Will We Ever See Norman Rockwell's Famous Blacksmith Shop Painting Again?

Norman Rockwell's "Blacksmith Shop" painting was a double-page interior illustration in the November 2, 1940 edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is possibly the best-known and best-loved painting of farriers in the world, and illustrates a ten-hour heel-and-toe contest between two Irish immigrant farriers in 1907. Frank Farrell and Jim McCann have been hammering away in the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts since 1966 when the artist donated the painting to the museum. Future farriers will not have a chance to stand in front of the six-foot canvas, if the museum is successful in its bid to liquidate it for cash. Last month, a judge temporarily halted its sale; a further ruling is due next week.

Frank Farrell and Jim McCann hadn’t traveled very far from home before.

The two hardest-hammering horseshoers in American art have spent most of their lives in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, where they have been working at their anvils non-stop for almost 80 years. But this summer they were wrapped up and carted gently to the middle of Manhattan, to be on display before being sold to the highest bidder at a Sotheby’s fine art auction. 

Saint Clement's Twanky Dillo Day is a Lost Hoof History Holiday

Imagine a holiday when tradition dictated that farriers and blacksmiths fire their anvils with gunpowder, then roam the streets and knock on doors, demanding liquor or cash as they sang songs with lyrics only they understood. It only happened on St Clem's Day, a festive day that has slipped off British calendars and from people's memories...unless you know where to look.  Public domain image, Chatterbox magazine, 1896.

The end of November may mean Thanksgiving Day in America, but in the British Isles, there is a forgotten holiday that you probably won't find on any calendar.

For hundreds of years, people celebrated St Clement's Day on November 23.  But now both the holiday and the saint it celebrated are lost and long forgotten in history. Hard as it is to find out what went on, much less why it went on, this day is worth remembering for its colorful couplets, enchanting songs, and evidence to the important (and powerful) role that farriers and blacksmiths played in local matters.

Happy Fourth of July: A look back to when Uncle Sam was at the anvil, sharpening an ominous sword

In mid-1941, the United States was still politically neutral as war erupted in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The Atlantic wasn't safe for US ships anymore. So this popular Liberty magazine cover became a billboard for one side of the debate. Artist Arnold Freberg had Uncle Sam take off his long-tailed jacket, and roll up his sleeves. Is he forging this sword blade, from a plowshare, reversing the words of Isaiah in the Old Testament? Or is he determined to turn that sword into an instrument of peace?

It's the Fourth of July. So, why, back in 1941, did Liberty Magazine have this blacksmith hammering on a sword on its cover? The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was still six months in the future.

Just for background, Liberty was a very popular magazine back in its day. It was second only to the Saturday Evening Post in the hearts of Americans. Its subtitle was "A weekly for everybody." In the upper left of this cover art, you can see a tiny Statue of Liberty and the words "The American Way of Life".

The Fourth of July in 1941 was the last one before the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the US declared war on Japan, and then on Germany; thousands of American men were soon drafted into the military. For the next four years, the nation technically battled two wars, one in the Pacific and one in Europe and North Africa. Yet this cover doesn't reflect any peaceful innocence of pre-war days. It's calling for a fight.

When this issue of the magazine was published, Winston Churchill was begging for help as London crumbled beneath the blitzkrieg bombs. Jewish refugees continued to plead for rescue. British and Soviet forces invaded Iran to protect access to oilfields needed to fuel their armies and air forces. Japan occupied Saigon and it looked like Thailand would be next.

At first glance, this cover seems to call for the United States to enter the war. But Pearl Harbor was still five months away, and no one knew it was coming.

The week before this magazine appeared on newsstands, a German U-boat attacked an American warship in the Atlantic for the first time. President Roosevelt gave the Navy permission in the future to fire back, although only if fired upon first...if that wasn't too late.

In the age before television and the Internet, magazine covers were powerful billboards, whether they reassured Americans of an idealized and peaceful way of life on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, or called for political or military action--without saying a word--like this striking cover of Liberty.

What's was the artist's method? He removed Uncle Sam's trademark long-tailed jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He is intent on his job, fully focused on the accuracy of his blow; one eye is even closed to sharpen his aim. The veins in his arms are visible. His suspenders are taut. An invisible wind is blowing his long hair back. He's not smiling.

