Welcome, everyone. I first met today's guest at Spruce Meadows in Alberta. I had just arrived at the beautiful and expansive grounds and could not find a single staff member to direct me to Craig's competition tent. Always friendly and eager to help, Alan immediately stood up, and despite being sore from his recent back surgery, led me to where the competition was being held. We had a couple of great conversations that day, and when we met up again in Cincinnati at the Hoof Care Summit, I convin...
Jul 15, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Welcome everyone. Stephen Hill FWCF came highly recommended by many farriers in England while I was there for Stoneleigh. Thanks to an introduction from Jamie Hughes, I was able to sit down with him and do this interview. You will notice this common theme from many of the interviews that I did there, wherein the guests and I go into deep detail about certain shoeing concepts. While Stephen alludes to the fact that audio probably isn't the best platform for describing some of these three dimensio...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 14
I have run into today's guest several times over the years and unfortunately, our exchanges have always been brief. I was looking forward to getting to know Steffi better at Vern Powell's Puerto Vallarta clinic in Mexico, but I missed one trip and she missed the other. We finally connected at last year's Stoneleigh for long enough to be able to sit down and do this interview. As you will hear, Steffi started her shoeing career with very little knowledge and very few tools. Through her ability to...
Jun 17, 2024•42 min•Season 6Ep. 13
I met these two characters a couple of years back at my very first Stoneleigh. They played a very key role in all aspects of the competition and Focus. They helped set it up, run it, and tear it down and they stayed until the very last case had been packed up. As you will hear, Sam has a family background in theater production. So he is the reason we could all see underneath that giant canopy. He set up all the lights and ran all the audio for the announcements. Every morning before we arrived, ...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Welcome everyone. As you will hear, I met Jim Hayter a few times by this point through my travels across the pond to Stoneleigh, as well as at the World Championships in Calgary. Each time he was accompanied by his son, George. As will become quite clear during the interview, Jim is quite proud of his son and all that he has accomplished. When you speak to George, the endearing thing is, that streak runs both ways. While I haven't had an opportunity to sit down and interview George, I foresee th...
May 20, 2024•50 min•Season 6Ep. 11
I was introduced to this gentleman under the big competition marquee at Stoneleigh. I had just run into one of my friends, Ellie-May Buckland, whose interview is also in the pipeline, and she said, you should meet James. He would make a great interview. So she made the introduction and without hesitation, James agreed to sit down and have a chat. As you will hear, James's career spans many decades and he lived through the various disruptive changes in the world that threatened the trade of farri...
May 06, 2024•54 min•Season 6Ep. 10
I first met Douwe and his wife Naomi on my first trip to Stoneleigh. He was one of the judges that year and understandably quite busy. So while we made plans to do the interview then, it didn't work out. Last year, however, Douwe was back, but this time as part of the Dutch team and he had a little bit more time, so he made it happen. You'll hear us briefly allude to it in the conversation, but there is a great story that exemplifies how tough and determined Douwe is as a competitor. Through Dan...
Apr 22, 2024•24 min•Season 6Ep. 9
Welcome everyone. I'm trying to recall the first time I met this gentleman. I've known him by reputation for years and unfortunately missed a clinic he had put on up in Ontario here a few years back. Everyone who attended had great things to say, so I suffered a sufficient dose of FOMO from missing that one. I finally managed to catch up with Derek Poupard at Stoneleigh last year, and with the help of my esteemed assistant Jamie Hughes, we scheduled him for an interview. The farrier world seems ...
Apr 08, 2024•46 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Today's guest has played an important role in having me over to Stoneleigh the past couple of years, so I could interview farriers from across the pond, promote the BFBA's Focus Convention, and of course, spend some quality time with my podcast bro, Danny Bennett. As you will hear, Ben is a busy man with a lot of irons in the fire. From his position as a consultant for Team GB and one of the lead farriers for the London, Rio, and Tokyo Olympics, to his tenure as the president of the BFBA, workin...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 6Ep. 7
I finally got to meet the legendary Sarah-Mary Brown at this year's International at Stoneleigh. Because he was so busy being the chief steward, Danny Bennett left me in the capable hands of Jamie Hughes to arrange guests and keep the interviews coming. I was listing off my wish list of potential guests to Jamie and when I said Sarah Brown, he stopped me instantly and walked away. Seconds later, he came back with Sarah in tow and she agreed to do the interview. As you will hear, Sarah has an inf...
