In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler shares his observations about the early history of horse training. Many of the misconceptions that exist in the minds of horse owners about horse training have arisen in recent years.

Dr. Butler talks about how to effectively train and work with horses and key horsemanship skills that all farriers must develop. You'll get a lot out of this discussion on the nature of horses and principles and steps you can take to stay safe when working with horses.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler talks about the basic fundamental skill of farriery of geometric balance. You'll get a lot out of this discussion that Dr. Butler conducted as part of a teleseminar with his son Jacob Butler. You may want to use Chapter 9 of The Principles of Horseshoeing III as a further resource for better understanding and applying this topic in your daily work.

In this episode, Dr. Butler shares lessons he has learned over a lifetime of working with horses and tips that can help you be a better farrier.

In this episode, you'll hear a discussion that Dr. Doug Butler had with a group of farriers and veterinarians on eight specific foot diseases including abscesses, white line disease, keratoma, canker (and the rare coronitis), quittor, pedal osteitis, osteomyelitis, and low ringbone. These correspond to pictures and additional information that can be found in Chapter 39 of The Principles of Horseshoeing 3 on Diseases of the Horse's Foot.

He discussed the DACCT method of studying and describing foot diseases:

D - stands for definition of the condition

A - stands for anatomy of the structures involved in the condition

C - stands for clinical signs of the condition

C - stands for cause(s) of the condition

T - stands for treatment of the condition, including prognosis

This episode covers several common and several rare foot diseases and what can be done by farriers and veterinarians to help the horse.

In this episode, Dr. Frank Gravlee of Life Data Labs and Dr. Doug Butler discuss the treatment of founder. You'll get a lot of great insights from this informative discussion from a previous Farrier Focus conference.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler shares insights of how to recognize and treat club feet in horses. He shares techniques, stories, and strategies you can use to deal with this condition.

You'll gain valuable insight from his experiences, his mistakes, and his successes that will help you more successfully deal with this condition in the horses you encounter that have a club foot.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler explains how drawing helps you learn to see so you can do a more efficient shoeing job. He talks about the mind shifts successful farriers make and outlines exercises that can help you be more efficient in your work. He also discusses balance and which dimension is easiest and most difficult for farriers to learn. He also shares stories and experiences about how he learned to see better and the path he took to better understand balance. By understanding the principles outlined here, you will be a better farrier.

In this talk given at a Farrier Focus Conference in 2005 in Indiana, Dr. Doug Butler discusses Cushings disease and some principles for treating the laminitis and founder that often follow.

Cushings disease is a hormonal imbalance caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland in the brain that causes a horse to produce too much ACTH (Adreno Cortico Tropic Hormone) which regulates cortisol levels in the horse. Often, these horses develop long shaggy coats, lose weight and develop laminitis. Treatment often involves veterinary care and mechanical application of heart bar shoes.

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 [email protected]. We might even feature your email in a future episode.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler explains laminitis and how a farrier can recognize its symptoms, diagnose, and treat it. He also explains how farriers and veterinarians should work together to explain the treatment and care to horse owners. In this episode, you'll hear valuable tips, stories, and techniques that will help you treat this condition. You'll also learn how to classify laminitis cases, things you should pay attention to on radiographs, and the best way to discuss treatment options with concerned horse owners.

In this episode, we're privileged to talk with Steven Beane, FWCF of North Yorkshire, England. Steven is a five-time World Champion Blacksmith, three-time European Champion and three-time British National Champion. He has been selected for the English farrier team 16 consecutive years and is a renowned judge and clinician. 

Steven talks about how he got his start as a farrier, his practice regimen, and why he is so good as a competitor. He shares tips for farriers who want to be better in competitions and the sacrifices and price someone must pay to be at the top.

He shares numerous lessons from his time on the British farrier team, his thoughts on the value of certification, lessons on learning to see shapes, how he got into making tools and his thoughts about the future of farriery. This is an extremely insightful look into mind of an incredible champion and what it takes to achieve excellence and remain at the top.