Scared horses can scar me

His work means that his hands often stink of horse excrement.

The stench sometimes lingers, despite his best efforts, says Mr Purushotthaman Selvaraju matter-of-factly.

The 32-year-old is in charge of putting shoes on horses and the animals tend to step in their own waste.

So he tries to be considerate to those around him when he's on the way home after work.

"When I take public transport, I try to avoid the crowded trains," says the Penang native, who is a permanent resident here.

Mr Purushotthaman is one of about 22 farriers here. A farrier's job involves trimming the hooves of horses and placing shoes onto them, so that they can trot, canter or gallop comfortably.

He also treats the horses if they contract fungal infections in their hooves

Mr Purushotthaman - and most farriers - do not wear gloves while doing the job. When shoeing a horse, a nail can get caught in a glove while shoeing a horse and the danger is that one can break limbs or get dragged away by a nervous animal.

Why is the animal nervous?

Well, a farrier to a horse is like a dentist to us humans. While seeing a dentist is sometimes necessary, it may hurt with inexperienced or rough hands.

Horses actually recognise the aprons that farriers wear and will get antsy if they've had a painful session before, Mr Purushotthaman says.

He shows this reporter his "battle scars", including a 7cm mark he has near his right thumb, the result of a horse trying to escape while he was nailing a shoe.

The worst part? Blood was gushing, but he had to finish the job before rushing to the hospital to get stitches.

"The horse might get hurt if it walks around with the shoeing half done," he says.

Mr Purushotthaman prefers to wear long-sleeved tops when he goes out because of the scars that have accumulated on his arms over the eight to nine years he has been in the job.

He also utters a prayer of thanks every day he returns home alive, he says.

He recalls the time he fought for his life after receiving a double-barrelled kick from a horse he was shoeing during his apprenticeship in Penang, Malaysia. It was a gelding, a castrated male horse.

"I was unconscious for about four days. It took a full week for me to recover," says Mr Selvaraju, who received his four-year farrier training at Selangor Turf Club , overseen by the Malaysian Equine Council and the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE .

Once in a while, he wonders if he will die on the job.

"One of my close friends in the same line died after a horse kicked up, broke his ribs and punctured his lung. Since I have a wife, sometimes I worry," he says.

His wife of two years, a customer service officer, sends him a text message every day after he leaves home, telling him to be safe and to take care of himself.

He reports for work five days a week at 7am and shoes about eight horses a day. Each back-breaking session lasts from 35 minutes to an hour.

For his efforts, he is paid between $4,000 and $5,000 a month. A highly experienced master farrier can make up to more than $10,000 a month.

Much to his chagrin, horse owners are often willing to pay more for expatriate farriers from the US and Australia, even if they do not have proper certification to show.

"It's more than just your skills or experience. Like many jobs, the amount you get paid sometimes depends on the people you know and your network of clients," he says with a shake of the head.

Then there are the stingy clients. They can spend up to $200,000 to buy a horse, but haggle to lower the price of a shoeing session, which costs about $200, he says.

Making mistakes are par for the course, but Mr Purushotthaman feels most demoralised when he is not given a second chance to fix them.

"Even farriers with more than 50 years of experience make mistakes. What is most disappointing is when horse owners decide to switch farriers after a small error, like when a nail is driven slightly too close to the sensitive portion of the hoof.

"When you lose a horse, you really question your own ability. It's a lousy feeling," he says.

Despite the dangers associated with this job, the strong bond he has with the horses he works with is evident.

He confesses to bawling when the first carriage horse he drove died of a heart attack.

He was so affected he took a week off his apprenticeship to calibrate his emotions.

"His name was Jake. I was driving him while he was attached to a carriage with important guests inside.

"It all happened very quickly. He suddenly trotted towards a huge pile of sand and collapsed against it. I was flung off the horse and landed some distance from it. By the time I crawled back to check on him, he was gone," he says quietly.

He has a tattoo of Jake on his arm to remember his favourite horse by.

He is so attached to the animals that he even talks to them about his problems.

"You think they don't understand, but they put their head over my shoulder when I tell them about the things I'm dealing with."

He gets the greatest satisfaction when he sees a lame horse begin to walk after a shoeing session.

His dream? To own horses of his own.

"I don't dream of riding them because it's physically strenuous and I don't consider myself that young anymore. What I'd love to do is to compete in international carriage-driving competitions."

Secrets of the trade

1 Always have an extra set of clothes to change into after work. And this includes underwear, because sweat will get into those regions too.

2 When dealing with a horse with a shoeing phobia, arm yourself with apples and Polo mints as treats. Taking off your apron at first might also reassure it.

3 Watch for the horse's ears always. They usually pull back before it is about to attack.

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