The Farrier Project

The Farrier Project

by Mark Trussler and Jay Tovey

Business Education

Season 1

Brad Greenham - DipWCF to FWCF

Hosts Jay Tovey and Mark Trussler interview Devon-based farrier Brad Greenham about his background, training, and career. Brad describes starting an apprenticeship at Cockington Forge, finishing his training in Gloucester and Dorset, qualifying in 2004, and building a practice in Devon, including an early 200-horse riding stables account and a high-volume “numbers game” approach he later regretted. He discusses how farriery can crowd out hobbies, rising client demands and social media’s benefits and risks, and the value of working with others. Brad explains taking ATF status, then pursuing AWCF and rapidly completing his FWCF within 12 months, crediting mentors including Sarah Logie, Simon Moore, Andrew Casserly, Jay, and others; study changed his trimming and balance assessment. He describes burnout, a recent stress-related health scare, reducing coffee, and having his partner manage bookings and invoicing, concluding that relieving stress is his top tip.

The Cancer Research Farriers Globe - Sandy Beveridge

Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey open The Farrier Project and discuss demanding Clydesdale and Highland Show competitions before interviewing retired Scottish farrier Sandy Beveridge from Carluke, who trained with Jim and Allan Ferrie and quickly achieved Dip, Associate and Fellowship (1984–1988). Sandy explains he retired at the end of October last year due to the physical toll of the job, reflects on training apprentices and clients’ reluctance to change farriers, and shares his main tip: pace yourself over a career. The episode centers on Sandy’s rotating, spinning “globe” sculpture made from 194 horseshoes welded using a harrow disc, including shoes from notable farriers (some deceased) and a few from abroad, created to raise money for Cancer Research UK after losing his father to cancer. Supported by the Worshipful Company of Farriers, the project has raised about £13.5k with Gift Aid, will appear at Focus and Olympia in London, and viewers are directed to donate via the WCF Facebook link, QR code, or in person.

Daniel Bennett: Training Apprentices - A College POV

Hosts Jay Tovey and Mark Trussler interview Hereford College farriery lecturer Danny Bennett about UK farrier education, sponsorship, and how colleges rise and fall based on staff teams and management support. Danny describes his roles at Myerscough and Hereford, Hereford’s near-loss of FRC approval around 2016–17, and how Dean Bland helped rebuild admin frameworks alongside renewed senior leadership backing. They discuss teaching to the syllabus/“standard,” how exams can lag industry progress, and the four-part training landscape: colleges, ATFs, EPAOs, and apprentices. Danny outlines ATF CPD days, competitions, and “meet your next apprentice” initiatives to build relationships, plus digital revision resources. He explains Hereford’s redesigned block system (20 weeks total, more frequent shorter visits) improving student progress, and reviews Trailblazer/EPA changes, VetSkills communication limits, written exam issues, appeals, resits, and ongoing debate about shoemaking’s role in assessment.

Jeff Townsend-Berridge - Glue shoeing

Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey interview farrier Jeff Townsend-Berridge, known as the “Glue Guru,” about his background and expertise in glue-on shoeing. Jeff describes growing up in the New Forest around horses, early trimming experience, mentorship with Colin Smith, and how a disrupted UK apprenticeship path led him to Kentucky Horseshoeing School, where he fast-tracked through training, later worked and taught, earned his CJF, and stayed in the US for five to six years. He explains how seeing Steve Norman glue shoes on Thoroughbreds inspired him, defines direct vs indirect gluing, and discusses choosing methods based on horse type and performance needs. He covers composite shoe types, costs and stocking challenges, foot preparation and management (clean, dry, suitable environment), common failures like sole pressure and over-gluing, key products (Equilox, JMeg, Third Millennium, Hoflox, super glue), and advises staying composed when gluing goes wrong.

Paul Duddy: Competitor, Judge, Educator - Part 2

In Part 2 Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey interview farrier Paul Duddy about learning through mistakes, asking questions, and the value of clinics and competitions. Paul explains how competitions build confidence and skill for young farriers, shares memories from Calgary and other events (including injuries, disqualifications, speed classes, team wins, and placing top 10), and describes what good judging looks like: seeing past “bling,” prioritising fundamentals like nail fit, levelness, clips, safe trimming, and soundness, and following the judge’s specimen and feedback. He discusses his transition into teaching at CAFRE, the college’s origins as an upskilling route for largely unqualified cold shoers, and current teaching plans to make theory more practical and accessible. Paul also addresses possible Irish legislation and urges farriers to join associations, keep learning, and only enter the trade if they truly love it.

