Fran Jurga`s Hoof Blog: News from Hoofcare + Lameness Journal

Flag Day: How a Blacksmith's Apron Became the Persian Flag

2013-06-14T16:54:00.002-04:00

It's Flag Day in the USA. That seems like a cue to tell my favorite story about a flag from far away and long ago. Close your eyes and pretend this is a fairy tale, because it certainly sounds like one. I have patched this story together from history books, flag books and online references that are translations of translations. In the light of this week's riots in Istanbul, and last

Leeches for Laminitis: Can an Old Idea Work on Today’s Horses?

2013-06-12T23:30:00.000-04:00

A leech positioned at the coronet for treatment of laminitis in the German research of Dr. Konstanze Rasch. In Part 1 of this article, we introduced the idea of the suitability of medicinal leech therapy for equine lameness, and especially distal limb injuries. Please read that article, which contains a great deal of background information and a video, before you read this one. Blood

Announcing the HoofMakeover Video Series: Farrier Hans Wiza's Case Studies on Restoring Hoof Health

2013-06-05T19:53:00.002-04:00

"HoofMakeover" is a series of downloadable case studies of three trims and/or shoeings that each detail the rehabilitation of a hoof over a period of 100 days. Developed by Ontario, Canada farrier Hans Wiza, the videos attempt to simplify hoof re-balancing and de-fuse the challenges of working on horses with weak hooves and conformational challenges by using time, observation and horsemanship

Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital to Acquire Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service

2013-06-03T16:47:00.001-04:00

via press release The shareholders of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky and Dr. Bill and Diana Barnes of Saratoga Springs New York are pleased to announce that Rood and Riddle will purchase Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service in Saratoga Springs, New York. “This is an exciting and unique opportunity for our practice and we look forward to providing outstanding care to

British Farrier Apprentice System Suspended as Training Suffers Negative Government Evaluation

2013-05-29T20:20:00.001-04:00

Apprentices are traditionally part of the landscape of farriery in Great Britain. These apprentices to Jim and/or Allan Ferrie competed at the Clydesdale shoeing event at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland. (David McCrone photo, used with permission) A crisis has emerged in Great Britain, where the future of farrier education has been endangered by a withdrawal of government funding for the

Video: Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy's Legacy is Both Tragedy and Inspiration for Veterinarians and Horsemen

2013-05-25T12:45:00.003-04:00

Please allow time for videos to load. You know things are bad when CNN dedicates a segment to injured horses in a natural disaster, but that's what happened on Friday when the global news network aired a story by newsman Gary Tuckman, who was on hand with Oklahoma's Joe Boecker, DVM to show in graphic detail what a tornado can do to a horse. Hoof Blog readers around the world who think that

Lameness Evaluation: American Sensor System Tests Successfully in British Research

2013-05-23T08:33:00.002-04:00

Flexion testing, using the sensor-based system, at the University of Glasgow's School of Veterinary Medicine For many years, opinions on the value of flexion tests in assessing equine lameness have been divided. Now, however, new research looks set to turn what has always been regarded as a subjective process into a wholly objective one. A comprehensive study, published in a November

Maryland's Hoof-First Connection to the Triple Crown: Raceplates and Horseshoers in Preakness History

2013-05-18T13:41:00.001-04:00

Photos from Victory Racing Plates, a Baltimore-based horse shoe manufacturer whose plates have been on eight of the 11 horses that won the Triple Corwn. (Courtesy of Only A Game's Sam Gallant) It's Preakness Stakes day in the USA! Whether you think Kentucky Derby winner Orb is a shoe-in to win in his Jim Bayes Jr. crafted raceplates or if you like California's Goldencents, shod by Jim

Have You Tried It Yet? "Blacksmith Buddy" Re-imagines Hoof Demonstrations with Education/Practice Tool

