A passionate Farrier and entrepreneur, Nathalie Varenstål

Nathalie is a proud representative of her profession and has an impressive background as Farrier. Read about her and her fascinating journey here.

Nathalie Varenstål has a story that spans continents and life choices. After living in Australia for some time, she decided to return to her home country, Sweden. It was then that her path led her to the profession of farrier. In 2022 she founded her own company, Hovslageri Varenstål AB, and since then she has dedicated herself to her profession with a passion that permeates everything she does.

For Nathalie, farriery is more than just a job - it's a craft and a lifestyle. She loves shaping hot iron and creating the perfect platform for each horse. Nathalie understands that every horse is unique, whether it needs shoes, or seems to go barefoot. It is this humble approach to her work that makes her a valued Farrier.

Collaboration is an important part of Nathalie's work. She sees it as crucial to work with the horse's owners and veterinarians to ensure the horse's well-being. As she puts it: "I see the horse about every seven weeks and the owner every day." She goes out shoeing with her portable forge.

Nathalie has had a solid education as Farrier. She studied at the BYS farrier school and spent her time as an apprentice with Farrier Master, Gabriella Larnebring. She finished her education with a well-deserved journeyman's certificate and was awarded a scholarship from the school for her highly assessed results in the art of blacksmithing.

Being Farrier involves many challenges, including long journeys, daily planning, customer contact, invoicing, on-call work and purchasing materials. Despite these challenges, it is a dream for Nathalie to be her own boss and to have the honor of working with horses. She sees the Blacksmith service as an invaluable resource in her business, facilitating many administrative tasks.

For Nathalie, it is important to have new goals and challenges. Participating in competitions in her profession allows her to meet colleagues and be evaluated on her work, which she considers a very good way to learn and develop. She spends many hours in the forge preparing for competitions and is constantly motivated to improve.

But Nathalie has also realized the importance of finding balance in life. Despite her strong drive to work hard, she has seen close friends and colleagues hit the wall. Taking care of her health and well-being is a priority for Nathalie.

Nathalie's track record is an impressive list of achievements. She has been a finalist in division 3 at the SM in farriery both in 2022 and 2023. She represented Sweden as a member of the national apprentice team at the World Championships in England in 2022 and also participated in the Gotland Farrier Challenge in 2021 and 2022, where she was rewarded with the prize for best performing hoof for debutants.

In conclusion, Nathalie Varenstål is not only a skilled Farrier but also a role model in her profession. Her dedication, humility and passion for helping horses and their owners is admirable. We are delighted to have her as Hippocrates Ambassador and look forward to following her continued success.