Farriers Guild

In medieval times, if a town was ten miles away, you usually walked there — but anything more distant required a horse. That's why farriers were so important; these were the craftsmen who trimmed and maintained horses' feet and fastened crude metal horseshoes (which they either fabricated themselves or obtained from a blacksmith). In London, farriers secured their own guild in the mid-14th century, which also allowed them to provide veterinary care (though it's unclear if medieval veterinarians were any more effective than medieval doctors). You can get a sense of the importance attached to the farriers' guild by this excerpt from their founding charter:
"Now know yee that wee considering of what advantage the preservation of horses is to this our Kingdome and being willing to prevent the dayly destruction of horses both by provideing against the said abuses and by increasing the number of skilfull and expert Farryers in and about our said Citties..."