Mullins Farrier Podcast

This episode comes out one week after the HoofCare Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio was held. I spent all four days there and it was great getting to catch up with old friends and meeting new ones. This episode, however, was recorded at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, during the Blacksmith World Championships.

Alex was there with a couple of his fellow countrymen from Switzerland, competing as individuals for the title of World Champion. I had just met Alex the year before at Stoneleigh, competing with those same individuals as a team. As you will hear, Alex is no stranger to North America and has spent some time here visiting with other farriers.

His easy and outgoing nature seems to help him make friends everywhere he goes, including even famous ones like Hank Chisholm and his wife Stephanie, who just returned from a vacation out there, hosted by Alex and his fellow teammates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

The show is sponsored by OutWest Designs and Fabrication your choice for Farrier rigs.

FEBRUARY PROMO: For the month of February mention the podcast and receive $500 off your farrier rig at OutWest Designs and Fabrication.

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Today's interview comes from the World Championships in Calgary, Alberta. I had heard about Chad Lausen for years and was happy to finally meet him in England a couple of years back, preparing for Stoneleigh. He was busy with the team prepping, so we didn't have a chance to do the interview there. After his go in Calgary though, we had some time to chat. I enjoyed hearing Chad's personal and unique philosophies on a lot of topics including business, marketing, and competition. As you will hear, he is also someone who likes to get involved in making the trade better. And in that spirit, since this recording, he became the president of the Western Canadian Farriers Association. I look forward to seeing what he accomplishes there. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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00:00 Introduction and Background 00:04 The Importance of Mental Game in Horse Care 00:39 The Art of Pricing in Horse Care 00:54 The Role of the Western Canadian Farriers Association 01:18 The Importance of Continuous Learning in Horse Care 01:44 Interview with Chad Lausen 02:36 Chad's Journey in the Horse Care Industry 03:03 The Importance of Community in the Horse Care Industry 04:33 Chad's Apprenticeship Program 08:56 The Importance of Being Coachable 10:05 Chad's Approach to Business and Work-Life Balance 12:17 Chad's Journey in the Horse Care Industry 15:33 Chad's Approach to Teaching and Apprenticeship 17:28 Chad's Experience in Rodeo and its Influence on His Career 26:12 Chad's Approach to Avoiding Burnout 27:15 Chad's Experience in Competitions 31:50 Chad's Tool Making Business 33:59 The Art of Knife Making 34:43 Balancing Craftsmanship and Podcasts 35:08 The Business Side of Farriery 36:32 The Importance of Profitable Business 37:37 The Value of Quality Work and Marketing 39:04 Promoting the Farrier Industry 39:17 The Journey Towards Certification 40:31 The Importance of Competitions and Certifications 41:54 The Impact of Apprenticeships 44:26 The Importance of Business Knowledge 46:36 The Stratum Tectorium: Short Answer Questions 47:33 The Importance of Sponsors and Competitions 01:03:11 The Importance of Stretching and Exercise 01:03:29 The Importance of Passion in Your Career

In this podcast, our guest, James Findler of Langley, British Columbia, shares his expansive career as a farrier with us. From his early days of finding passion in horseshoeing, honing his skills, and competing at world-class levels to mentoring future farriers, James shares his experiences, challenges, and achievements. He also discusses the importance of continuous learning, the mental aspects of the job, the evolution of the farrier industry, and his advice for the younger generation. James emphasizes the significance of preparing well in advance, valuing quality over speed, and not only focusing on the present task but also looking ahead when shoeing horses.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

03:05 First Encounter with James Findler

03:31 James Findler's Experience at the World Championships

03:56 The Early Days of Horseshoeing

04:09 The Formation of the First Canadian Horseshoeing Team

04:46 The Influence of Legends

06:47 The Journey to Becoming a Farrier

15:51 The Importance of Proper Horseshoeing

19:11 The Impact of Competing at a Higher Level

24:51 The Honor of Judging at Major Competitions

26:17 Preparing for the Big Moment

26:55 Dealing with Pressure and Nerves

28:03 The Power of Preparedness

28:14 The Importance of Focus and the 'Zone'

