Lockdown Farrier Learning Podcast

Recently there has been a lot of discussions and social media debate about the apparent crisis within the farriery profession.This has centred around the economy of farriery as a profession and the lack of training providers and people coming into the profession.Like all farriery rants on social media, we all shared it on our feed so no doubt your customers can see it and feel sorry for you! Id like to add at this point “they don't care”. I have personally thought for some time in the UK that we are most of the time subsidising their hobby and their want to own a horse compared to the prices with the rest of the developed world.To fix this it will take more than farriers sharing a well written post by another farrier on their social media. We need to get in a room together discover how we got in this situation in the first place, work on strategies to improve our value and to raise the price of farriery and go up together.Up until this point apart from moaning no one has proactively done anything to resolve this situation until now.Tom Smith FWCF, an experienced farrier who has been in the business since 2006, discusses his career journey, the challenges faced by the farrier industry, and the need for change. He highlights the potential lack of farriers in the future, the struggle with proper pricing, and the undervaluation of their work. Tom introduces 'Forge Smart,' a 10-month program designed to help farriers improve their business acumen, raise their prices collectively, and enhance the professionalism of the industry.  The discussion covers the importance of community, professional development, and re-evaluating traditional practices to ensure the sustainability and growth of the farrier profession.www.forgesmart.co.ukThank you to the Podcast Sponsorswww.silverbackchaps.comwww.theshoeinglab.com

I was recently asked to do a webinar on be half of the British Farriers & Blacksmiths Association explaining the concept of social license to operate in the equine sector. This is a term which has been banded around for a few years now and there have been many who have misunderstood what this actually means.This is about public approval, for us to carry on doing what we do. Although this is mainly aimed at the equestrian world, we do play a part in it, and with out it we have no job.Thank you to the BFBA for asking me to do this and for allowing me to publish the audio here to share. This recording is of me talking via a online webinar, of which there were a few technical problems of which I have done my best to edit out.If you are not a BFBA member please check out their web site to see the members benefits available and sign up. 

This discussion is about a recent article in the Forge magazine. It is not about imposing rules but it is about protecting ourselves and all those involved (including the equine) at farriery competitions and forging best practice for future generations.What is Social License to Operate (SLO) Social license is increasingly important in horse sport and leisure. This is the general public's interpretation of equine welfare and professionalism. We must be seen to be always putting equine welfare FIRST. When a social license is lost, this is when the general public's opinion decides that the activity we are doing falls below their expectations of animal welfare and/ or professionalism. This means that the welfare of the horse must be put first, and be seen to be put first, all the time. It is the responsibility of everyone involved with equines to demonstrate this. Sometimes, mistakes will be made. However, if all of those involved in horse sport and leisure can learn from these mistakes and demonstrate that they are always striving to do right by their horses, wider society is more likely to trust that equine welfare is genuinely being put first and it is more likely that equestrianism's social license will be maintained. We have all seen the potential damage one video can make to a sport. During the build up to the 2024 Olympics, one video of one person connected to a sport, made headline news leading to a large swing in public opinion. This in turn reignited the question - should equestrianism be included as an Olympic sport? Worryingly, one public vote resulted in 49% of the voters being against. This is concerning and is evidence of what damage one viral video can do. The equestrian world needs to maintain and strengthen its social license for it to have a future. Horseshoeing Competitions As a competition, we must treat this activity as a sport utilizing the equine, and where live equines are used, their welfare MUST be the primary concern. Most horseshoeing competitions held within the UK are organised in conjunction with a bigger event, such as a county show. These are very public facing events and due to the nature of the spectacle provided, they are a huge crowd pulling part of the event. We are exposed to many members of the public that may have little or no knowledge of what they are watching. Some of these spectators may also be members of organisations or have opinions opposed to the use of horses in sport and may be looking to publicly evidence this. To this end, we as organisers and competitors need to utilise this industry spotlight to educate, communicate, and actively promote best practice and professionalism. The competition environment can be stressful for both equines and competitors due to several different factors, but with proper organisation, contingency planning and common sense, this can be kept to a minimum From the Pasture with Hired HandExpert advice on breeding, marketing & technology for livestock breeders & ranchers.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

