A young and ambitious 12 year old Brian biked around his neighborhood asking farmers if they needed a worker. The first one to take him on was a standardbred breeding farm owner named Harold MacDonald. That was the beginning of Brian’s life long journey with horses. For the next ten years he worked with Harold off and on, sometimes full time in the summer and often at night after school taking care of the mares, foals and yearlings. By the time Harold retired and sold the farm, Brian had started to pursue a career in sound engineering, with music recording being his passion. It didn’t pay the bills though and the hours were the exact opposite of what the rural upbringing had prepared him for. The next several years found Brian in a few different careers. Eventually, he settled into a position selling horse trailers (I’m sure by now, you can sense a theme). While sales wasn’t his passion, he learned a lot about interacting with the public and his introverted self became comfortable with the extroversion required of sales.
During this time, he started dating a farrier who took him around with her to her stops on the weekends and he developed an interest in the trade. Later Andy Vergut , a farrier he sold a trailer to, offered him a job. All it took was a one day ride-along and Brian knew this was what he wanted to pursue. For the next 5 and a half years, Brian worked alongside this sport-horse farrier and learned a lot from him. In that time, he participated in shoeing competitions and attended as many clinics as he could to learn as much as possible about his new found calling.
Eventually Brian branched off on his own and decided there was still much more to learn. He started attending various courses in Lamar, MO at Heartland Horseshoeing School. Chris and Cody Gregory became his mentors and encouraged him to pursue his certifications. With their instruction during the prep courses for the Certified Farrier and then Certified Journeyman Farrier exams, Brian was able to achieve his credentials. He still attends the school at least once a year.
Several years ago, Brian started to follow his clients to the various circuits in the US. As the southern side of his business grew, Brian pursued and received an American Visa and established a separate corporation called Mullins Farrier Inc. in the US. Mullins Farrier now has three fully stocked rigs in operation to cover this large geographical area.
Halle, the GMC dually pulls a Stonewell Walk-in trailer in Canada.
Goldie, the Ford Dually has a Bayhorse Body and covers both the north and the south.
Finally, Clifford the big red Chevy Dually with a Bayhorse Body covers the southern US.
Brian’s constant drive to get better at and learn more about his beloved craft inspired him to create the Mullins Farrier Podcast. He did this as a means of interviewing the top professionals of the farrier world and learning what it is that makes them tick. It has been and continues to be a very rewarding journey.
