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Welcome everyone. This episode's release comes just a few days after the final lecture at The Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. As I alluded to in the previous episode, I had a booth set up in the trade show selling shirts to support the podcast, and the response was incredible. My father, Ian, came along to help and it was quite amazing to be able to introduce him to so many of my heroes and good farrier friends. In true farrier fashion, dad was welcomed and included in all the events and outings with open arms. We sold quite a bit of swag and I sent the remainder down to where I stay when I'm working in Florida so if any American listeners want to buy a hoodie or a T-shirt, let me know and I will see if I have your size. Having the booth was also a great way to meet so many listeners in person and one of the suggestions is one that I've heard many times before, and the timing of it was perfect. People said that interviews with the big movers and shakers of our industry were great, but they wanted to hear more from the people who were just starting out or early in their careers. To share the trials and triumphs they experience in the dawn of their farrier business. Today I'm speaking with Mercy Bishop CF and her father, Ben Bishop, CJF. At the time we recorded, Mercy had just freshly graduated the 12-week program at Heartland Horseshoeing School and was in the midst of her journey to get her CF, and Ben was in the midst of his CJF during the pre-cert course. So there you go, I do listen to suggestions. I hope you enjoy the conversation I had with this wonderful duo as much as I did. 

Welcome everyone. We are just over a week away from the Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I am busy preparing to get stuff set up for that booth. This is a new endeavor for me, so we'll see how that pans out. But hoping to have some swag there and be able to meet and greet with so many of you while you're wandering the halls of the trade show. Also hoping to catch a few interviews while I'm there, so stay tuned for those. Today's guest I met at another convention across the pond at Focus in Stoneleigh. This gentleman, Jürgen Gotthardt FdSc AWCF BSc(Hons) APF-I, was walking the halls of Focus with the legendary David Gully, and he had in his hands a book that he had, David, Danny, and myself to sign which you'll hear about in the interview.  He has put a lot of time and effort into educating himself and doing a better job for the horses that he works on.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Welcome everyone and Happy New Year. I hope that 2023 has great things in store for all of you and of the many resolutions you have probably made over the past few days, I hope that you stick to some of them. A little shopkeeping before we start. I hope to see all of you at the 2023 International Hoof Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. That is January 24th to the 27th at the Duke Energy Center and the Hyatt Regency. If all goes as planned, I'm hoping to have a booth there for the first time this year with some swag for sale to help support the podcast. So, if you haven't already, go online to americanfarriers.com and click on the International Healthcare Summit link and buy your tickets. If you find yourself there, please stop by the booth and say hi. The summit is such a cool opportunity to learn from and network with so many good folks from our trade. I hope to see you there. Well, as you probably gathered from his introduction, today's guest is from across the pond in Scotland. He was one of the judges of the International at Stoneleigh this year. Over that weekend I had several conversations with Ian and he is, as you will hear, a very easygoing fellow and great to talk to. Despite some hardships that he has come across, his mantra of adapting and overcoming has helped him to carry on through this time. I found it quite inspirational and wanted to share his story with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

So I met today's guest in England of all places, even though we live in the same country. She lives on the other side of it from me, and I was quite happy to finally meet the legendary Canada Kim. As you hear the interview, you'll understand why Kim has become somewhat of an ambassador of Canada to the rest of the farrier world, or at least the places she's visited. It wasn't a surprise that once again she was representing Canada as the alternate for the Canadian team at Stoneleigh. I had an opportunity to watch Kim prepare for the competition along with the rest of the Canadian team, and her grit and determination was quite evident. Kim also became somewhat of a mother hen to the rest of the team, keeping them all in line, and generally getting them to where they needed to be somewhat on time. On the final day of Focus, during a well-deserved break from herding all the cats, Kim sat down with Daniel Bennett and I and I hope you enjoy the resulting conversation as much as we did

Welcome everyone, as you will hear, this is another episode from my trip to England and Danny Bennett played co-host on this one. This was great because he and Billy Crothers AWCF have a bit of a history through the competition world, so they were able to take the conversation in directions that I wouldn't have been able to. As you will hear during this episode, Billy has a great attitude and philosophy when it comes to life, his career, and competing. I found it quite infectious. It was really great to sit down and have this talk with him and Danny, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

As you probably noticed, this episode is a little bit early compared to my two week schedule that I've been maintaining thus far. This is a bit of a public service announcement, a PSA if you will because I feel like this topic is really important. It's really affecting us right now, and as in all business things, who better to explain it to us than Andrew DeVisser? You may have heard his previous episodes where he has shed a bit of light on the business and financial end of things in what we do. Every year Andrew hosts a small forging clinic at his home, and then his wife makes us a wonderful lunch. Afterward, he always does a business talk and this year I asked if I could record it and then share it with you. Andrew agreed, but part of the deal was that instead of him asking himself the questions, he had me do that part of the job. There were a couple of audience questions that I was unable to really record, but Andrew does a pretty good job of repeating what they say, so you'll get the gist of it. I hope you find this informative and enjoy it as much as I did.