It's been a while……Today me and my friend and fellow podcaster Brian Mullins reflect and breakdown his recent experience facing the AWCF exam for the first time, we talk about the journey he took and navigate his personal voyage of discovery. Brian has lots of priceless nuggets of information for anyone considering this journey for this exam or any certification the world over.Thanks to the sponsorsThe Shoeing LabSilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.com4min Podcast (English)Welcome to 4minEN – the English version of a multilingual podcast that delivers the...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Since Lockdown we have seen a rise in online and other forms of farriery education....  This is a good thing!To put this on takes a lot of time, effort and of course money.One of these people throwing his hat in the ring is todays guest Connor Morison DipWCF. Connor is an Ex-Army farriery instructor who currently works at the Warwickshire college school of farriery, and like many of us has a passion for education. He has recently set up Farrier Scholar an Online farriery education platform, to help farriers on their educational journey.Thanks to the sponsorsThe Shoeing LabSilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.com

David Gulley FWCF  On the 2nd of May 2024 we received the sad news of the passing of David Gulley FWCF.Born on the 4th of August 1939 in Plymouth Devon, David grew up with an obsession for horses, his mother once telling him of his fascination of the Shire horses working in the streets Plymouth. When David reached the age of 15 due to the lack of farriery apprenticeships being available due to mechanisation, David took on a 4-year apprenticeship in Blacksmithing and Engineering. On completion of his apprenticeship in 1960 he was called up for National Service into the British Army. As he signed up, he asked about the possibility of being an Army Farrier, of which the ill-informed Army recruiting Sergeant replied, “there was not such a thing anymore”. David then opted to become a Driver. Whilst in basic training Davids unit was visited by a recruiting officer from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), looking for recruits. David asked the officer did they have Farriers? The officer replied “yes”. At that point David told the officer that if he could transfer to the forge, he would instantly sign up for 22 years' service, the maximum engagement you can sign up for. In late 1960 David moved to Melton Mowbray and started working at the Remount Depot, now known as the Defence Animal Training Regiment, and started his life as an Army Farrier Apprentice at the old Army School of Farriery (ASF). Coincidently David joined the school 1 day after another farriery legend and lifelong friend David “Slim” Symons FWCF (hons). David was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of Jock Green a very well-regarded Army farrier instructor who pushed David to excel through hard work and determination. David managed to achieve the uncompressible feat of becoming a B1 Army farriery instructor and the rank of full Corporal in under 2 years.After 9 years of being based at the ASF teaching and competing David took the decision to leave the army and set up his own business. These were the days pre regulation, which would not become an act of parliament for a few years. At the time there was a lack of good farriers in the Leicestershire area servicing the fledgling equine leisure industry, with many untrained farriers cold shoeing applying shoes poorly. David was lucky enough to get the opportunity to repurpose a disused cattle shed into a forge, which is where he remained for the rest of his life in Thorpe Satchville, Leicestershire with his partner Judy. It wasn't long before David had built a busy business and the requirement for more manpower, so started his long list of successful apprentices. The first of which was Andrew Speck RSS, which went on to include the likes of Cecil Swan, Gary Darlow, Kevin Green, Joe Bryan and Andrew James. He went on to train 24 apprentices in total and was always proud of the achievements of all he trained and had said countless times that his proudest achievement was training his own son Micheal. On retirement he was presented a “Family Tree”, by some of his ex-apprentices, starting with David, his apprentices, their apprentices and so on. To this date there are 5 generations of farriers with lineage back to David, over time this will grow and will remain one of Davids Legacies.  After leaving the Army David's involvement with the National Association of Farriers, Blacksmiths and Agricultural Engineers (now known as BFBA) began. Joining his local branch, Leicestershire, David became an active member and very quickly rising to the position of chairman. With the registration act looming on the horizon, David was proactive in putting on training and testing for farriers in the area to achieve their Registered Shoeing Smiths (RSS) exams. In Davids own words this was all about trying to make farriers better. David always held horse welfare as the most important part of farriery.He went on to sit t

