Farrier Focus Podcast

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.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler discusses what it takes to build a farrier business that consistently produces six figures plus each year. He discusses highlights from his book Six Figure Shoeing and shares stories and insights into what makes farriers successful in their business.

This episode shares valuable insights on the mindset, business systems and skills necessary for farriers to succeed in today's competitive marketplace.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler shares ways you can increase your value and double your income as a farrier. This is from a talk Dr. Butler gave several years ago at a Farrier Focus conference. We hope you will consider the questions and ideas he shares here to improve your skills and increase your value so you can double your income in the next twelve months.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler shares principles for shoeing gaited horses. He shares numerous lessons he has learned throughout the years of shoeing these horses and specific applications when dealing with club feet and quarter cracks. You'll get a lot of insight from this talk given at a previous Farrier Focus conference based on Dr. Butler's failures and successes with these horses over the years.

In this episode, we talk with Scottish farrier Jim Ferrie. He is a Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers and is also an appointed Examiner and Approved Judge of the Company. He was inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of distinguished accomplishments, achievements and contribution in advancing the farrier industry. He started shoeing in 1969.

Jim, and his brother Allan, shoe all types of horses and also both lecture and give forging demonstrations worldwide. We cover his start as a farrier, how he and his brother started their own shoeing supply business, and lessons he has learned over five decades of shoeing horses.

Jim also shares important observations about what it takes to learn the skills of farriery and be a top level competitor. He also shares some of his most memorable experiences as a competitor, examiner, and judge.

In this episode, we talk with Fran Jurga of Gloucester, Massachusetts. She is the founder of Hoofcare Publishing, which was established in 1985 to fulfill a growing global demand for information about the horse's foot that could be accessed by equine professionals, especially farriers and veterinarians, around the world.

She is also the creator, publisher and editor of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal and her articles can be read at hoofblog.com. You can find over 1700+ articles there that she has written over the past twelve years.

Fran has won many awards and honors for her work and today offers high-quality reference material for sale and individual consultation services. Fran talks about many of her favorite memories from her career as a journalist (including her start as an editor of the American Farrier's Journal), stories about farriers she has worked with over the years, and her thoughts about the future of farriery.

In this episode, we talk with Certified Journeyman Farrier and past president of the American Farriers Association, Margie Lee-Gustafson. She and her husband Don are based in Palo Alto, California.

We talk about her beginnings as a farrier, lessons and mistakes she made when starting, the value of a multi-farrier practice, her experience as president of the AFA, and numerous experiences from her career. Margie is a fantastic example of service and she shares her perspective about the importance of giving to the industry and impacting the lives of the horses she works with on a daily basis.

In this episode, Dr. Doug Butler and Jacob Butler share insights on front limb conformation and unsoundness. You'll get a lot out of this episode on ways you can treat the various unsoundnesses that result front limb conformation deformities.

We recommend you use Chapters 20, 22, and 40 from the Principles of Horseshoeing III as a reference when reviewing the information from this podcast episode.

In this episode, we talk with Pat Burton, CJF, of south Fort Worth, Texas. He has been shoeing horses since the late 1970s and shares his insights on the fundamentals of horseshoeing, some of his early mentors, his experience of becoming certified, and experiences he has had as a certification tester.

You'll gain a lot of valuable advice from Pat on what it takes to build up a successful practice as well as several lessons he learned the hard way that you can use to be successful in your farrier business.