Behind him, you can see a factory bellowing smoke, symbolizing rearmament of the US military and general preparation for war. And the eagle? He looks pretty angry, too, underneath those super-sized wings.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed, muscled-up Uncle Sam--which the editors must have thought personified America's vision of itself better than the usual elderly, gray-haired one--was fine-tuning his sword blade to go out into the world and wage war. This Uncle Sam is no multicultural symbol of diversity. Part of the US mission in World War II would be to liberate Asians and Europeans and Africans who looked nothing like him.

Likewise, most of the young men drafted to do the job would look nothing at all like this Uncle Sam.

This is one of the most politically charged magazine covers in history, yet it is rarely shown and its artist is uncelebrated. Maybe it was buried deep in our grandparents' attics for a reason, or maybe it needs to be dusted off, looked at, and discussed, as if we're seeing it for the first time.

To learn more:

If you watch Ebay or haunt flea markets, you can find a copy of this edition of Liberty, or sometimes just the cover, framed. It inspired people -- including me -- to think about the way politics made use of Uncle Sam.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is the news service for Hoofcare and Lameness Publishing. Please, no re-use of text or images on other sites or social media without permission--please link instead. (Please ask if you need help.) The Hoof Blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a headlines-link email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). Use the little envelope symbol below to email this article to others. The "translator" tool in the right sidebar will convert this article (roughly) to the language of your choice. To share this article on Facebook and other social media, click on the small symbols below the labels. Be sure to "like" the Hoofcare and Lameness Facebook page and click on "get notifications" under the page's "like" button to keep up with the hoof news on Facebook.
 

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Political Cartoons: Public opinion was forged with humor from the blacksmith shop

How would Joe Biden look at the anvil? Traditionally, political cartoons have portrayed US Presidents as blacksmiths and, sometimes, farriers. Here you see President Woodrow Wilson portrayed in 1917 as a striker, not the smith. Uncle Sam is the smith, and he is urging Wilson to swing and hit, while the iron is still hot. The shoe has "crisis" written on it; it probably refers to the hesitation of the United States under Wilson to abandon isolationism and enter World War I on the side of the Allies. This old political cartoon by William Allen Rogers is from the archive of the Library of Congress's Cabinet of American Illustration.

Saturday Night Live notwithstanding, there hasn’t been much to laugh about when it comes to US politics lately. And ever since former-farrier Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the Democratic primaries back in 2015, there have been almost no tie-ins at all to hoofcare, horseshoes or even horses.

World Equestrian Games Farriers: What's Inside WEG's Pop-Up Forge?

In a village of pop-up horse stables and instant schooling arenas sits the World Equestrian Games' pop-up vet clinic with its dedicated forge. Each of the five venues of the World Equestrian Games had its own forge. Don't blink, they will soon be gone!

British team farrier Haydn Price stopped by the forge at the main arena in Caen, where the dressage and show jumping took place, to take a few photos during the show jumping days at the end of the Games. Things were quiet, but you can see the way the forge was set up to handle the needs of horses during the event.

Mark Milster: Farrier accolades "mean nothing" if the horse isn't happy

 

The Oklahoman newspaper and newsok.com tracked down former World Champion farrier Mark Milster for a nice interview and video. The video gives a peek into Mark's shop, which should make toolhead readers happy. 

And the story of how Mark worked his way to the top of the farrier profession should inspire us all.

History Detectives: What Do You Notice About These Irish Farriers?

 Irish Farriers at the Barracks, Waterford, 1909

You don't need to wear a funny cap and carry a magnifying glass to be able to apply Sherlock Holmes's "deductive reasoning" to old photos of farriers. Well, a magnifying glass might be helpful.

Could You Carry Scotland's Smiddy Stane?

If your idea of fun is seeing how far you can carry a 363.8 pound stone, Scotland has an event for you. Just don't expect to tie up your horse to be shod at the smithy in town that day. (Photo of Airth, Scotland's "smiddy stane" contest courtesy of Ewan McTaggart)

Another reason to wear a kilt: you can spread your legs far enough apart to carry a 363-pound rock across a field...if you are so inclined.