I've just got back from a very busy summer period. Back to school for me now! Last week I spent the week in Canada with my awesome friend Brian Mullins CJF. Week spent the week fine tuning and preparing for his upcoming AWCF exams. I met Brian back in lockdown through our respective podcast passion projects. As we were together we decided to chat with microphones and this is the results.Check out Brian's podcast if you haven't already as it is the best one out there. That's not to say all the Farriery podcasts are all awesome.Check out the podcasts amazing sponsors https://silverbackchaps.com/https://theshoeinglab.com/

In this episode we have recorded a discussion session which was part of our recent TTFA course. This discussion was hosted by Dean Bland  BA(Hons) DipWCF(Hons) GradDipELR(RVC) Dip.Ed MAFA and the students on this course and was part of one of assignments covered within the course, of which is part of the pathway to becoming a training farrier (ATF) here in the UK. Within this we discuss many topics including Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Legislation, Employment Law and most importantly training. This episode is aimed at potential ATF and trainers, but is important CPD for all existing ATF's currently in the system (free CPD for ATF's, you're  welcome).For those living outside the UK this will give an insight into what it takes to be a trainer in the UK system. Link to FRC ATF info pageFarriers Registration Council : Approved Training Farriers (ATFs) (farrier-reg.gov.uk)Our awesome sponsors:Silverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.comThe Shoeing Lab

Tom Smith FWCF GradDIP ELR (Dist.) (RVC) is a working farrier from Hampshire England, and is also the current Chairman of the Farriers Registration Council.Tom previously spoke to me about doing this podcast not just to make farriers aware of the upcoming council election but to also promote a better understanding  of the role of the FRC and how it functions.Big shout out to the sponsors of this episodeSilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.comThe Shoeing Lab

Fat Fat Fat Fatty Fat FatEquine Obesity is a huge (excuse the pun) problem in the UK.In todays episode i speak to one of the leading experts in this subject. Tamzin is a social scientist with a background in global health, and has a specific interest in the interconnections between human and animal health and wellbeing. She completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool studying how we can improve the management of obesity in horses, particularly focusing on horse-human relationships and human behaviour change. She now works on projects covering a wide range of aspects of understanding human behaviour in order to improve companion animal welfare, and in using social sciences to find out more about how we can help people to change.Awards:University of Liverpool Public Engagement Award 2023, CommendedUniversity of Liverpool Early Career Researcher of the Year 2020, WinnerUniversity of Liverpool Public Engagement Award 2019, WinnerExamples of recent keynote speeches and major conference appearances:Managing obesity across companion animals: invited presentation at British Veterinary Association conference (BVA Live); May 2023Managing obesity: the human factors; invited presentation at British Equine Veterinary Association conference; September 2022Behaviour Change Science for Animal Welfare: Keynote at the European Association of Zoo Animal Nutrition Annual Conference; 28 Jan 2021Human behaviour change for improving equine welfare? Keynote lecture at the 3rd International Equine Welfare Conference 2020From Overbreeding to Obesity: the one key to addressing equine welfare; Keynote lecture at Alltech Hartpury Equine Student Conference, June 2022Tamzin.Furtado@liverpool.ac.ukThis Episode is sponsored byThe Shoeing LabSilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.com

Sat down one evening and spoke to my good friend and research partner Abby Bunyard AWCF about the BFBA of which she is about to be the new president and our Fellowship journey so far. We go off on tangents, we discuss the state of the industry, and we drunk a lot of Gin in the process! This was a great conversation.To hear more about Abby's route into Farriery, listen to her episode with the Mullins Farrier podcast, it's a great listen.Please check out the sponsors of this podcast https://silverbackchaps.com/https://theshoeinglab.com/And checkout the BFBA https://www.forgeandfarrier.co.uk/