29:55 The Role of Apprentices and Team Members

30:56 Advice for the Younger Generation

31:17 The Joy of the Farrier Industry

32:24 The Evolution of the Farrier Industry

34:18 The Stratum Tectorium: Short Answer Questions

39:16 The Future: Retirement and Beyond

39:44 The Challenges and Rewards of Being a Farrier

46:19 Closing Thoughts and Gratitude

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Welcome everyone. This episode comes from me a week after getting back from Vern Powell's brainchild, the Farrier Clinic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This year, yet again, was an incredible experience with meeting many new friends and getting to hang out with old ones. I got another bunch of great interviews done, so stay tuned for those in the new year.

Today's episode was recorded in Calgary at the World Championships, where I finally got to meet one of my heroes. Thanks to a nudge from Spud Allison, another legend I hope to get on here at some point, I was able to convince him to do an interview. As with all of the legends that I get an opportunity to sit and have a chat with, I left this conversation feeling like I wish we had had more time.

As you will hear, Bob Marshall is full of great stories, and I feel like we just scratched the surface on what he has to share. But then again, how do you fit a lifetime into just an hour? All that said, it was an honour to get to spend some time with this gentleman. Here's an early Christmas present for you all.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

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I met today's guest many years ago in the Heartland, when he was practicing quite a bit with Cody Gregory.

More recently, I've run into him a bunch, at Stoneleigh, the AFA convention, and in Calgary at the World Championships. Adam was always so busy competing at these events that we never had a chance to sit down and do an interview. Calgary was finally our chance, and after an earlier round for Adam one day, we went up to the Farrier's Bar at Spruce Meadows and sat on the balcony overlooking the trade show hall. Unfortunately, the music and ambient noise intruded on the recording and drowned out Adam a bit. Not to worry though, Heather over at Twisted Spur Media worked her magic and there are only a few instances where Adam's voice sounds a little bit distorted. Almost like the audio version of an over-pixelated picture. Don't worry though, ladies, overall, Adam's smooth southern voice comes through loud and clear. As you will hear, he is full of wisdom, and there were a ton of quotable lines from him. One of my personal favorites is that, "As farriers, we live life at 90". I think that should be put on a t-shirt or something. I was also quite inspired by his concept of improving 1 percent each day and how over 365 days, that's a lot of improvement. This concept of marginal gains came up in quite a few of my interviews at Stoneleigh this year as well. I guess if so many top competitors and prevalent farriers are all talking about it, there must be something to it. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

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Welcome everyone. A little shopkeeping before we start. Dr. Simon Curtis is hosting his last webinar of the year on December 6th. It's called the Hough Rehab Webinar with Marty Sala and Paige Posse. For tickets to this event, go to www.eventbrite.co.uk and look up the Hoof Rehab Webinar with Dr. Simon Curtis.

And don't forget to enter Mullins as the discount code at checkout. This episode is being released just after hosting my good friend Cody Gregory for a one-day forging clinic at Andrew DeVisser's shop in Paris, Ontario and then a two-day whole horse dissection at the McKee-Pownall Clinic in Schomburg, Ontario. As usual, Cody knocked it out of the park with both clinics. Cody is the king of full immersion, and Equine Anatomy has been one of his deep dives. About 40 whole horse dissections later, he has teaching it down to an art. If you're interested in setting up one for your own association or group, I would highly recommend reaching out to him. Go to www.codygregoryllc.com and send him a message through his site.

Today's interview comes from my time spent at Stoneleigh this year, and we've released it first in the queue of many interviews I did there because of its topical nature. You may recognize Tom Smith's voice from the episode I did with the Farriers Registration Council last year. As the chair of the council, Tom has a unique perspective on the controversy surrounding the diploma and higher-level exams in England through the Worshipful Company of Farriers. I would highly recommend that you listen to both the FRC and the Worshipful Company episodes.

