Big shoes to fit

Photo by Yang Xinyu / For China Daily

"The key is to choose the right size shoe and adjust it with my eyes," Judges says.

"I wear size 9, so I pick up size 9. But there is no standard size for horses' feet.

Deng Feifei, the sales director of the club, says that Judge is the only master farrier in China.

"Only 144 farriers are certified master farriers in the world," Deng says.

Judge gained the status in 2010, becoming one of the youngest master farriers in the world. He was 23.

In Ireland, a farrier must pass a three-day exam to become a master farrier. The test includes shoeing five horses, completing a written test about shoeing and anatomy, and explaining horse dissection to experts.

"It was probably the most difficult three days in my life," Judge recalls.

Judge was born on a farm in Ireland and grew up among horses. His father breeds horses and owns about 120 to 130.

Judge can tell the name of "his" horses by looking at their faces, though he only sees them at four - to five-week intervals, when the shoes need replacing.