Last week I was invited to attend a meeting in Norway to with Mustad Hoofcare, on behalf of the BFBA Craft Committee to help develop a working version of the Mustad Farrier Portal. This is a scoring system developed to help competition organisers, and is a lot more than just a calculator. This system is the brainchild of Aksel Vibe AWCF. We sat down and and Aksel explained the system and how and why it was developed.Although this conversation is very competition centric there are plenty many nuggets of information to learn from. Massive thankyou to the Sponsors for your continued supportSilverback ChapsSilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.comThe Shoeing LabThe Shoeing Lab

Today I'm at what can only be described as farriery's equivalent of Area 51. The Shoeing Lab is owned by Kelvin Lymer DipWCF, and he has been in a previous episode talking about Endurance Racing. Kelvin is one of the most innovative that I have met over the years, not just as a horseshoer but as a business man. Kelvin is the type of person who is always spinning plates and looking to improve equine performance and comfort.For over 10 years he has been working and evolving his approach using 3D printing and has developed many products already and has even more not yet released.For further information click the link below for The Shoeing Lab Web Store and take a look at the products mentioned in the Podcast.The Shoeing LabThis Podcast is sponsored bySilverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.comPlease support the Farriers FoundationNews (thefarriersfoundation.co.uk)

Pads, Packers and Bar Shoes,Today and my good friend Wayne Preece FWCF have a catch up and we discuss Pads Packers, Bar shoes and other hoof care packages. Like most of our chats we go off on tangents and discuss other farriery subjects.Hope you enjoy this as much as we did making it.Don't forget to subscribe on your podcast platform.This podcast is sponsored by Silverback Chaps. Thank you to Danny Elliot for your continued support.Silverback Chaps – silverbackchaps.com

Welcome to 2024This year I aim to be a lot proactive with the Podcast. Last year was challenging to find time as it can be a time consuming, plus there was a lot of things going on in the world of Farriery.This episode has been on the wait list for a long time.Dean Lewis AWCF is a passionate and highly skilled Farrier and Blacksmith from Australia who's background in Harness Racing as a Racer and farrier served him with some excellent insight.This is a subject I personally know nothing so I will definitely be claiming some CPD points for listening 

Its that time of year again, BFBA Focus 2023Again this year we are going to get as much content to you from the set up of the event, the 42nd International Team Horseshoeing Competition, and from the Focus event itself. Here is a few of Brian's first day of set up interviews he captured today......Listen out for more tomorrow

Tiffany Gardner Dip WCF CJF is a North American farrier currently on the Edward Martin Farriers Cultural Exchange Program. We met whilst she was taking part in the Farriers Foundation's Tour de Farrier bike ride. We chatted and found out she was a fellow educator at the Pacific Coast Shoeing School. I invited her to spend a couple of days at the Hereford School of Farriery. She stayed for over a week both teaching, shoeing and even mountain biking!In this episode we discuss the route in to education and the benefits and the pitfalls and discuss some of the common problems we see in students and their learning.

Bone Spavin is a common pathology seen in the hock joints of the horses hind limb.In this episode Wayne Preece FWCF and I discuss Bone Spavin, its causes and the available Farriery treatment protocols.

The last episode of the BFBA Focus Podcast…..  In this episode we speak to the industry suppliers and trade stand holders at this year's event. BFBA Focus 2022 was a fantastic event and is going to move onwards and upwards next year. I hope you have enjoyed these episodes as much as me and Brian enjoyed making them! More content to come from Brian via his Podcast The Mullins Farrier Podcast in the future including some amazing interviews from some of the industry greats.For me, on this channel normal programming will resume with the standard Lockdown Farriery Podcast educational mandate.

