Wednesday May 16, 2012
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11
Feb

The Mirage of the Natural Foot


Written by Chris Gregory
Hits: 5093

      This is the end of the 4th day of the Farrier Blacksmith Course at Heartland Horseshoeing School.  It has been a great time, made more so by my good friend Dr. Mike Miller, MD, CJF, FWCF, coming for the week.  We have had a great class with folks from Ireland, Australia, Canada, and all over the US.

      Today was made even better by the arrival of Dr. Miller's book.  He wrote a book titled, The Mirage of the Natural Foot. Science and Snake Oil in the Barefoot Trimming Debate.  This book is Mike's FWCF Thesis, and talk about giving you some good defense from having to do 4-point trimming when you don't believe in it.  This is a great book, and I think that the majority of great farriers out there will do well to have a copy to help their favorite vet see the light.  If you want one, you can find Mike Miller on facebook, or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  He is selling this fantastic book, full color photos, and extremely professionally done by D&B Printing in Olathe, KS. for $10.  It is more about getting the word out than it about money for Mike, as those that know him can attest.  Anyway, I thought there would be a bunch of good farriers on this site that would be thrilled to hear about this.

     Tomorrow is Friday, and Jacquelyn gets back from her 6 weeks riding horses in Oklahoma.  We can't wait to have her home.  The folks in class continue to impress me as they get better by leaps and bounds, and I think that we are going to have a great year.  I hope that all of you who read this aren't suffering from the weather too bad.  Keep on keepin' on.

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07
Feb

Heartland Horseshoeing School Diaries 02-07-2010


Written by Chris Gregory
Hits: 3330

     Where has the time gone?  I can't believe that I have not blogged since November, but Baron pointed it out, and I thought I would give you all an update.  I am really humbled by all of you that take the time to look at these, and if there are any fans, I will try to be a little better about getting these posted.  When we got back from Australia, I had surgery on my hammer hand shoulder almost immediately.  Once that happened, I dove into writing my book of farriery, and it has consumed almost all of my time since.  We have had a cold winter, and my family has been picking up the slack while I recover and write. 

     Cody did a clinic at the shop, and it was a great success.  The guys all learned a bunch.  At the end of January I went to Hereford, UK, and did another Diploma Exam with the Worshipful Company of Farriers.  It was my third as a provisional examiner, and I had a great time and learned a bunch.  As soon as I got home, it was time for the Summit in Cincinnati.  Saw a ton of old friends and colleagues, and again, had a great time.  What a life!!!  Got to judge the Vibram Challenge for Baron, and that was also a blast.  I think I might get to judge again next year, so turn in some good work.

I have a bunch of clinics lined up.  I am in Arkansas and Guelph, Ontario in March.  Delmarva Peninsula in May. Sarucaba, Brazil and Alabama in June.  Virginia in August, Tennessee in October and back to Brazil in November.  That is what we have on right now, so we will see what else comes along.

    Tomorrow is the first day of the Farrier Blacksmith Course.  It is going to be pretty big, about 10 students.  It should be a great time for Cody and I.  We will also be getting ready to compete in Portland.  I am only doing the 2-man draft with Cody, but he is doing the whole push.

     The full classes begin in March.  The courses are almost full, but not completely.  That is a little strange, but it is a new economy.  I think I have 15 signed up for the class, but we accept 18.  I am certain the class will fill, but we will be alright with the 15 if it comes to that.

      I am hoping that the Gregory's Textbook on Farriery will be done with the writing portion by the end of the month.  From there, we might have the books ready to sell by July, but Fran Jurga tells me that is probably more ambitious than reality.  We will see, but I will be making a lot of announcements everywhere I can think of when it finally comes out.  Thanks to all of you that have offered support for this endeavor.

    That is about all I have for now.  We will be getting hammered in the Heartland for the next 2 weeks, and then it is off to Portland.  I hope you all have a blessed winter, and keep on keepin' on.

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22
Nov

Heartland Horseshoeing School Diaries. On the road in Australia.


Written by Chris Gregory
Hits: 4890

      Our whole family is in the land down under doing some clinics, visiting some farrier friends, and having a vacation.  Yesterday afternoon I did the FHRC Online Conference.  What a great thing that is.  Pretty neat that there is technology to do things like that.  If I do it again, I will have to get some photos up.  Last time I did it, putting up photos and video was well beyond me.  Unfortunately I do not think that I will be at my destination in time to join in tonight.  If I get there, I will try to get online.

