By Irma Heger SIMON Bullen is the first farrier in Edgworth for 50 years

And at 22 he is probably one of the youngest farriers in the country.

He lives at an idyllic spot with his parents - in a converted barn overlooking the countryside - and has an olde worlde profession - as a member of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.

But he plies his trade from a mobile farrier's van, communicating with customers on his mobile phone.

And like any other guy of his age, he loves his cars, his sleep and his working out at the gym.

"Friends used to laugh and think it's a dead end job," said Simon, from Meadowcroft Barn on Bury Road.

"They didn't understand what the job was all about, but now they think I'm on a good thing.

"Some wished they had done it themselves - there's plenty of work."

Simon's love of horses was awakened by his grandad, who bought him his first pony, Luke.

And by looking over the shoulder of the family's blacksmith in Ainsworth, Jim Dampier, Simon became interested in his current job.

This training-farrier later took Simon under his wing, giving him a three-year apprenticeship after successfully completing a one year pre-farriery course at Warwickshire College of Agriculture. He was among just six out of 30 students qualifying from the course.

Two months ago, he set himself up in business with savings from working for Jim.

Although he stopped riding horses - not many grown-up men ride horses, "it looks silly", according to Simon - he is still fond of the animals and likes working outdoors.

And a shortage of farriers and the popularity of horse-riding means there is plenty of work for the young entrepreneur.

"I feel good about it - I've got a lot in front of me," he said.

Most of Simon's clients own horses for leisure, and there are some show jumpers and and dressage horses.

At High School, the young farrier's career teacher said he would be better off trying for a career in plumbing than in the blacksmith trade - but he proved her wrong.

"I never went along with that," said Simon, who did his first farrier's work experience aged 15.

There was a lot to learn, as there's a lot more to "farrying" than meets the eye.

For a start, not just anybody can put a horseshoe on. It's a criminal offence, in fact, if you are not a registered farrier. The job requires a lot of knowledge of a horse's anatomy - Simon even suspects he knows more about horse's feet than most Vets, but he would rather keep that to himself. In the future, he would like to own his own shoeing clinic and do surgical shoeing for Vets.

For now, his daily work involves cleaning and trimming the feet before fitting the horseshoe, which has been heated in the forge, and shaped using a hammer and anvil to shape them.

The procedure - which needs to be repeated on average every four to six weeks - is totally painless, Simon said. If he does get it wrong, the horse could go lame.

Thankfully, this hasn't happened yet. So far he has been lucky - perhaps thanks to the horseshoes?

"I gave my uncle - who is a car dealer - a horse shoe the other day," said Simon on the subject.

"He sold seven cars that day. He's put it up in the office now!"

Simon can be contacted on 853270 or 0966 494128

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