Day 1 of the BFBA Focus EventIn this episode we Speak to David Gulley FWCF, The Farriers Foundation (Grant Moon FWCF, Jon Nunn FWCF, Mick Handley RSS & Dan Hewer Dip WCF), and then the Livecast we did with Haydn Price Dip WCF & Spud Allison Dip WCF

Day one of the competition started with a 6 am start for me and Brian interviewing Chief Steward Mark Watson FWCF on the way to the forge. Brian then broke out into Sport caster mode capturing all the day 1 action.

Me and Brian have finally arrived at Stoneleigh. We arrived at an empty giant tent and exhibition hall. And then the most important team arrived. Mark Watson and the Purple Army have been running the Competition for around the last 7 years and have run the best International Team Competition in the world.We spoke to some of the volunteers and some of the competitors as they turned up on site. 

The Road to Stoneleigh..............I have teamed up on behalf of the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association with my good friend and fellow Podcaster Brian Mullins to capture the build up to and the main Event at this year's BFBA Focus Event and the 2022 International Team Farriery Competition. In this episode we spoke to team USA as they set up camp practising at Alex Mercer's forge in the wilds of Lincolnshire in preparation for this weekend's international team farriery competition.

The Road to Stoneleigh..............I have teamed up on behalf of the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association with my good friend and fellow Podcaster Brian Mullins to capture the build up to and the main Event at this year's BFBA Focus Event and the 2022 International Team Farriery Competition. Today we caught up with Team Canada who are practicing at Mark Watson's forge as part of their journey to the International at Stoneleigh. It is fascinating to see the commitment that these competitors put themselves through to attend these international competitions. Look out for Team USA tomorrow.

In 2020, during the first COVID-19 lockdown when I started this Podcast the whole idea was to reach out to my students who could not attend college due to the pandemic. since then, it has turned in to a bit of a monster being listened to in over 75 countries. So, this episode it's all down to the students..........Teaching and learning and learning by teaching. Sometimes learning can be done by presenting a subject to your peers. At the school of farriery Hereford, we used this technique to get students to research, study and present information to their peers as a way of learning and also embedding the used of I.T. and communication skills. These are valuable behaviours for the modern professional farrier. Group 45S are a group of Trailblazer apprentices currently attending their 4th block at college which is in the second year of their apprenticeship.They were given the task of presenting 2 lessons, one half had Thrush and Canker, and the others had Seedy toe and WLD. When they presented, we mic'd them up and after giving their full consent we agreed to let me publish their work here. Well done to all that took part the work they put in in a short timeline was very impressive.

No living person has trained as many farriers in the UK as Slim Symons  FWCF HonsI sat down with Slim and we spoke about his life and how he found farriery, and the route he took from joining the Army to be a Slaughter man and how he become one of only 2 living FWCF's with Honours. After leaving the Army after shoeing in different counties in the UK and Ireland he became the senior lecturer at the School of Farriery Hereford from where he finally retired at the age of 70. He's led an interesting life and has put back into the farriery world more than many could ever....This is his story in his own words..............This episode has been sponsored by SILVERBACK CHAPS. Listen out for the unique discount code within the episode for your 10% discount!Check out their Website at:www.silverbackchaps.com

Welcome BackIn this episode I sat down with Jonathan and Josh Nunn. We sat and had a professional discussion on the subject of Concave shoes verses Flat shoes. As it is unscripted the conversation does wander at times but that is the beauty of these conversations.Listening or partaking in these types of conversation does qualify as CPD. For any farrier who wants to log this as CPD you just need to decide on what you thought was your learning outcome.Hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it.Please to help me leave a review on whatever Podcast platform you use.

In this episode me and my good friend and ex colleague Wayne Preece FWCF sat down in his home and after an amazing home made curry we spent several hours discussing the filthy N-Word! That's right we discussed Navicular! There is often confusion with anecdotal knowledge and modern scientific fact, disease, or syndrome. Hopefully you may learn or get something to think about from this conversation. We go off on tangents and openly chat about our experiences in conversation and not a formal lecture! I really enjoyed this conversation I hope you do! 