     As we travel and see all of these great farriers, I am often humbled to think that all of this is from the bottom of a horse's hoof.  Around the world, be assured, there are farriers who are trying to make life better for the equine.  It is a great fellowship that we are all a part of, and I am ever grateful that I found this vocation as a young man.

      When we got to Australia, Cody and I got a private tour of the O'Dwyer Horseshoe factory.  Carl O'Dwyer, the creator of O'Dwyer Horseshoes gave us the tour personally.  It was an unprecedented honor to spend time with this great man and farrier.  His son, Dan, is running the business for Mustad in Asia, and they have a very dynamic team here.  Liam Ryan is the salesman, and he did a great job of playing host to a bunch of "yanks".  There is also a man named Andy Emeris who is an engineer and designer.  He has developed a forge that is hotter, quieter, and more efficient than any other I have ever seen.  It is called a Damascus forge, and I am going to get one.  You will have to see it to believe it.

     These folks not only hosted and ran a brilliant contest, they also saw to our every need.  They did not spare any cost to make my family comfortable, and I appreciate it more than they will ever know.

         I judged my first contest on Wednesday that included a class of judging "live" shoeing on a morbid specimen.  When the idea was presented, I was a bit skeptical.  However, Colin Smith, AWCF, has developed the most ingenious holder for cadaver legs that I have ever seen.  Colin is the farrier instructor at Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE.  (NMIT)  TAFE stands for Tertiary and Further Education.  That is what the trade schools in Australia are known as.  NMIT is the first acronym I have ever seen with one letter standing for another acronym.  Anyway, the contest with the dead leg was amazing.  It was a part of the qualifier for the live shoeing on horses on the last day of the contest.  My scribe was Jo Smith, Colin's wife and a worker at the O'Dwyer factory.  Jo is a really fun and charismatic woman that makes you want to spend time with her.  If you have the chance to meet her, you will instantly like her.  O'Dwyer Horseshoes and Mustad gave over $6000 in prizes.  It was a fantastic contest, and I got to judge some really good work.

       Saturday I did a private clinic for a group of farriers at Dean Lewis' home in Melton.  It might also be in Bacchus Marsh, but I am not sure how the geography works.  Dean lives outside of town, and I could never quite understand what the area is called.  It was a fun day of shoeing and forging.  I shod half a horse with straight bars, and one foot with a W-shoe.  We also played "follow the leader" building shoes on video.  Each guy built a shoe with me, heat for heat, on video.  That is a great exercise.  The group of guys at this clinic were highly skilled, so it was a good clinic.  They built and gave me an appreciation gift.  I am going to try and post a picture of some of this if I can.

     We have seen a lot of kangaroos, enjoyed our time here, and look forward to going to New Zealand later this week.  Till then, keep on keepin' on.

 

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02
Nov

Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers Exam 2009 Part Two


Written by Chris Gregory
Hits: 4198

    If you have not read part one, you should do that first.  I had to quit on part one because when a blog gets too long, the computer has trouble.  Thus, part two came into existence.

     Sunday Morning.  The final day is one of talking and thinking.  When I got to the school, Frank, Chip and I went out and caught 3 horses.  Dr. Sutton picked one, and Sand and Simon took another.  One horse was stationed in the shop, while the other was outside on the road for gait analysis with Sandy and Simon.  Frank and Matt were the holders, and they exchanged places half way through so that they could watch the other half do their portion of the exam.

      Each candidate would go to a horse individually and answer questions about movement, anatomy, conformation, and radiographs with Dr. Sutton.  This can be a very intimidating part of the exam.

      On Sunday afternoon the candidates finished this 3 day testing process by going through the oral exam.  For this part, the candidates took their shoe displays into the office and defended their shoes and answered questions.  Any question about farriery that the examiners wanted to ask.  An intimidating situation to say the least.

     At the end of this process, the US can boast an unbelievable amount of passes.  There are 3 men that are now American Associates of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.  Two of these are Brian Barrett, CJF, AWCF, and Mark Thorkildson, CJF, AWCF.  I can not disclose the other one because he did not want to be told until he received his letter in the mail.  We also had 4 individuals who passed either the theory or practical portion.  This means that 50% of the AWCF exam was passed in the first try at this exam.  When you throw Dr. Miller into the mix, 11 of the 21 sections were passed.  That is incredible.