Paul Duddy: Competitor, Judge, Educator - Part 1

The Farriery Project hosts Jay Tovey and co-host Mark Trussler introduce guest farrier Paul, who grew up in Strabane, Northern Ireland during the Troubles and is a fifth-generation farrier who started in the forge at 11 before his father died when he was 15. Paul describes the highly competitive Irish National Stud apprenticeship in Kildare, annual training blocks in England, and qualifying via a demanding exam, then progressing through Irish competitions at the Dublin Horse Show and later realising in England he needed to raise his level. He explains how the Troubles disrupted travel and business, recounting early hardships building a practice with minimal resources, and emphasises resilience and the value of difficult standards like the diploma. Paul also discusses running, cycling injuries, a 2019 brain micro-bleed likely linked to stress, subsequent anxiety, and advocating for men’s mental health and seeking professional help.

Stud-Farm Farriery and Foal Trimming and Management - Fred Cox

Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey welcome Fred Cox to The Farrier Project to discuss his background, training, and specialist stud-farm farriery. Raised around horses in Oxfordshire and a former youth polo player, Fred began a farrier apprenticeship in Lambourn under Gary Pickford, initially disliking race-yard work before finding his niche on stud farms. After qualifying in 2009, he worked a year as a qualified farrier for Pickford, then left to build his own business combining hot-shoeing with expanding Thoroughbred stud work, including weekly work and a regular France trip; he now works with two qualified assistants. Fred pursued further exams to become an ATF, took an AWCF prep course, failed then passed the practical, and has passed the fellowship WCF practical while planning his study, though accreditation changes currently prevent him taking apprentices. The episode focuses on Thoroughbred foal management: high-volume trimming on a four-week rota, fortnightly early assessments, handling protocols, record-keeping, trimming to the short axis early, and approaches to angular and flexural deformities using trims, acrylic extensions, cuffs, wedges, and veterinary collaboration. Fred’s tip is to know strengths and weaknesses, keep learning, and work with others.

Foot Balance with Alexander Werner Part 2

Jay Tovey and co-host Mark Trussler continue their chat with farrier Alex, focusing on foot balance, conformation assessment, and trimming and shoeing plans with an emphasis on the caudal hoof. Alex describes his influences from Stefan Wehrli and Dr. Rick Redden, explaining trimming in multiple planes (landing, standing, and breakover phases) and using heel rockers to increase caudal weight-bearing without lowering key angles, sometimes adapting in three planes for medial-lateral differences and shunted heels. He outlines how he evaluates balance by observing gait, checking limb alignment, feeling for flares, assessing sole depth and symmetry, and using the central sulcus as a reference, plus strategies like floating overloaded areas and narrowing the shoe’s ground surface. Discussion covers toe flare and heel distortion, environment and breeding differences between Germany and the UK, common conformation issues (offset knees, club feet), early foal management, skepticism about forcing level landing, approaches to flares and dorsal dressing, breakover mapping and toe support, shoe thickness choices, and advice to stay open-minded, keep learning, and collaborate with vets and colleagues.

Foot Balance with Alexander Werner Part 1

Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey introduce The Farrier Project and interview Bavarian farrier Alex Werner DipWCF in Germany. Alex describes growing up near Munich, starting with horses as a child, and learning farriery by holding up feet for an elderly local farrier before trimming his own horses as a teenager. Encouraged by a vet, he pursued training in England, securing an apprenticeship with Simon Curtis in Newmarket in 1999 and qualifying in 2004, describing the tough pay and living conditions but strong camaraderie and learning. He returned to Germany, started his business, then in 2006 moved to the US to work at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital doing largely remedial and clinic-based work, including laminitis cases and tenotomies, and completed his Certified Journeyman Farrier (CJF) exam before returning home in 2008. He later co-founded the Podiatry Jam Session with Aaron Gygax to connect farriers and vets, growing to 180 attendees, and previews a part-two discussion on foot balance.

Shoeing for Dressage - Haydn Price

Hosts Jay Tovey and Mark Trussler welcome farrier Haydn Price to discuss dressage shoeing and his career. Haydn explains starting farriery at 14, restarting his apprenticeship with Tim Rooney, and how conversations with farrier Alan Bailey led him to question traditional UK “follow the foot” concave hunter-style shoeing. Influenced by Continental shoeing seen with David Broome’s horses, he adopted longer, wider, more symmetrical shoes and focused on function over aesthetics, gaining performance-horse clients through results and rider feedback. He describes dressage as an ideal discipline for analysis because it’s controlled and movement-focused, and notes hind feet can change shape through training, requiring proactive management such as impression material and thermoplastic pads to reduce heel compression. The group discusses angular limb deformities, emphasising forces and hoof capsule evidence over appearance, and proximal suspensory desmitis, linking it to training, surfaces, and load behind; Haydn favours appropriate support, packing, and clear exit strategies rather than “one condition, one shoe.” He supports barefoot where conditions allow and advises young farriers to talk, collaborate, and seek help.

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