The Nobel Prize for Farrier Poetry: Looking Through Seamus Heaney's "Door into the Dark"

One of the world's greatest poets died on Friday. Ireland's Seamus Heaney was one of those people who bridged the past and the present with verse so deft you were never sure where time fit into the story or if time matters anymore. He grew up in Northern Ireland in the 1940s and went out into the world through his words, winning the Nobel Prize for poetry as he wandered.

Farriery: More Than Meets the Eye to Duckett's Blindfolded Shoemaking

“Gotcha!” Farrier David Duckett FWCF used the worst horseshoe he ever made to prove his point: there's much more to forgework than meets the eye. Or was it: "the eyes have it"? His exploits launched a great tale that will be passed through the farrier world and probably cause many a farrier to burn a forearm. In this photo, he's balancing a coffin bone on the end of a pen at "Duckett's Dot". Photo used with permission of FORGE Magazine and Gill Harris (thanks!).

When the Master's Away, His Apprentices Will Play (Music, That Is)

People sometimes refer to the musical sound of horse hooves. Others remark on the music that the hammer makes on the anvil.

Hit the right thing the right away, and you'll hear a tone that you can adjust by hitting it with something else, or by hitting the same thing in a different place.

Is percussion by itself still music?

A Slip of the Anvil on Downton Abbey: Did you catch the reference?

Here's some trivia for a February Sunday afternoon: how closely are you paying attention when you watch television?

Notice the horse being shod
in the background as the
wedding proceeds. 

If you're like me, you'll be glued to the television tonight for the final episode of the second year of the PBS/BBC mini-series Downton Abbey. 

And if you're also anything like me, you knew that, sooner or later, something related to hoofcare would show up in the second series. 

A horse lost a shoe in the first series, with no farrier to be found. Lady Mary was very annoyed that she had to walk the horse home.  I thought that surely the farrier would materialize and later turn out to be the rightful heir to the estate. 

 This year, I've been waiting patiently for writer Julian Fellowes to let another hoof reference fly. And he did. 

It happened last week: Second series, episode six, the one where the war is over, but the Spanish Flu has hit instead.

But did you catch the reference? 

It was a fleeting one. Lady Sybil has eloped with her Irish anarchist chauffeur lover; they've driven off into the night when Lady Mary discovers they're missing. 

Which way did they go? You might wonder. 

But Lady Mary knew instantly where they had gone. "Oh, we must hurry! They'll be halfway to Gretna Green by now!" she gushes as she and Lady Edith rush out the door. 

That's it. The alarm is sounded: "Gretna Green" means only one thing: Lady Sybil has run away to stand in front of an anvil in Scotland. And since Downton Abbey is supposed to be in Yorkshire, they didn't have that far to go.

The dowager countess will definitely not approve.

Kilts are probably optional and you probably have to pay the piper but weddings are still big business in Gretna Green, which rivals Las Vegas as a town with a wedding-as-industry mindset.

Apparently it was the way that elopements happened for centuries in England. By crossing the border from England to Scotland, couples were eligible to be wed--no questions asked. And the first place you came to when you crossed over from Cumbria was a smithy in the hamlet of Gretna Green.

And the smith had the legal power to perform marriages.

You might wonder how I happen to know about an obscure Scottish village. Well, I've even been there. Twice. Not to get married, but to be a tourist. Gretna Green is in Dumfriesshire, just down the road from Closeburn, the ancestral home of Edward Martin, FWCF, MBE,  the great Scottish farrier and blacksmith. 

 You can bet that Gretna Green was on the tourist route for his incredible hospitality when Americans came his way. 

The history was interesting and it was sort of amusing to be tourists at the weddings of total strangers, but a gift shop full of anvil-theme items was simply a candy store for farrier visitors to take home as mementos of this unique village. It must be the anvil souvenir capital of the world.

Now that it's been mentioned on the world's favorite television drama, the wedding business must be booming in Gretna Green. But then again, it always has been.

Photos: Anvil emblem by Chris in Plymouth, smiddy interior by Andrys Stienstra, happy couple by Matt Thorpe. 

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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War Horse Hoofcare: Don't Come Between a Farrier and His Horse

Photographers talk about the "point of infinity" in an image. There's a horizon or a focal point that draws your eye to the defined distance. Or lack of a defined distance.

This photo of farriers at work at a British horse stables in France during World War I is a study in efficiency, 1915-style. You see one man (on far left) in charge of the bellows for the little portable forge. One farrier at the anvil. And one farrier with the horse, holding the hoof up, ready for the shoe to be hot-fit.