BFBA AWCF Exam Preparation CourseThe BFBA are delighted to be able to launch a brand new BFBA course which offers two tailored routes - whilst providing unparalleled learning support - to achieve the Worshipful Company of Farriers Associate Examination (AWCF).Following the completion of a ‘Diagnostic Day' on 23rd April at Hereford School of Farriery, Holme Lacey Campus, candidates will be supported to choose one of two routes to complete the AWCF examination.‘Route 1' supports candidates to prepare through participation within a 10-module, level 4/5 course delivered over 12 months, completing the AWCF examination in two parts over a 1-year period‘Route 2' supports candidates to ‘Step Up' to the AWCF exam preparation course through participation within a 5 module, level 3 course delivered over 6 months, before proceeding to then complete the AWCF Examination in two parts through participation within the 10 module, level 4/5 course.The BFBA AWCF Exam Preparation course tutors are Danny Bennett AWCF, Cert Ed, A1 Assessor and Dean Bland BA(Hons) DipWCF(Hons) GradDipELR Dip.Ed MAFA.Following training to become a farrier in the army, Danny left the forces in 2005 to set up his own farriery business. He is a familiar face at farriery competitions both within the UK and abroad. Danny's enthusiasm for education is well-known – he has tutored at Myerscough College prior to his current position at Hereford - in addition to conducting shoeing and shoemaking clinics and hosting his own, world renowned, farriery podcast.Dean has over 20 years' experience of working as a farrier, educator and welfare advocate. As founder of Well Equine, he has delivered training programmes around the world; and has received awards for his support of education and equine welfare.These comprehensive courses provide excellent value for money and places will be secured on a first come, first served basis. Numbers are restricted so please don't delay.Diagnostic Day - £180*Route 1 - AWCF Exam Preparation course - £2100 BFBA member / £2800 non-memberRoute 2 – ‘Step up' plus AWCF Exam Preparation course - £2950 BFBA member / £3687.50 non-member*the price of the Diagnostic Day is refundable when a candidate proceeds to either Route 1 or Route 2“We are delighted to be delivering this ‘AWCF Exam Preparation' course on behalf of the BFBA,” Dean said, “Our aim is to deliver a course that supports candidates complete the AWCF examination in two parts over a 1-year period, with each candidate receiving tailored support based upon their own individual needs through a mixture of onsite and online sessions.”“We want the course to be an enjoyable experience, bringing farriers together to support themselves and each other.” Danny continued “We would encourage anyone who is interested in joining us to get in touch with BFBA Head Office.” For an in-depth breakdown of the course structure, to ask any questions and to book please contact BFBA Head Office on 024 76 696595 or email Holly on membership@bfba.co.uk.

As of 2023 CPD for registered UK Farriers will be mandatory.The FRC expects that after qualifying, all farriers will continue their professional education by committing to keeping up to date with changes and developments in farriery, through the lifelong learning and personal development of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).CPD activities should be relevant to the individual and should build on their strengths, professional knowledge and skills.In this podcast we discuss CPD and how to register your points.This episode is kindly sponsored by Central Forgewww.centralforge.co.uk

David Gulley FWCF UK Farriery Legend.In this episode David tells us about his humble blacksmith background to being enlisted into the British Army and his career as one of the most eminent farriers who had a global international reach long before the internet! Enjoy happy Christmas and a happy new year to all the listeners! Stay safe 

In this episode Sarah Logie FWCF explains the difference between White Line Disease (WLD) and Seedy Toe, what causes it, and of course how to treat and manage cases. 