     I can tell you from experience that when the first exam of any sort is given in a country, there is generally a high success rate.  I was blessed to judge the first Farrier Certification in South Africa, and I think that 29 of 45 passed.  I wrote the farriery certification for Brazil, and when we judged it, well over 50% passed, so the American success rate is not without precedent.  Especially if you were to look at the amazing group of Who's Who of American Farriers that were this group of brave men who put themselves forward to take this test.  My hat is off to all of them, and they have done exceedingly well.  Trail blazing is never easy. 

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02
Nov

Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers 2009 Part One


Written by Chris Gregory
Hits: 3615

The entire exam is done.  The candidates have left, the examiners are on a plane, and the dust has settled.  

Cast: 

Candidates for AWCF:  Brian Barrett, Jacob Butler, Cody Gregory, Chip Kendzerski, Jason Maki, Sam Durham, Alexi Gutierrez, Rodney King, Steve Sermersheim, and Mark Thorkildson.

Candidate for FWCF:  Mike Miller

Examiners:  Sandy Beveridge, FWCF, Simon Curtis, FWCF, and Vet Examiner, Dr. James Sutton, MRCVS.

Registrar:  Capt. David Goodall, RN

Horse Holders:  Jason Kropf, Jeremy McGovern, Frank Schweighart, Kelly Lapreze, and Tom Krochtovil.

Strikers that were not candidates:  Matt Crompton, DWCF,  Jon Johnson, CJF

 

     It was absolutely amazing.  Here is the blow by blow:

     Wednesday and Thursday:  We finish cleaning and preparing the shop as nervous candidates begin to arrive.  I had to do 4 horses on Thursday at the shop, so that threw a little bit of a spanner in the works.

     Thursday night.  The examiners arrived in Springfield, MO, in a terrific storm.  Visibility had me driving below the speed limit.  Quite a new experience for me.  I took the examiners and registrar to my house for supper and Kelly cooked the first of several outstanding meals.

    Friday Morning.  Picked up the UK contingent and went to the shop.  All of the candidates were in suits and waiting.  David assembled the candidates in the class and administered the written exam while I entertained the examiners in the shop.  Once the written was done, we had a presentation ceremony to hand out DipWCF Diplomas to the candidates, and trophy buckles to all.  The UK contingent and I went to my farm for a  working lunch where Kelly served her amazing pizza, and the examiners graded the exams.  I was asked to leave, so Kelly, Jacquelyn and I went for a ride on the farm.  Cody and most of the candidates stayed in the shop and forged.

     Saturday morning.  The horses arrived and I organized the holders and numbering of the horses.  There was a short meeting of all examiners and candidates as they went over what was expected, and the shoeing task was assigned.  3/4 fullered straight bar with toe clip in front, and 3/4 fullered straight bar with quarter clips behind.  

     David drew names to match horse to candidate, and we all assembled in front of the school to watch the horses trot up.  Each pair of candidates watched as their horse was trotted, and notes were made by Dr. Sutton concerning the horse.  The horses were then led into the shop, and time began.

       (Personal Note:  Cody did a fantastic job, and at 17 years old, has passed the practical portion of the AWCF exam.  Yeah, I am a proud dad!)

      Half the candidates shod one side, and then the other half went on the other side of the horse.  When the horses were done, there was a short lunch break, and then the modern farriery tasks were assigned.  There were 10 cadaver legs, and the candidates had to patch a quarter crack, find the tip of P3 or the lateral wing of P3 through a 5/8th inch hole they had to make in the sole, and then talk to the examiners and vet while doing it.  During this time, Dr. Mike Miller became the newest Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers by making a wedged heel straight bar with a set down bar for his cadaver foot.  It was the last part of the FWCF that he had to do to complete it.  There are now 35 FWCF farriers in the world, down from a high of 45.  It was awesome for him to reach this goal.

      When the modern farriery was done, the examiners assembled in the office to judge Mike's shoe.  He was then taken into the office and told about this momentous occasion.  There has only been one person to ever receive his FWCF on foreign soil, and that person is  Mike Miller the Great One.  (If you know him, you know what I mean)

      That night, we all went to Red Lobster in Joplin, MO.  The examiners, registrar, Mike and his wife Beth, and Kelly and I had a good meal to end a great day.

 

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