Noticed there is a top-anvil tool lying on the ground by the first anvil, and the striker's hammer is set to go. 

The question is whether the striker was also the forge cranker. That would mean he had to dance back and forth around the anvil without getting in the way. 

The photo begs the question as to whether the official looking military figure at the second anvil was also keeping time.

The stables and farriers stretch to infinity. How many farriers do you think are in this photo?

This image was provided by the Royal Library of Scotland, and there is very little information available about where it was taken, other than in France during the First World War.

Can you add any information?

Call to order your copy of this amazing reference book

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Sunday Humor: Strauss Feuerfest Anvil Steals the Show in Europe

Possibly the only thing that can come close to Vienna, Austria's New Year's Day concert would be when Andre Rieu decided to stage a pageant-like concert outdoors on a summer's night in the courtyard at Schoenbrunn Palace--one of the most outstanding surviving examples of baroque architecture in the world, and a historic site protected by UNESCO.

To make the evening special for Hoof Blog readers, Rieu kindly included in his concert that evening a performance of Feuerfest by Josef Strauss. Strauss actually wrote the piece to include percussion played on a real anvil. So look what happens when Andre Rieu calls in an anvil. Could it have come from next door at the stables of Spanish Riding School?

Rieu introduces the smith as the most talented percussionist in Paris--who also happens to be a smith. Several French jokes are lobbed at the smith until he decides to take over the performance. And he succeeds at that. When Rieu says that the anvil weighs 750 kg, I expect some eyebrows will go up!

Some Italian subtitles are embedded in this video if you mouse over the tool bar at the bottom of the frame.

   

Strauss may have been Austrian but his music is universal. Feuerfest is one of those uplifting Viennese polkas that buoys the spirit--even when played at a super-serious concert by the Philharmonic in Berlin, Germany. I think I saw some smiles in the dignified audience as this talented percussionist/smith went to work.

But what if the anvil is a little off-key? Or it's a little wavy across its face? Or both? Here's the anvilist for the Sibiu State Philharmonic of Transylvania in Romania (Filarmonica de Stat Sibiu) hammering on, regardless.

 

Ah, then there are the Ukranians. When they performed Feuerfest in Kiev, not only does the Philharmonic there pick up the tempo a notch (pity the poor dancers if this was played at a ball!), the anvilist (anvilteer?) upgraded the performance art with plates on the anvil's face and a pyrotechnic display!

 

Strauss' home town of Vienna gets the last word on Feuerfest. Who knew the polka had both anvils and lyrics, too? Here's the Vienna Boys Choir sharing the words in falsetto as only they can. Maybe one of the blog's German-speaking readers can tell us what they're singing.

I wish I could tell you that the lyrics are about a fire blazing in a smithy--and perhaps they are--but my research on the tune turned up the information that while the literal translation of Feuerfest is "festival of fire", Strauss took it to mean "fireproof" when in 1869 he was commissioned to compose this piece by a Viennese firm that built fireproof safes.

In addition to writing waltzes and polkas like the rest of his illustrious family, Josef Strauss worked as an engineer and invented a horse-drawn street sweeper to keep the beautiful city clean. He also wrote the Jockey's Polka, which calls for the sound of a whip in the percussion score.

Surely, Josef Strauss was a horseman at heart.

One thing I know: if I had a warmblood destined for high performance, I'd name him Feuerfest. Or, if I already had an upper level horse, I'd start choreographing a kur to Feuerfest. But, since I don't, I think I will give my cell phone a Feuerfest ringtone for Christmas!

I might need some of the Hoof Blog readers to dub in the anvil...do you think you could do it?

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Farrier Jim Quick's Colorado Shop and Equipment Destroyed by Fire, Explosion

Fire and an explosion destroyed farrier Jim Quick's workshop in Niwot, Colorado on Sunday, June 5, 2011. This is all that remained.  (Jim Quick photo)

 Jim Quick is a lucky man. He has a good sense of timing, too.

He took a break from working on some tools Sunday morning. The well-known farrier clinician and competitor left his farrier shop in Niwot, Colorado to step onto his patio and speak to a neighbor for a few minutes. It would be the last time he'd set foot in that shop.