Off the back of a successful Olympics for team GB

A few Episodes back we had then conversation about farrier safety. My fellow podcaster Brian Mullins reached out and said he wanted to start a similar conversation in North America. It was then we decided to get some other Farrier/Hoof Care Providers involved as at the end of the day we all work on the dangerous end of horses. Brian recruited Alicia Harlov from the Humble Hoof podcast and I managed to Press Gang Dr Simon Curtis from the Hoof of the Horse Podcast.Farrier Safety is a huge issue, although none of us started this job not knowing that it was a potentially dangerous job, Farrier safety awareness has become a talking point due to the amount of injuries and incidence witnessed via social media. The common denominator in most of these cases is that it could of been avoided.The British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association has recently carried out a survey looking in to Farrier injuries and the results are quite alarming.This podcast is about starting the conversation and changing the attitudes of not just the Farrier but more importantly the horse owner.

I am joined once again once again by my colleague Dean Bland BA Hons Dip WCF Hons Dip.Ed. MAFA, where we are reviewing last weeks Diploma written paper.

In this episode I chat with Mark Aikens, Harry Spinks and Claire Brown, who are all part of the Forge Magazines Editorial Panel. We discuss the important topics and news in this edition of "The Forge". Forge Magazine is the official publication of the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association (BFBA). Forge is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November and a hard copy will be sent to all UK registered farriers, farriery apprentices and blacksmith members in addition to a number of international subscribers.

Part 2 of the previous Pre Diploma Episode, this time we are joined by Dr Simon Curtis FWCF and we are talking all things theory. We talk at lengths about his years of experience as a examiner, about the common mistakes made and tips to  gain them extra points.This episode is for the upcoming Diploma exam in May and is in response to the brilliant "Dip Tip's" ran by the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association.

Last year the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association (BFBA) launched "Dip Tips" as a way to create bite size information to diploma candidates in the UK. This year they have done it again and published some brilliant tips straight from the Examiners mouth! These tips are essential not just for the Diploma exam but any exam, test or assessment.I am joined by Simon Moore FWCF who is not just an examiner, but also had a long successful career as an Approved Training Farrier.

After seeing a recent video made by Simon about how we as farriers fail to look after and fuel our bodies, I thought this would make him a great guest for the podcast. After taking his advice and feeling the benefits myself i would advise all farriers to give this a listen!

In this episode i talk to Brian Mullins CJF. Brian is the voice behind the Mullins Farriery Podcast, which is one of the main influences that started me thinking about producing my own. Brian is based in Ontario Canada and when I asked him the other week to come on and discuss farriery training and regulation in North America, he kindly agreed. Us Podcasters must stick together eh! As a UK farrier i have often been confused with the different qualifications, associations and entry routes in to farriery out side of the UK. I'll let Brian explain................Thanks to all the listeners for your continued support and feedback. It is all appreciated.The podcast is now also uploaded to the YouTube Channel as some people preferer it as a platform. Please don't forget to share, like, comment and subscribe!If you have and ideas for future episodes or and questions feel free to contact me.

This Episode is an important topic. Farriery is a high risk job, however we are frequently having to take unnecessary risks and are often put in unsafe situations. This episode is different than normal as there are 6 of us having a discussion on the subject of safety for Farriers. For balance we are not al farriers and lots of interesting points are raised! Hopefully this episode will be a conversation starter amongst farriers and owners a like.Joining me are:Simon Moore FWCF who is also a committee member on the FRCClaire Brown Founder of Forge PR, representing the BFBA and wife of a working FarrierJane Patching Equine Health and Safety Consultant James Arkley Equine Dental Technician and chairman of the British Equine Dental Technicians Association Jonathan Nunn FWCF who is one of the founding trustees of the Farriers Foundation Thank you to all who took partenjoy

In this Episode we speak to Kelvin Lymer DipWCF about shoeing Endurance horses.Kelvin was the British team Farrier from 1992-2020 and has over 40 years experience in shoeing them. He has been at the fore front of the progressing and innovation of caring for their foot care needs. Kelvin is a thinking farrier and really knows how to think outside the box.