2013-05-10T22:16:00.000-04:00

H O O F B L O G S P O N S O R E D S T O R Y The Blacksmith Buddy The Blacksmith Buddy was designed with students like these in minds. Once the Buddy is in place, the real horse becomes an accessory--and someone has to hold him instead of trying out the new practice leg! Every year there's something. Farriers hang out after a trade show and talk over what stuck in their minds

Medicinal Leeches: The Much-Maligned Traditional Healing Aid is Making a Comeback for Equine Lameness Therapy

2013-05-10T15:12:00.000-04:00

In this photo from German rehabilitation therapist Martina Mäter of Kathmann Vital GbR in Vechta, you see three colorful medicinal leeches hard at work. Lower-limb lameness is a common callup for leeches in the horse world; they may soon be in wider use in the United States. (Photo © Martina Mater, used with permission) You're in a veterinary lecture on laminitis at a major conference on

Connecticut Drops Charges Against "Equine Podiatrist" for Illegal Practice of Veterinary Medicine

2013-05-10T02:43:00.001-04:00

For years, Connecticut has been known as the wealthiest state in the United States of America. Add to that the highest number of horses per square mile of any state. It's also one of the most beautiful states. If you had to pick a state to live in and run a farrier business, you couldn't do much better for job security than Connecticut. After a state legal decision made there last month, it

Badminton Horse Trials' Farrier Prize to the Best Shod Horse 2013 Won by David Smith

2013-05-07T15:55:00.001-04:00

There might not be much left of a pair of shoes by the time the horse has made the circuit of the world's most challenging cross-country course, which is just one phase of the Badminton Horse Trials. Video of horses in this year's event courtesy of Centaur Biomechanics. Each year, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials presents a "Farriers Prize" for the best shod horse at the world's

Hooves of the Kentucky Derby 2013: Race Shoes, Hoofcare and the Farrier's Daughter

2013-05-04T17:22:00.001-04:00

Sixty Minutes featured top jockey Rosie Napravnik the week before the Derby. Her other claim to fame? Her father is a horseshoer! It's 90 minutes before the Kentucky Derby, do you know where you'll be today at 6:24 p.m.? Rosie Napravnik, daughter of New Jersey horseshoer Charles Napravnik, knows exactly where she will be: on the back of MyLute, bursting out of the starting gate at

Kentucky Derby News: Scollay Replaces Injured Bramlage for NBC's "AAEP On Call" Role

2013-05-04T09:11:00.000-04:00

Dr. Scollay is no stranger to television; she'll step in front of the camera today at the Kentucky Derby. The American Association of Equine Practitioners reports that longtime AAEP On Call Veterinarian Mary Scollay will serve as the spokesperson for equine health during today's NBC Sports racing coverage at Churchill Downs. Dr. Scollay, who serves as Equine Medical Director for the Kentucky

Behind the Scenes at the FEI World Cup Finals with Swedish Farrier Bjorn Berg

2013-05-03T23:25:00.000-04:00

You're a long way from home when you go to the Gothenburg Horse Show in Sweden. The huge Swedish spring horse show hosted both the dressage and jumping finals of the 2013 FEI World Cup indoor winter competitions. The best in both sports converged on the annual show and turned it into a world stage. Sweden's Bjorn Berg has been the show farrier at Gothenburg for 12 years but you can bet that

Meader Supply's New Hampshire Farrier Appreciation Day with FPD's Michael Wildenstein

2013-05-03T17:48:00.003-04:00

Shoes, shoes, shoes! One of North America's largest horseshoeing supply stores opened its doors last weekend to welcome farriers from far and wide to the annual "Farrier Appreciation Day". Meader Supply soon found out that the appreciation was mutual; the flavor of the day was more akin to a high school reunion than a business event. Farriers and hoof trimmers from all corners of New

News and HSUS videos: Walking horses seized from show trainer's barn in Tennessee, veterinarian Adair explains soring

2013-04-30T12:33:00.001-04:00

Walking horse trainer Larry Wheelon heads to court today in Blount County, Tennessee. The well-known trainer and judge will face charges following his arrest on Friday. As shown in this video from the Humane Society of the United States, horses placed with Wheelon for trained were seized by the USDA, with assistance from the county sheriff and humane society officials, in connection with the

