 27-year-old, too, was better because my body had finished growing and had become a lot stronger.
“From chatting with Tim, about the lifestyle he lived with his young kids and his family, the way he got around was something that my wife and I were chasing – something as simple as being able to bring your dog to work.
“I’ve got my kelpie. It sounds silly to some people but dogs are a big part of my life – she’s my best mate.
“To bring her to work every day and dress in Wranglers, work boots and hang out with people – I thought it was all just terrific.”
After taking up his position as an apprentice on Melbourne Cup weekend last year, Brendan adores his role.
He loves the variety of being able to travel around the countryside, meeting different people and, ultimately, forming friendships with them along the way.
“Because we go back to that barn, stable, farm or training facility every six to eight weeks you form a real relationship with your clients and you get to know them, their families and their kids and all of their stories,” he said.
“That’s ongoing, so you build up a really good friendship with those people. I really enjoy that – having the variety of seeing different people every day.
“I’ll be fully qualified when I’m 32.
“That’s a bit scary as a mature-age apprentice – wondering if you can be an apprentice for that long with costs and expenses that you have – but it’s fantastic.
“My wife works here at Pakenham Produce and Saddlery and I love it. It’s absolutely terrific.”
Brendan’s grandparents have been involved at Mill Valley Ranch for the better part of 40 years.
After high school, during a gap year, Brendan spent some more extended time at the camp and that just served to stoke the fire for his passion and, ultimately, his career.
He’s always known the ranch and it’s long played a part in his life, but Brendan wasn’t initially from the local area.
“I grew up north of Shepparton on a dairy farm up there, and I’ve always had a farming background,” he said.
“As a young kid, my parents moved to Papua New Guinea for five years – they were missionaries over there on a property that was teaching students farming, but also about the Bible.
“I was just a kid running around barefoot with all the local boys hunting and fishing and to me it was terrific.
“We had five years over there and then came back and went back up to Numurkah – were I finished my high school.
“I guess that’s technically home – it’s where I was born and grew up – but I think of West Gippsland much more as home now.”
Tim and Brendan now work throughout the south-east, from Mornington to Leongatha and Korumburra, to Cranbourne, Rowville and Belgrave South.
A lot of their work takes them from Pakenham through to Warragul.
They cater to a lot of performance horses – showjumping and dressage, in particular.
“We shoe at Mill Valley Ranch, trail riding horses, pony clubbers, just a lot of private people with horses as a hobby, and Tim looks after a couple of big showjumping and dressage stables that we shoe for on a regular cycle,” Brendan said.
“We don’t work any racehorse stables – shoeing horses that are racing – but Tim does look after two farms that have spellers, one breeding farm and one spelling farm.”
They often work at thoroughbred spelling farm in Pakenham South where they trim anywhere from 10 to 15 racehorses that are there for a six to eight week spell from racing.
It’s variety in his position that Brendan really loves, and now he and Tim are fast approaching their busiest time of year.
“Over winter a horse’s feet don’t grow as much and it’s bad weather for showing so all the shows, basically, wind up – in Victoria, anyway,” he said.
“A lot of our clients go north to Queensland for the showjumping circuit up there.
“Typically people down here pull shoes off, turn horses out and have a break and go away on holidays.
“Their feet down grow as much, so the cycle that we shoe them in extends and it slows down over winter.
“In spring the grass is growing so the feet are growing and shows are picking up. Over summer is our really busy time and we’re just coming into it now.”
Through his position, Tim said one of his biggest constant challenges was remaining physically fit and strong to cope with the rigors of the job.
“It’s a very physically intensive job,” Brendan said.
“Even when you’re trimming little ponies you have to get down very low and it’s hard on our bodies so we have to make sure we look after ourselves and stay strong and safe because if you can’t work then there’s your income gone so that’s probably one of the most important things.
“Dealing with injured or untrained horses is another one – not so much for Tim because he’s been doing it for so long – but If you worked at one of those thoroughbred barns shoeing young racehorses that haven’t been shod before that can be a real challenge.
“It’s a new experience for them. Horses are a big, strong animal and they’re a creature of flight by nature so if there’s something they’re not comfortable with they’ll try and get away. The challenge is making sure you don’t get hurt in the process.”
Another constant challenge is the weather.
“As you come into summer and it gets busy, the ground dries out and gets hard and so the feet dry out and get hard, too,” Brendan said.
“They can tend to crack and break up. The wear and tear on the hooves, depending on what the owners are using them for, can be difficult and then in winter the feet go really soft.
“Depending on how wet it is and how much water they stand in, that can be a challenge with other diseases and problems that occur with the feet, too.
“They can break down – whether they’re really soft from the winter or really hard and brittle from the summer.
“It’s about educating the client on the right supplements and diets to have their horses on.
“This whole area is very flat and in the winter it’s very, very wet.
“If you don’t have a property that drains well, the horses are standing in some very wet dirt all the time, wet paddocks, and that takes its toll.”
But when it comes to professional growth, for Brendan, the sky is the limit.
“We learn a lot at trade school – they teach us a lot in terms of anatomy and different shoeing principles and styles,” he said.
“I’m quite lucky in that Tim works closely with the vets down at the South Eastern Equine Hospital in Narre Warren.
“We go there often and Tim does a lot of specialty shoeing and some really challenging cases.
“For me, from the learning side of things, it’s amazing. Some of the shoeing jobs that we do are very technical.
“When I first came into this apprenticeship I guess I never realised how much there was to the foot – the biomechanics and the way they work, the bone structure, the tendons and how they all work and how much pressure they’re under when we ride them, and how to support that system in work.
“There’s a lot to it, and there’s a lot of study if you want to do it. The sky is the limit for how much you can apply yourself.
“You never stop learning. The further I go into it – and I’ve been in it two years now – the more I realise the less I know. I think that’s terrific.”
Brendan really has found his calling.
“In two years I haven’t once woken up and thought ‘oh, it’s another day at work – here we go again’,” he said.
“Whether it’s 40 degrees or five degrees, I’m excited to go to work. I really enjoy it – I’m happy, my body is holding together and I find it really enjoyable.
“We’re heading towards our goals and hopes that my wife and I have, and this is certainly going to help us achieve those.”