Welcome everyone. I'm sure you noticed the new intro. I worked on that the whole flight back from England. Just thought I would change things up a little bit for you with some new and equally inspiring quotes from some other folks who have been on the podcast. As I'm sure you already gathered from the accents of the people in the new intro, this is the first episode of many to come out of my trip to England. Abby Bunyard is the Vice President of the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association. Abby was admittedly a bit hesitant to do this at first with a little bit of cajoling from Danny Bennet we were able to convince her to sit down and do this, her positivity and her kindness came through quite strongly. In re-listening to the edited version of this, I was reminded of a good friend over here, Cathy Lesperance, who you've heard in an interview way back in the beginning. Their two personalities are very similar. They're just go-getters, very strong women, and very kind as well. I've told many people that it was really cool to go to England and meet many of my heroes whom I'd heard about for so many years but I also met many new heroes, and Abby Bunyard, AWCF is definitely one of those. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Welcome everyone, I'm just back from England where I got to hang out in person with none other than Danny Bennett and so many other folks that I have only known through Facebook. We had a behind-the-scenes tour of Newmarket, thank you to Dr. Simon Curtis and Ian Alexander Nixon. We were also able to hang out with the Canadian and the American teams as they prepared for the International at Stoneleigh and then at the International as well as Focus. Danny and I wandered around with microphones in hand getting as much content as we could to share with you about everything that was going on at those events. Needless to say, I have a ton of interviews to share with you, so keep an ear out for those as we put them out. My guest today is Shearer Wludyka, CJF ASF. I first heard about this incredible woman many years back when I first started attending Heartland Horseshoeing School. Chris often speaks of her fondly as one of his star students who went off to do great things. There had been a few occasions where we were supposed to be in the Heartland at the same time, but unfortunately, life got in the way for one reason or another that didn't happen until this October. Shearer was there with one of her employees helping her to prepare for the CF exam. I think she was supposed to be working on her AW herself, but she was so busy helping out others that I don't think she got around to it. Anyway, we found a few quiet moments and she, her trusty sidekick Jinx, and I got to sit down and have a conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

As I record this intro I'm packing up and getting ready to head to England to hang out with my friend and fellow podcaster, Danny Bennett. It looks like Danny has me signed up for several interviews with some legends over there, so look for those in the coming months and keep an eye on the Lockdown Farrier Podcast Facebook page as well as my own, as we will be trying to put up some content leading up to and during the International Shoeing Competition at Stoneleigh and the BFBA Focus Convention. If you're going to be there, please seek us out and say hi. Today's guest is someone I truly look up to. He has pushed himself to pursue and achieve many certifications in our profession and the whole time that he has been on that journey he has willingly shared his knowledge and mentored many on the same path. Emilio Giannotti, AWCF CJF- TE, and ASF is a humble man, but an incredible talent in the forge and a wealth of knowledge. We only had a short window of time in which to do the interview down in the Heartland. I'm glad I finally was able to get him to sit down for a few minutes and have a chat. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