Mar 11, 2024•41 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Today's episode is another one that came out of my visit to the World Championship Blacksmiths competition in Calgary, Alberta. I got to meet Todd for the first time in person while we were both in the periphery of the WCB tent watching as the competitors had their goes. Todd agreed to do an interview and we found a quiet spot up on the balcony of the farrier's lounge and as soon as I pressed record, music started playing and announcements were made in the speakers overhead. I apologize for some...
Feb 26, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Welcome, everyone. This interview comes to you once again from Calgary, Alberta at the World Championship Blacksmith's Competition. As I'm sure you've already gathered, I collected a lot of great interviews from my short visit there. I came home with a memory card full of them and this one is no exception. It is unique, however, in that this is the first interview I've done with a blacksmith and as you will hear, blacksmiths can be just as passionate as we are discussing the nuances and intricac...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 4
This episode comes out one week after the HoofCare Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio was held. I spent all four days there and it was great getting to catch up with old friends and meeting new ones. This episode, however, was recorded at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, during the Blacksmith World Championships. Alex was there with a couple of his fellow countrymen from Switzerland, competing as individuals for the title of World Champion. I had just met Alex the year before at Stoneleigh, competing...
Jan 29, 2024•38 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Today's interview comes from the World Championships in Calgary, Alberta. I had heard about Chad Lausen for years and was happy to finally meet him in England a couple of years back, preparing for Stoneleigh. He was busy with the team prepping, so we didn't have a chance to do the interview there. After his go in Calgary though, we had some time to chat. I enjoyed hearing Chad's personal and unique philosophies on a lot of topics including business, marketing, and competition. As you will hear, ...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 6Ep. 2
In this podcast, our guest, James Findler of Langley, British Columbia, shares his expansive career as a farrier with us. From his early days of finding passion in horseshoeing, honing his skills, and competing at world-class levels to mentoring future farriers, James shares his experiences, challenges, and achievements. He also discusses the importance of continuous learning, the mental aspects of the job, the evolution of the farrier industry, and his advice for the younger generation. James e...
Jan 02, 2024•49 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Welcome everyone. This episode comes from me a week after getting back from Vern Powell's brainchild, the Farrier Clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This year, yet again, was an incredible experience with meeting many new friends and getting to hang out with old ones. I got another bunch of great interviews done, so stay tuned for those in the new year. Today's episode was recorded in Calgary at the World Championships, where I finally got to meet one of my heroes. Thanks to a nudge from Spud Al...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 5Ep. 26
I met today's guest many years ago in the Heartland, when he was practicing quite a bit with Cody Gregory. More recently, I've run into him a bunch, at Stoneleigh, the AFA convention, and in Calgary at the World Championships. Adam was always so busy competing at these events that we never had a chance to sit down and do an interview. Calgary was finally our chance, and after an earlier round for Adam one day, we went up to the Farrier's Bar at Spruce Meadows and sat on the balcony overlooking t...
Dec 04, 2023•56 min•Season 5Ep. 25
Welcome everyone. A little shopkeeping before we start. Dr. Simon Curtis is hosting his last webinar of the year on December 6th. It's called the Hough Rehab Webinar with Marty Sala and Paige Posse. For tickets to this event, go to www.eventbrite.co.uk and look up the Hoof Rehab Webinar with Dr. Simon Curtis. And don't forget to enter Mullins as the discount code at checkout. This episode is being released just after hosting my good friend Cody Gregory for a one-day forging clinic at Andrew DeVi...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 32 min•Season 5Ep. 24
This episode is being released just a week after I arrived back home from Stoneleigh and Farrier Focus. Once again, England took home first prize but it was incredible to watch the American team come so very close to almost upsetting that victory. Once again, I had a fantastic time hanging out with my podcasting buddy, Danny Bennett, and so many other now-familiar friends and faces. Danny was busy this year as the chief steward for The International, so he lined me up with Jamie Hughes as my pod...
Nov 06, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 23
Welcome everyone. At Focus last year, Ben Benson, the president of the BFBA, approached me about doing a few panel discussions. I hope in the future to be able to interview both of these gentlemen separately at some point, Marc Jerram BSc (Hons) Grad Dip ELR CJF AWCF Master Farrier and Dr. David Marlin BSc (Hons), PhD. As you will hear, they both have a lot of information to share and we only scrape the surface of their knowledge. Maybe I'll catch one of them this year as I head to Focus again t...
