The Hoof of the Horse Podcast

My guest this week is Bruce MacDonald, a New Zealand based farrier who has a wealth of knowledge and stories to share. We discussed many different areas, including how to find education in a country with no farriery school; when motorbikes replaced horses; farriery competitions and travel; shoeing with heels (caulkins)on every horse; the risks for a farrier using their hard-earned cash to build another business, and much more.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis
View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com

The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

This week’s podcast is with Pär Hopman who is Chairman of the Board at the oldest farriery school in the world Biologiska Yrkeshögskolan Skara (BYS), where he himself previously studied to become a farrier. We discussed the history of the school; Par’s transition from trimming cattle to horses; the different methods of training farriers in the UK and Sweden, and the difficulties that can arise there; improving teaching and apprenticeships within the farriery world, and much more.

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Subscribe to my Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis
View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

Dr Jenny Hagen is a farrier and Associate Professor of the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy at Universität Leipzig, where she trains new farriers and undertakes her research into the effects of trimming and shoeing on equine biomechanics and locomotion, amongst many other interesting studies. Jenny and I got together at Hoven I Centrum (Hoof in Focus) 2019 event in Denmark to discuss her work. Listen for advice on how trimming effects load distribution; relieving the superficial flexor tendon and fetlock region; how a horse’s conformation can change, and much more.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis


View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

I had the pleasure of working in partnership with Colin for a number of years in Newmarket, before his wanderlust took him on to new ventures in Abu Dhabi. Colin began his career as an army farrier in his homeland of South Africa, has taken part in international competitions, shod racehorses on multiple continents, and became the first South African AWCF. It was great to catch up with my old friend and colleague.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis



View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

I visited Ryan Harris-Hayes, a farrier and proud member of the indigenous Maori people, last year on New Zealand’s North Island. In this podcast we discuss Ryan’s lifetime of working closely with horses and how he has forged his own path in farriery, as well as rural life in NZ, horseback hunting and gathering, shepherding, Maori heritage, and much more.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis



View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

This is a great "outside the box" episode. I spoke to Michael Fruin, a master farrier and hoof specialist, after his fantastic lecture at the Australian Farriers Conference 2019. It was great to hear about Michael’s journey from working at an ancient forge in England, to his current appointment as a zoo farrier in Australia and his contributions to animal welfare. Through his career he has provided hoof care to horses, as well as other animals like zebras, hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos and more.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis

View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

In this episode I speak to Doug Bradbury FWCF, who received an MBE from the Queen in 2017 for his lifetime service and contributions to the farrier profession. Throughout this working life and well-earned retirement, he has curated an incredible collection of farrier history at his museum, with his son and grandson continuing the family business. A great man with great stories.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis



View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

In this episode I speak to Dr Sarah Hobbs, Reader in Equine & Human Biomechanics at the University of Central Lancashire, and a former tutor of mine when I was studying at UCLAN. We discussed how Sarah has applied experience in the fields of engineering and human physiology to equine sciences; her work in leading equine research groups worldwide; how technological advancements are pushing equine biomechanics into the future, and more.

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to my new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis



View, order, or find your local retailer of my books: curtisfarrierbooks.com


The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

Brian is a farrier, and Co-founder of the Australian Brumby Research Unit, with a PhD specializing in the feet of feral and wild horses.

In this episode we discussed how his experience in biomechanics and physiotherapy led to a career with horses; his research into Brumby horses in the Australian outback, with Chris Pollitt; his journey from barefoot trimmer to farrier; studying the natural hoof in depth; exploring the benefits of using copper nails, and more.

Find out more about Brumby Week at brumbyweek.com

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Subscribe to Simon's new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis

View, order, or find your local retailer of Simon's books: curtisfarrierbooks.com

The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]

Simon meets with Sarah Logie, a Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, at this year’s Farrier Focus show. They discuss her thesis on Seedy Toe; a new program of farriery exam mentorship & tuition; working in Scotland’s wet and cold environment; hoof wall structure; and much much more.

To learn more on the Farriery Tuition program discussed here, email [email protected] or go to facebook.com/farrierytuition

Thank you to this episode’s sponsor the Hoofcare Essentials Foundation and their partners. You can find more information on the HEF website www.hoofcareessentials.com

Find more information about the the Scottish Equine Education Seminar on Sarah’s website: sarahlogiefwcf.com/scottish-equine-education-seminar

Subscribe to Simon's new Youtube channel: youtube.com/drsimoncurtis

View, order, or find your local retailer of Simon's books: curtisfarrierbooks.com

The Hoof of the Horse is a hoof care & equine science podcast by Dr Simon Curtis. Tune in for expertise and interviews from the world of horse hoof care. Get in touch: [email protected]