My guest today needs no introduction, Mr. Steven Beane FWCF of England. He was the judge and clinician for our annual convention for the Ontario Farriers Association this year and I had the great honour to be able to sit down and interview him before the convention got started.  I really appreciate Steven's raw honesty. He was quite forthcoming with a lot of really good wisdom. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Today's guest comes from the other side of the planet from me, where every creature big and small is seemingly trying to kill you and the toilets flush in the wrong direction.  I'm talking today to Dean Lewis, a WCF. If memory serves, Dean is one of only a couple AWCFs in the country and in corresponding with him, I discovered we share a mutual friend in Mr. Daniel Bennett. It never ceases to amaze me how small the farrier world truly is. It has been a lot of fun getting to know this kind and thoughtful man from the other side of the planet and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Today I'm speaking with Sam Durham, CJF, dipWCF. Sam was up here in the great white north, along with Hank Chisholm to be a clinician for the first ever pre-cert hosted in Ontario. As I mentioned in the intro to Hanks's interview, it was a late night after two solid days of teaching for the two gentlemen and they had an early morning ahead of them. Despite all this, they still pressed on and did their respective interviews. As with Hank, Sam was informative and insightful. Our discussion about the suspensory apparatus of the distal phalanx was especially enlightening for me. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Welcome everyone. Today, I'm talking to Hank Chisholm, C JF. Hank is the current president of the AFA and I caught him for an interview when he and Sam Durham were up here in the great white north to give a pre-cert clinic. Before the interview, dinner went a little long, as they tend to do when a bunch of farriers get together. Even though it was late and Hank and Sam only had a few hours of sleep ahead of them before their journey to the airport, they pressed on with their interviews. It is short and sweet due to our time constraints but I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Today, I'm speaking with Chris Diehl, CJF, FE, AWCF. When I first started this little podcast project of mine, I had more than just a little bit of difficulty getting some people on board with doing an interview. Many didn't know what a podcast was, let alone who I was. To this day, I have quite a few interview request messages in my outbox that have not been responded to. So, on the day that someone reached out for me to interview then I knew that the podcast had reached some sort of pinnacle of traction. Chris' opening message to me promised that he had a lot to offer in a conversation for the podcast and as you will hear, he did not disappoint. To this day when I'm working on a set of keg shoes with pre-made clips, I hear Chris' voice in my head saying “I'm pro clip, I'm just not pro angle iron”. Sometimes controversial but always calling things as he sees them, I now bring you Chris Diehl CJF, FE, AWCF. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Welcome everyone. Today. I'm speaking with Douglas Hogue, CJF, EE. Doug currently runs his business out of a county, close to Houston, Texas. We cover a wide range of topics and Doug shared his straightforward and honest opinion on all of them. As you will hear, Doug, isn't afraid to be controversial, which seems to be part of his charm. One of the topics we covered was being fired by clients and I had the unfortunate luck to have that happen to me this very week. As you will hear me say in the conversation, it doesn't seem to matter how far into our careers we get being fired, still stings for most of us. My friend and former podcast guest, Kathy Lesperance and I have had this conversation as well. She has about two decades on me in this trade and she says, in the particular situation from this week, it still hurts. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Welcome everyone. As this is being released, we are just past the middle of July. For many of us in the Northern hemisphere, we will be amid our busiest season. Horse shows are in full swing and those clients that tried to get by riding their horses over the roughest rockiest most abrasive terrain barefoot now want shoes yesterday. There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything all done and those of us with partners and children who have normal civilian jobs are now feeling the added pressure to take advantage of the weather and take holidays with them. It's a lot of pulls and several different and opposing directions. The people pleasers amongst us are never seemingly able to please anyone at this point in the year amongst all of this. Take a step back and reflect on what this is all for. What are your priorities? If you have financial goals and they're at the top of your list, those goals may be the driver that keeps you going but don't sacrifice your health to get there. Future goals aren't easy to enjoy when you're living in a state of poor health. If your family, your significant other, or your hobbies outside of shoeing are your priority, learn to get good at saying no to unrealistic requests from clients. Sometimes that shoe can wait another day to get fixed. I've been that person who tried to please everyone and failed miserably. I've come to believe that there is no such thing as work life balance. It's not a noun. It's a verb. It's a process. One that constantly needs addressing and reworking. Figure out what your priorities are, what you're doing all of this for and let those answers guide you in the process. I believe we all need reasons to push us forward and without them it's easy to become lost adrift and a sea of never-ending lists of horses to do and barely able to keep our heads above the water. They say that what you focus on you'll achieve, but I believe if you're not focused on anything, treading water is all you've got. I guess, with all of this, what I'm really trying to say is take care of yourselves and each other out there. It's just that time of year and it too will eventually pass. Today's guest is Dusty Franklin, C JF, ASF, AWCF. If anybody had the honour to hear Dusty's talk at this year's convention, they will know that he is quite the inspirational guy. It will be no surprise after hearing Dusty's story today that many of the students that graduate from the various programs at his school in Oklahoma, Five Star Horseshoeing School go on to be such successful farriers in their own right. Leading by example, Dusty is always pushing himself to learn more and to achieve more in this trade and he, along with his network of like-minded individuals, instill those same principles in the students that come through the school. Anyway, I am so glad that we were able to have this conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Welcome everyone, a little shopkeeping before we start. If you haven't already, you should pick up Chris Gregory's new book For The Want of a  Nail The Shoe Was Lost. It's a fun read and introduces you to several legends of our trade, including my guest today. Look for it on Amazon, or you can order it directly from Chris at www.heartlandhorseshoeing.com. Also, I'm excited to announce that I'll be travelling to the UK this fall for Farrier Focus, the kind folks at the British Farriers and Blacksmith's Association invited me to come and interview some of the key speakers and clinicians. I'm looking forward to joining forces with my fellow podcaster and friend Daniel Bennett, to give you some insight into the convention, the international team, horseshoeing competition, and all the farrier folks who will be attending. To check out the details online of the convention, go to www.forgeandfarrier.co.uk and hopefully, I'll see you there. Today. I'm speaking with Derek Gardner AWCF. This man has been a legend to me since I started shoeing. Many of the folks I looked up to often talked about Derek and his mastery in the forge. Many of my former guests have also spoken fondly of their time under his tutelage, including Andrew DeVisser, Sarah Vanderpol and of course, Chris Gregory. We had a great chat covering everything from Derek's experience during the foot and mouth disease crisis in the UK many years ago, and his journey to the wild west as a young lad to experience ranching firsthand as well as many insights he has had while working on horses' feet. It was truly an honour to speak with him and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Welcome everyone. A little shopkeeping before we start, I am excited to announce that Chris Gregory's new book "For The Want Of A Nail, The Shoe Was Lost" is now available for purchase. This book is a memoir focusing on the many influential mentors who helped Chris along in his incredible career. There is a series of questions to his still-living mentors and the responses to those as well. Signed copies are available through Chris personally and unsigned copies are available through Amazon. Today, I'm speaking with Olivier Dufresne CJF. Olivier hails from my neighbouring province in Canada, Quebec. In Quebec, they primarily speak French, the other official language of Canada. Although I and all Canadian students learn this language in our schooling, my French has become a bit rusty, to say the least. Quebec has a very strong association called the AMFQ, which is strong in no small part because of Olivier. He was the president of this association for several years. Quebec has many clinics, contests and certifications. You will typically find Olivier in the background doing something to make the event better or run more smoothly. Oli is always about education and I knew I had to have him on here to share his story. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