Oct 23, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 22
The conversation you're about to hear occurred at the Focus Convention last year at Stoneleigh at the end of October, it isn't too late to buy tickets for this year's Focus Convention, if you do, stop by the Farriers Foundation booth and buy some swag or throw a wet sponge at somebody or whatever activity they have set up this year. As you will hear, it all goes to a very important cause. You will hear me say that there aren't any organizations like this in North America and that isn't completel...
Oct 09, 2023•23 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Welcome, everyone. Before we get started, I would like to say a special thank you to the gracious sponsor of this episode's Stratum Tectorium. Outwest Design and Fabrication. You can see all of their beautifully made farrier and vet bodies on full display on their Facebook page. While you're there, maybe just reach out and tell them ~ Thank you for making this episode possible. Way back in one of the first episodes of the podcast, I had complained to a guest that I was struggling to get my hands...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 5Ep. 20
Welcome, everyone. Well, at this point, the fires have all cooled and the winners have gone home with their medals from the World Championships at Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament in Calgary, Alberta. Today's interview was recorded back at the beginning of the year at the Hoof Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio, and you will hear Jack say that competing at the World Championships blacksmith competition was on his bucket list. I'm happy to report that he did make the list. As I'm recording this bef...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 5Ep. 19
I ran into today's guests at the Hoof Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio, where whenever possible they have attended every year as they find continuing education extremely important in their practice. I had first met Connor at this very convention many years before where he introduced me to his father Lance. Those of you who are avid listeners of the podcast will be familiar with Lance's episode from several years back. Unfortunately, we lost Lance just over a year ago, very suddenly and as you wil...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Welcome everyone. I've got a few items in the shopkeeping portion for you here. First of all, the BFBA Focus 2023 tickets are now available for sale. There are live demonstrations as well as a very large trade show. Go to forgeandfarrier.co.uk For more details, just click on the BFBA Focus 2023 link. I hope to see you there. The folks at the Canadian Equine Hoof Care Association wanted me to let you know that they have an event going on September 30th to October 2nd called The Evolution in Whole...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Welcome everyone, I was introduced to today's guest last year at the AFA convention. Hailey was wrapping up a project that she had done to complete her doctorate in occupational therapy and her research project had some very specific relevance to what we do. A few months later we were able to finally sit down and chat about the details of this research project. In our conversation, Hailey reveals a lot of details about things that we could do to improve the longevity of our careers, just our ove...
Jul 31, 2023•55 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Welcome everyone. Today's guest, Mike Nale CJF, was one of the really cool folks I got to hang out with in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Every time I've crossed paths with Mike, I've been impressed with his wisdom and his willingness to share it. Mike is the type of fellow you can get into a deep conversation with whether it's about the definition of a club foot or the much-underappreciated television series Justified. Mike will have his opinions and some well thought out arguments to back them up bu...
Jul 17, 2023•55 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Welcome everyone. I hope you're all doing well this busy time of the year. I have a lot to cover today in the shopkeeping portion, but the interview is actually quite short, so I feel like the two will even out in the end. As I said just a few seconds ago, it is a busy time of the year for us and as we grind it out and do as many horses as our clients put upon us, sometimes it's hard to remember why we're doing the job we do in the first place. It's easy to get lost in the never ending sea of ho...
Jul 03, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Welcome everyone! A little shopkeeping before we start. What are you doing at the end of October this year?I highly recommend that you attend the International Horseshoeing Competition and the British and Blacksmith's Associations Focus Convention at Stonleigh Park. As I am sure you've heard me brag about before I attended this event last year and had a fantastic time. What more could a farrier want in an event? You have the world's best competing as teams. You have the convention full of world-...
Jun 19, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Welcome everyone. I've changed the format of the episode a little bit this time for you. This will be a sort of an audio documentary of my trip down to Puerto Vallarta Mexico in December of 2022 with Vern Powell and friends for a clinic that they host down there. The music you hear in the background is from a really cool cat that we met on a catamaran tour. Vern was kind enough to invite the Mrs and me down to Puerto Vallarta with his crew to interview many of the folks giving the clinic as well...
Jun 05, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 12