Congratulations to Matt Martin, the Farrier Who Kept Black Caviar Running

2013-04-30T01:22:00.000-04:00

Australian farrier Matt Martin and the most famous mare in the world: Black Caviar. Photo courtesy of Abu Masum of J.C. Milton & Company, the supplier of the mare's raceplates. It's Kentucky Derby time in the USA, but Down Under in Australia, they won't even blink at the thought of twin spires, blankets of roses and mint juleps. The country can afford to have a been-there-done-that attitude

Adventures in Hoof Science: British Farriers Collect Data on Heart Bar and Lateral Extension Shoes at Royal Veterinary College's Structure and Motion Laboratory

2013-04-25T16:32:00.001-04:00

Story and photos provided by Carl Bettison, AWCF (Hons) British farriers spent a day at the Royal Veterinary College's Structure and Motion Laboratory last week; they watched while Jim Blurton shod two horses with bar shoes. Equigait wireless gait analysis technology was paired with high speed video and a force plate to monitor changes with the addition of the shoes. (Gill Harris photo) A

Lieutenant Boniface's Lost Notes on Shoes (or No Shoes) in U.S. Cavalry History, Part 1

2013-04-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Lieutenant Jonathan Boniface, US Cavalry, used this shoeboard as an illustration in his book, The Cavalry Horse and Its Pack, in 1903. The shoes shown represent the typical shoe used by several different nations' cavalry farriers, as well as some corrective shoe designs. Reading the fine print in Boniface's book gives a new perspective on how, when, and if shoes were used on military horses of

Enthusiastic Attendees or Presentation Pirates? Attendee iPad/iPhone Media Capture is the Elephant in the Lecture Hall

2013-04-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

Should you take photos of a speaker's slides at a conference? And if you do, should you share them on Facebook? Conference organizers and speakers are drawing lines on what's allowed and what's not. But they don't always agree. (Bareform photo) There's an elephant in the lecture hall and it's time we talked about it: If you pay to attend a conference, does your registration fee entitle you

Video: Almost Killed with Kindness, an Overweight Pony's Rehabilitation Begins with His Overgrown Hooves

2013-04-17T22:32:00.002-04:00

When World Horse Welfare farrier Donald Nicol first saw a Shetland pony named Haggis, he went right to work on his overgrown hooves. The pony's owners were prosecuted under British law for cruelty in allowing the pony to become so obese. In the video, Donald goes all around the pony and comments on his hooves before he starts trimming. (© World Horse Welfare photo) We hear so much these days

Shoeless Thoroughbred Wins at Keeneland; Track Lists Barefoot Entries as Trainers Experiment with Polytrack Surface Effects on Hoof Slide

2013-04-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

The racing surface known as "Polytrack" is one of several artificial surfaces that have been installed at racetracks in North America to improve safety and help cope with bad weather. But it also changes the way the hoof interacts with the surface. The characteristic slide that horses experience on dirt can be "sticky" for some horses. Experimenting with and without shoes during training and

A Career on the Hoof: Does Geography Matter?

2013-04-10T16:56:00.000-04:00

If you're considering a career in hoofcare (or know someone who is), this video might be helpful to you. The requirements of the job, according to South African racetrack farrier Andy Rivas, are pretty much the same all over. This little video does a great job of answering some of the questions that every aspiring farrier or hoof trimmer should ask. The video is provided by Career Space in

How We Learn: Bracy Clark's Intricate "Model Hoof"

2013-04-09T16:37:00.000-04:00

How can we know where we're going if we don't know where we have been? The founding fathers of hoof theory have gone. Gone with them are their forges, their laboratories, their drawings, their journals. We are left with some books, some papers and isolated museum artifacts that don't quite add up to all we'd like, yet taken alone are treasures. That's the case with the hoof model