Helgard Cornelisse

I would like to recognize my farrier Helgard Cornelissen and the difference I have seen him make in not only our horses, but in some of the other stablers’ horses too. Though I cannot really comment on their behalf, I can definitely speak from experience with our two horses. One is a registered Arab stallion with a slight toe in and the other is a Saddler x Arab gelding. Being in South Africa, good, honest, concerned and professional people are very hard to find. We have had a number of farriers look at our stallion from conventional to barefoot specialists, due to his slight toed in. We were using a farrier referred to us by a good friend, and after a number of months trimming the horse it suddenly developed an overreach, which was very uncommon for this horse. It just seemed as though the feet were not balanced either. We were then dropped by this farrier who proved to be very unreliable with other clients too. In desperation and being a “work” colleague of my husband’s in the South African Police service where he is a farrier for them too, we asked if he would be prepared to come out to Pretoria and work with our horses’ feet. >

Helgard takes his profession very seriously and will analyze each horse individually. One can clearly see the passion and concern he has for each individual horse. He is willing to listen to the rider’s and owner’s gripes, and is always willing to teach any interested party more about the importance of proper hoof trimming, balance and conditions. One case at our yard is serve boxy hoof. Every time this poor horse’s hooves were done, he would go lame for a few days. But now that he is being done by Helgard, he has not once since been lame or crippled, and it also looks like the one hoof is starting to grow normally gain. Our Arab stallion no longer over reache, his toed in has improved, and the hooves do not chip or break as easily as they used. The edges of the feet are “mustang” rolled after each trim. Helgard is always concerned and will research each disorder and hoof issue he may come across, looking for solutions to best help each case so they may have happy and healthy feet.>

In South Africa, farriers are not really all appreciated. Many are abused and expected to teach or train the horse to allow for its feet to be done. It is backbreaking, hard work where they are often expected to also travel long distances to clients. But there are some who take short cuts to the detriment of the horse. Many owners are not the easiest either, often talking as if they are professional farriers. There are many to claim to be “farriers,” but few are true farriers with passion, dedication and skill. Helgard is one of the very few. We are looking forward to many more years with him as our farrier. >

— Monique Lovelock>
(Gauteng, South Africa)>