Farrier Focus Podcast

In this episode, Jacob Butler details his experiences with certification testing to help farriers prepare for and do well in the exam. He shares details from his testing experiences that can help beginning farriers understand and avoid the pitfalls to performing well on the day of the certification exam.

In this episode, veterinarian Dr. Rachael Shuster teaches how to read radiographs with foot pathology. You'll get a lot out of this episode discussing this important topic of benefit to farriers and veterinarians from a previous Farrier Focus conference.

In this episode, we interview farrier legend Randy Luikart, who has been shoeing horses for more than fifty years. He is a past president of the American Farrier's Association and has been inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame. You'll gain a lot of insight and ideas from Randy on horseshoeing, ways farriers can work together, and how to master the craft of farriery. Original ai...

In this episode, we talk to farrier legend, Ada Gates-Patton of Southern California. Ada shares her experiences in beginning her farrier career in 1971 to becoming the first woman to ever become a licensed racetrack farrier and member of the International Union of Journeyman Shoers in the United States and Canada. She shares some of her experiences in working on the most famous race horses in the...

In this episode, farrier Randy Fisher talks about how he moved from being a UPS driver to a successful farrier. He tells his story and shares specific things he does to enhance the relationship and communication he has with each of his clients. 

In today's episode, we are honored to be speaking with Carl Bettison, AWCF with Honors, from Milton Keynes, England. Carl has over 40 years experience shoeing horses.  Over the years, Carl has been greatly involved with the Worshipful Company of Farriers. He passed his Diploma and Associates exams with honors. He later became the Master of the Worshipful Company of Farriers for a term.  Carl is th...

In this episode, farrier instructor Jacob Butler explains how to teach lower leg and foot anatomy of horses to farriers. You'll get a lot of insight on the specific ways you can learn and master this important skill so you can explain what is going on to the horse owners you work with on a daily basis. 

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler teaches the process by which he teaches farriers to learn forging skills. He explains the exercises and skill levels by which farriers learn and the process of getting good at this critical skill area. You'll learn a lot about the teaching process and the process of forging from this episode.

In today's episode, our guest is Rose-Marie Clark from Sweden. She has over 40 years experience shoeing horses and has worked with many different disciplines and breeds including: trotting horses, race horses, thoroughbreds and Icelandic ponies. Rose-Marie is the inventor of the Rose Foal Shoe, a shoe that is designed to help foals with conformation problems; to develop normally and without lamene...

In today's episode, we talk to World Champion Farrier Legend Jim Blurton, AWCF from Forden, Wales in the United Kingdom. Jim has been a practicing farrier for over 40 years. He has competed in and won numerous national and international competitions.  He's won over 200 competitions worldwide, including when he became World Champion at Calgary in 2005. Jim now runs a multi-farrier practice where he...

In today's episode, we talk to ABS Master Bladesmith Jason Knight from East Tennessee. Jason has over 30 years experience making blades. He earned his ABS Mastersmith rating along with the B.R. Hughes Award for the best knife by a Mastersmith candidate in 2007. His blades are unique and recognized throughout the world. His blades are some of the most sought after in the industry today. Jason Knigh...

In this episode, we talk to Grant Moon of Derbyshire, England. Grant is a 6 time world champion at Calgary; he's won numerous horseshoeing and forging competitions all over the world and he recently achieved his Fellowship in the Worshipful Company of Farriers – the highest qualification that you can get in farriery.  We discuss what he did for his thesis in hoof mapping and the accuracy of using...

In today's episode, we talk to Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is a world-renowned author and speaker on animal behavior, autism and education.  She is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.  She also has a successful career consulting on both livestock handling equipment design and animal welfare.  Dr. Grandin has appeared on National TV shows like Larry King Live, 20/20, Six...

In today's episode, we talk to Brian Brazeal. Brian is well-known for his innovative blacksmithing. Tools like the Brazeal style  hammer, Brazeal hammer tongs, Brazeal style hot cut hardy and the Brazeal striking anvil are all innovations that many blacksmiths and farriers use today.  Beginning his career as a farrier, Brian later transitioned to a full-time blacksmith; a career he has been at for...

In this episode, Dr. Butler explains the evolution of the six stages of farrier education and how you can use lessons from his life to learn faster and more efficiently as you master the craft.   If you would like to contact us with questions relating to your business, specific cases, general horse hoof care questions, or suggestions for future podcasts, please email us at  farrierfocuspodcast@gma...

In today's episode, we we talk to acclaimed horseman, clinician and author, Martin Black of Bruneau, Idaho. He is famous for his many educational books and DVDS on Vaquero-style horsemanship. This includes the Western Horseman Book, Cow-Horse Confidence. Recently, he also co-authored a book with Dr. Steve Peters, Evidence-Based Horsemanship. He has worked on ranches in Idaho, Nevada and California...

In this episode, we interview farrier legend Don Jones who has been shoeing horses for more than fifty-three years. He was a former farrier school instructor for more than eight years and also founded NC Tool. He started his career as a barber and married the daughter of a blacksmith (whose family had been shoeing for six generations). You'll get a lot of valuable advice and insights from this exp...

Today our guest is Dr. Adam Pendleton. He is the seventh person to achieve the designation of Veterinarian and Certified Jouneyman Farrier. Dr. Pendleton began his shoeing career at a young age. He became a Certified Farrier at age 15 and Certified Journeyman Farrier at age 19. Dr. Pendleton graduated from Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. He opened his vet practice i...

In today's episode we talk to Dr. Maarten Oosterlinck from Belgium. Dr. Oosterlinck graduated from Ghent University in 2004 and has gained extensive experience in equine orthopaedics and surgery at the department of surgery and anaesthesiology. He is a member of the faculty of veterinary medicine of Ghent University. Dr. Oosterlinck earned his PhD on the use of pressure plate analysis for the obje...

In this episode, Dr. Robert Eustace details his treatment methods for laminitis and other serious foot diseases from a talk that was given at a previous Farrier Focus Conference.

In today's episode, we talk to farrier legend, Shayne Carter. Shayne is Certified Journeyman Farrier and a Master Bladesmith. In 1984, Shayne was the first American to win the World Champion Blacksmith Competition (WCBC) held in conjunction with the Calgary Stampede. Shayne is still the youngest participant to win the WCBC title at age 23. Over the years, Shayne has been very active in competition...

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Ann Swinker, PhD about her experiences in the horse industry as an academic researcher, state extension horse specialist and professor of equine science. She has also been involved in breeding, training, marketing, importing and showing horses.  In this interview, Dr. Swinker talks several topics of interest inlcluding: horse nutrition, importance of getting feed an...

In this episode, we talk with farrier Steve Kraus, who is the head farrier at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Steve is an American Farriers Association Certified Journeyman Farrier and has shod many types and breeds of show and performance horses for more than 55 years. In addition, he has worked for Mustad Hoofcare since 1976 as their farrier consultant, representing the or...

In this episode, I share ten questions that reveal what it takes to raise your farrier business to the next level. I hope these stories, ideas, and questions help you evaluate where you are at in the growth of your farrier business and what it will take to grow your business to the next level.

Sadly, we lost John Marino this year on March 18, 2019. He was 84 years old. We had the opportunity to interview him for the Farrier Focus Podcast in June of 2018. Today, we are re-airing this podcast (June 19, 2018) to commemorate this great man.  In this episode, John shares his early experiences of how he became a farrier after getting out of the Air Force, his early studies at the University o...