If you're not familiar with the organizations and the jobs that they fulfill for farriery in England, then to make you do even more homework, I would point you to the BFBA's website at www.forgeandfarrier.co.uk and search for the press releases on the farriery endpoint assessment updates under the latest news tab. I feel like with this little bit of leg work, you will have a much better understanding of the situation.

Ever since meeting Tom last year, I wanted to sit down with him and understand why he took the often thankless position he has with the FRC and what his journey to become an FWCF was like. After our relatively brief first encounter, my instincts told me that he was going to be an inspiring guest and as you will hear, he did not disappoint. Thoughtful, driven, and not afraid to tackle the hard things, Tom has accomplished many impressive goals. You'll even hear us get a little choked up about our respective truck dogs who recently passed. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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This episode is being released just a week after I arrived back home from Stoneleigh and Farrier Focus. Once again, England took home first prize but it was incredible to watch the American team come so very close to almost upsetting that victory. Once again, I had a fantastic time hanging out with my podcasting buddy, Danny Bennett, and so many other now-familiar friends and faces. Danny was busy this year as the chief steward for The International, so he lined me up with Jamie Hughes as my podcast PA. Jamie was an amazing help, lining up guests, as well as keeping me watered and fed.

You will hear his episode where I interviewed him and his partner in crime Sam Masters in the new year. Today's guest was at Stoneleigh as part of the team representing Sweden. I met him for the first time last year at the International and then again in Calgary where he was competing as an individual at the world championships.

Once he had finished his final go, we sat down and did this interview. It's always a pleasure to run into Johannes. His determination to get better and his brutal honesty are attributes that I always find inspiring whenever I run into him. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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This episdoe is generously sponsored by Outwest Design and Fabircation https://outwest.ca/

Welcome everyone. At Focus last year, Ben Benson, the president of the BFBA, approached me about doing a few panel discussions. I hope in the future to be able to interview both of these gentlemen separately at some point, Marc Jerram BSc (Hons) Grad Dip ELR CJF AWCF Master Farrier and Dr. David Marlin BSc (Hons), PhD. As you will hear, they both have a lot of information to share and we only scrape the surface of their knowledge. Maybe I'll catch one of them this year as I head to Focus again today.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

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The conversation you're about to hear occurred at the Focus Convention last year at Stoneleigh at the end of October, it isn't too late to buy tickets for this year's Focus Convention, if you do, stop by the Farriers Foundation booth and buy some swag or throw a wet sponge at somebody or whatever activity they have set up this year. As you will hear, it all goes to a very important cause. You will hear me say that there aren't any organizations like this in North America and that isn't completely true. The International Association of Professional Farriers has a program set up for their members, where if somebody gets hurt, a group of their members get together and help them take care of the horses on their books. It's a different program, but it has a similar end result. There may be similar programs throughout North America that I'm not familiar with, and if so, please reach out on social media and let me know about them.

I know in my area, it has always been a very spontaneous thing, but there never seems to be a lack of farriers willing to help each other out, a fact that makes me very proud to be part of this profession. Anyway, this is yet another episode where Danny Bennett and I teamed up to do the interview. As you will hear, these gentlemen are very passionate about their cause and put a lot of work into making it happen. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

The Farriers Foundation https://www.thefarriersfoundation.co.uk/index.htm

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Welcome, everyone. Before we get started, I would like to say a special thank you to the gracious sponsor of this episode's Stratum Tectorium. Outwest Design and Fabrication. You can see all of their beautifully made farrier and vet bodies on full display on their Facebook page. While you're there, maybe just reach out and tell them ~ Thank you for making this episode possible.

Way back in one of the first episodes of the podcast, I had complained to a guest that I was struggling to get my hands on a copy of Chris Gregory's forging book, the one that he had written before his infamous textbook. Shortly thereafter, a stranger I'd never met sent me my own copy. He apparently had two. I've had the great pleasure of meeting this gentleman several times since mostly at the HoofCare Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio where Mike Bagley JIICF, APF-I is a constant fixture at the IAPF's booth in the trade show hall. As you will hear he's a kind and humble man who really wants to give back to the industry that has given him so much.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

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