Welcome everyone! A little shopkeeping before we start, don't forget to get your tickets for this Saturday's upcoming webinar, Saturday, June 11th with Dr. Simon Curtis and Sarah Logie and it will be on Hoof Horn Infection. With your tickets, you will get access to the interactive webinar, a full recording of the webinar, afterwards, your questions answered in an open Q and a, a certificate of attendance or CPD or CE points and PDFs of studies, papers, and key takeaways. Also, if you happen to be in the neighbourhood of Schomberg, Ontario on June 17th from 1 pm to 5 PM  - Foot for Thought is hosting a clinic called “Casting Call - Foot Cast Applications for Case Management of Surgical Medical and Podiatry Issues. The speakers in this one are Dr. Orlaith Cleary, Chris Gerber, Tristan Miles and Elisa Miller. This will be a good one, we haven't been able to have a Foot for Thought event in quite a while. So it will be nice to see everybody there. RSVP to andrea@mpequine.com to attend.  Today I am speaking with my good friend, Daniel Bennett, AWCF. After hearing a couple of episodes where guests and I were discussing the AW exam, Danny reached out and suggested that we might have a few of our concepts a little misconstrued on what is involved in the exam and he wanted to clear that up. As you will hear, Daniel is coming at this from a very interesting vantage point and his information is current and very helpful. This whole episode was basically Danny's idea and is in the format that you would typically find on his podcast, the Lockdown Farrier Podcast. If you haven't already, you should definitely check it out and subscribe. You will learn a ton. It is very focused on education and Danny has had many guests who are at the forefront of research in our trade. I am very thankful that Danny took some time out of his fishing vacation on a Sunday afternoon to discuss all things AW, if you are in the midst of preparing for and attempting this exam, I'm sure you will find a lot of the information here very helpful, and it will help dispel a lot of myths. You've probably heard over the years about what is involved. It could even save you from practicing for the wrong things or surprises on exam day. Now, if you're just at the beginning of your certification journey and the AW seems like a daunting far-off goal, please don't disregard this particular episode. Ever the educator, Danny shares a lot of information about preparing for any exam.  There is also a video version of this episode where you can see Daniel’s presentation as well. You can find it HERE I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Welcome everyone, I've been quite busy on the podcasting front and we have quite the queue of great guests coming up, including this one. Today, I'm speaking with Mike Garrett CJF ASF. Mike is a Colorado-based shoer who runs under the business name, Sweet Feet Farrier. I've run into him down in the Heartland a couple of times now and his story is quite inspiring. With his seemingly late start in this career, Mike has managed to acquire his CJSF and ASF certifications in a fairly short span of time and as you will hear his aspirations don't end there. Eternally curious, externally calm and ever cracking jokes it is always a pleasure to forge beside this man. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!