Welcome, everyone. First, a little shopkeeping. I recently finished a book by Greg McKeown called essentialism. The main premise of the book is exactly as the title indicates. It's about honing in on just the essentials in order to be more effective with your time and your effort. As someone who is easily distracted by a potential new project or new hobby before finishing the ones I am already committed to, this book seemed like a necessary read for me. One of the key chapters that really stuck out is titled “Protect the Asset”, and the asset, in this case, is yourself. Mr. McEwen basically points out the not-so-obvious, even though it should be, that unless you prioritize your own health and wellbeing the rest of your efforts will be compromised. He talks about the necessity of getting enough proper sleep and nutrition, as well as booking time off for relaxation and recovery. Something that I'm sure most of us in this career, myself included, probably don't do enough of. He basically makes a pretty compelling argument for scheduling time for doing absolutely nothing so that we accomplish more when we actually get back to work. With all of that in mind, I would ask you to consider how do you protect your biggest asset? What do you do to keep yourself operating at your best? Do you prioritize yourself and your body's needs when they inevitably arise or do you always put the horses and your clients first? And finally, the question that plays a central role in my conversation today - What do you do to protect yourself during your workday when situations with difficult horses and difficult environments arise?

Today, I am very excited to introduce you to Elisa Miller, CF.  Elisa was a recent graduate of the eight-week shoeing course at Heartland horseshoeing school many years ago when we first met. Fresh out of school and already a force to be reckoned with Elisa challenged me constantly with her questions and her strong, fresh out-of-school opinions. I learned a ton from working with her and we had a lot of adventures too. We have literally shed blood, sweat, and tears together, and I know she has always had my back. I always knew she would be a guest one day on the podcast. I just wished that it hadn't been under the circumstances that precipitated in us doing this interview. You see, Elisa was the friend that I mentioned a while back who had been injured quite badly. It was a long road, but in true Elisa style, she faced it headlong and headstrong and she is now back to shoeing full time. The whole experience changed Elisa’s perspective on a lot of things, especially being an advocate for her own safety and she really wanted to share them with you. Her goal in doing this was to help at least one of you to learn from her situation and appreciate how fragile our careers and our bodies can really be.

She's a wonderful mother, a great farrier, and a good friend. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.