en-us
Todd Walker, CJF, AFT, WCBT
“We do things normal humans typically don’t do.” Mustad’s new sales rep understands farriers for a simple reason: For over twenty years, he’s been one.
Details only a farrier would notice
When you ask Todd Walker about the places he’s worked in his distinguished career, he’ll offer details others might never notice, like how the local climates affect horses’ hooves.
“I live in Kendalia, between Austin and San Antonio. We have a nice climate, not really dry like West Texas or humid like Houston. It’s very nice for horses’ feet.”
Walker found his passion when he shod his first horse—and he’s spent the years since perfecting his craft.
Now, we’re excited he’s going to apply everything he’s learned to serving as the Mustad sales representative for Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
It’s nice to be with a company whose products I know, love, and use.
“After I drove the first nail, I was in love.”
Walker wasn’t born to the craft. But when he was attending college, he got a summer job at a YMCA camp where he led trail rides. Even then, Todd knew he wanted to be around horses.
So, he applied to a Colorado dude ranch the next summer. They told him, “If you can tack on a horseshoe, you’ve got the job.”
Luckily, a friend was shoeing his own personal horses that day. “And so he put two nails in the shoe. And then he let me drive the other four. And after I drove the first nail, I immediately fell in love. I was like, wow, you can actually drive a nail into the bottom of a horse’s hooves.”
Walker quit college, saved up some money, and enrolled at Texas State Farrier School in Peaster, where he studied with Jay Watson.
I was just going to college because that’s what I was instructed to do.
His attitude changed dramatically. “I was just going to college, because that's what I was instructed to do. I was going because my parents wanted me to. So, when I withdrew I felt like I let a lot of people down. But it just wasn’t what I wanted to do.”
“When I went to farrier school, though, I was hungry for it. I would get upset if I missed one question. I would go back to my dorm room and look it up. Whereas in college, if I made a passing grade, I was like, cool.”
When I went to farrier school, I was hungry for it. And I would get upset if I missed one question.
Power hammers make very good alarm clocks.
Of course, farrier school was only the beginning of his education. He apprenticed with Kirk Caudle at his practice outside of Houston. There, he met Billy Reed, who was finishing up his apprenticeship.
At their first stop that day in a big barn, he saw how elite farriers work. “I was in awe of their craftsmanship, and how fast they were.”
He started entering contests. That’s when he met another hero, Jim Poor who offered him a job. But he was nervous about telling Kirk.
“So I showed up with my tail a little bit between my legs. And I told him I’d accepted a job with Jim. And he kind of gave me the evil eye . . . . But then he said, ‘You know, I’m the one who called Jim. I’ve taken you far but he can take you even farther.’”
Kirk was right. Besides elevating Todd’s skills, Jim passed on his intense work ethic. “My bedroom was right next to the forge room,” says Todd, “and at 4:30, the power hammer was going off. I didn’t need an alarm clock.”
When we visited my first big barn with Kirk Caudle and Billy Reed, I was in awe.
Q&A with Todd Walker
Todd Walker brings some impressive experience to his role as Mustad’s newest sales representative. Besides building his own practice in Georgetown, Texas, he has traveled to England on the BFBA Edward Martin Cultural Exchange and competed on both the American Farriers and the WCB teams. His efforts earned him the very first “Striker of the Year” award. He has served as a clinician with Delta shoes. As he begins his new role, we asked him a few questions about his career and approach. Here’s what he had to say.
What do you like most about being a farrier?
I’d been a baseball and football player. And I love the arts. Being a farrier was a cool way to combine my athletic and artistic sides. It was also a chance to do something that normal human beings don’t typically do.
What do you think about the value of horsemanship?
I saw how efficient Kirk Caudle was and I realized it was due to his horsemanship. He was very quick around the horse. You need to understand horses, and then learn how to read horses. Some horses have time limits. Kirk was a very good horseman, and he could be around horses that a lot of people probably couldn't.
You were a highly successful competitor. What was your biggest win?
In the early 2000s, I went to England on the farrier exchange. At my first competition, I was practicing with Steven Beane. A shoe in the therapeutic class was aluminum but he hadn’t brought enough material. So he gave me the five inches he had left, and I focused on forging the toe. Turns out, even though I was, like, dead last in every other class, I won the therapeutic class. And not only did I win, but they put me on the cover of Forge Magazine. So for my three months in England, I was a celebrity—and I owe it all to that five-inch piece of aluminum.
What are you looking forward to in your new role?
I’m very proud of the friendships I’ve made with other farriers. I could talk to farriers all day long. And it’s a real conversation because we share the same struggles. My role as a Mustad rep will be a continuation of that.
You’re just starting as a rep. But you’re not new to Mustad. Can you tell us about that?
A few years after I became a farrier, they absorbed Delta. So I’ve pretty much known everything Mustad since I started shoeing. I’ve always used their products. I’ve used St. Croixs since I got out of school. That’s what both Kirk Caudle and Jim Poor used. It’s nice to be with a company whose products I know, love, and use.
Where can we find you on a Saturday morning at 10? How do you unwind?
With six children, you never really do. But I hang out with the kids and swim in the pool. I play sports. My summer league softball team helps me get through the Texas summers.