In this episode i sit down and chat to Cliff Barnes AWCF. Cliff was the Chairman of the Farriery Apprenticeship Steering Group set up to produce the new Trailblazer Farriery Apprenticeship Standard.This was some task and took from its formation in 2014 to its roll out in March 2019. As an educator I personally think that although some changes have been made to the way we train future farriers, that this process has been a step in the right direction and has future proofed UK farriery training for the next generation.To find out more information click on the links below......https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/farrier/https://www.wcf.org.uk/apprenticeshttps://www.farrier-reg.gov.uk/how-to-find-an-apprenticeship

In this Episode myself Daniel Bennett AWCF CertEd and Dean Bland BA Hons Dip WCF Hons Dip.Ed. MAFA, we sit down and discuss question by question the last Dip WCF written exam paper. On the whole it was another good farriery related paper and students generally answered it well.

Practical fail rates on average are higher than the theory especially in the DipWCF exam.In this Podcast I talk about my experiences in watching people fail and why it happens. This is to help potential candidates from falling in to any of these traps or habits.

Simon is a renowned lecturer and works as a referral and collective farrier for vets in Devon and Cornwall.His particular are of interest is in foals, performance horses and their individual shoeing solutions.He sat his Fellowship exam a few years ago and is very proactive within the Farriery industry.We sat down for an informative chat about the subject he researched for his thesis.Read Simon’s dissertation here:https://www.wcf.org.uk/fwcf-thesis?tid=c1d78f062752b4e994b1ace6716885baf8680f93f8983291b5e8db8fb374d262

Sarah Brown FWCF was the first female farrier to achieve Fellowship Status.Now her husband has achieve his FWCF, they are the first Fellowship household too.Sarah did her FWCF in 2015 and her thesis title was An Investigation into the effects on heel morphology following the insertion of 3° proprietary plastic heel wedge pads. In this episode we sit down and chat in simple terms why she chose this subject and how she planned it, and the results.Click here to read her actual Thesishttps://www.wcf.org.uk/fwcf-thesis?tid=08486d8d3da597db069abb945186f25f30119d9ce13e6cac9b2f6310142729c8Click here to access all the FWCF Thesis's https://www.wcf.org.uk/fwcf-thesis

In this episode we discuss exam stress from 3 perspectives, Candidate, Tutor, and Examiner.We look at the barriers it presents and why coping mechanisms are essential to enabling the candidate to be the best they can be on exam day.These are the links mentioned....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYf1ycmBxhY&t=43shttps://www.wcf.org.uk/dipwcf

In this new series of talks, I talk to the farriers who have done real research in to farriery, whilst doing higher exams. As part of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, Fellowship (FWCF) exam you have to produce a thesis on a subject of your choice relevant to farriery.One of the biggest problems with science and farriery is when published it is hard to understand to those who have not been involved in scientific research. So in this new series I sit down with these people at the top of their game and we have a "down to earth" chat about their research and ask the questions we all want to know.Today I talk to Mark Trussler FWCF, who when he got to the end of his AWCF journey, decided to carry it on to the FWCF. Mark's Thesis looks at "Laterally Offset Hoof Capsules and their Effect Upon the Medial Hoof". In this podcast we discuss the why's, where's, and what's.Read Marks original Thesis herehttps://www.wcf.org.uk/fwcf-thesis?tid=cd68d3d603c7891bcdf1efda957d305e2449996e9549cef7bf26259a8980ec1eFor information about UK higher examshttps://www.wcf.org.uk/Also check out my interview i did for the Mullins Farriery Podcast. An excellent podcast with some great guestshttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/mullins-farrier-podcast/id1467506668

So Mark, Wayne and myself sat down and had a discussion about Laminitis. Its an informal chat/discussion like you would have in the bar after a convention..... You do remember before Lockdown when bars were open, don't you ?...……...

A discussion with Jim Blurton AWCF and Ben Benson AWCF, both who run the Farriery teams at the last 2 Olympics and who currently shoe for many international performance programs. Sorry about the audio quality as we had a lot of technical difficulties. Some very good points discussed. Thank you Jim and Ben for your time!