NEWS AND NOTES

October 21, 2010

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.” Such is the type of mantra motivating the men and women of the Flying Anvil Foundation.

The aim of the Flying Anvil Foundation is to train people in developing countries in farriery. Much like the Heifer Project, a foundation that donates farm animals to families in developing countries, the Flying Anvil Foundation seeks to help people in such countries achieve economic sustainability — as many places still keep an agrarian culture that heavily relies on work horses.

The problem is that a farriery discipline is virtually nonexistent in remote areas of countries such as Pakistan and Honduras. And as a result, the quintessential horses of these communities do not receive the proper care needed to keep them going.

Bernard Duvernay, a lecturer and farriery consultant, started the Foundation over a decade ago, training farriers around the world.

According to the Foundation website, Flying Anvil derives some of its funds from the sale of tools, but does rely heavily on donations from people and businesses in the animal care community. In the past, classes have been taught in countries such as South Africa, Jordan and Poland. Classes will be taught in India and Mexico beginning November of 2010.