Jim Quick will still compete at Calgary

 Jim said, "I was running the power hammer and using a gas forge" before he shut everything off to speak to the neighbor. "We walked up to the house to sit on the patio when we heard a boom..." he continued. The blast was said to have sent a gas tank flying 100 yards in the air before it landed in a field.

According to a passerby quoted on Denver's Channel 7 ABC-TV local news, the shop caught fire and then exploded, eventually leaving behind just a few hulking metal skeletons.

Jim was mourning the loss of some of his favorite tools today, many of which were made for him or were gifts from great farriers and friends, living and dead, from all over the world. His Kohlswa anvil and some hammers survived the explosion and his shoeing truck was not damaged.

"The Practice Palace is gone," Jim Quick wrote on Monday after fire and an explosion destroyed his shop. (photo provided by Jim Quick)

"The Practice Palace is gone," he wrote on Monday. But even without most of his beloved special tools, he plans to keep practicing.

Looking at the calendar, it's easy math to see that Jim Quick has exactly 30 days left to practice for the Calgary Stampede World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition in Canada next month. He's promised he won't let his teammates down. I told him Monday night that he may be practicing under the stars, so it had better not rain for the next month.

He's a lucky man to be practicing at all.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

The Three Smiths of Helsinki

27 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Three blacksmiths, originally uploaded by digikuva.

What a well-traveled group of readers checked the Hoof Blog today!

Our "Where in the world?" question asked for the location of the Three Smiths sculpture by Felix Nylund. I thought it would be a stumper, but a flurry of correct answers quickly came in from around the world!

The winner was farrier Jonathan Oehm of Queensland, Australia who, like so many Aussies, has been around the world and back again.

Close behind was farrier/doctor Mike Miller of Alabama and veterinarian Hank Greenwald of Washington. Then a three-way tie almost to the minute between "CJ" and Cynthia Dekker (locations unknown) and Sandy Johnson of Florida, who remembered the statue from her time in Helsinki shoeing at the FEI World Cup Finals in 1998.

The most recent winner is Frederick Marmander, a farrier from Sweden.

I had never seen the sculpture before and I was really excited to find these photos. Something unique about this statue is that it was damaged by bombing during World War II, and the anvil has a hole in it where shrapnel hit it.

As with so many artistic representations of smiths and farriers or anvils and hammers, the statue is said to be a celebration of the laborer, but the coordinated forging between the three men symbolizes the need to cooperate peacefully to get jobs done, according to the art museum in Helsinki.

Smiths are often depicted unclothed in classical art, but it seems a bit cruel of the artist for a city with the climate of Helsinki!

Thanks to everyone who answered or at least thought about where in the world this statue might be! What a worldly readership this blog has!

World Champion Anvil Shooter at Work

by Fran Jurga | 21 October 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog



Our mid-week humor is provided by a demonstration of anvil shooting, which is usually pretty entertaining in itself but the fact that the main character in this YouTube video claims to be the world champion suggest that there is some sort of a competition in anvil shooting.

How on earth would you judge the winning shoot? Are points given for technique or difficulty? I might have to get some ear plugs and a helmet and go check this out. The failures might be entertaining.

I thought anvil shooting was illegal; obviously it is not in the state of Missouri.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Independence Day in the USA

Happy Fourth of July to all the Hoof Blog's USA readers!

Illustration: "American Cincinnatus 1783" appeared on the cover of Literary Digest on March 21, 1931; it later appeared several times on the cover of the Horseshoers Journal, also in the 1930s. Jean Leon Gerome Ferris was an American painter who created a series of 78 paintings called "An American Pageant". He died before this painting was publishing on the magazine covers. Perhaps that is why this painting is not very well known. It's terrific!

Need to Laugh? Watching the New "Farriators" Video Can Help!

(If you read this Hoof Blog by email, you will have to click through to the actual blog to watch these two video clips. Hint: It's worth it.)

Let's face it, farrier competitions are a tough subject in the world of videos. The lighting is usually poor, there's smoke in the air, the forge blowers howl, cameramen inevitably focus on the horses' faces instead of their hooves, and the farriers you want to shoot always have their backs to you. Get in the way and someone will surely trip over your cord and fall into the fire.

Leave it to the Irish to put some humor into the serious "sport" of farrier competitions. Farrier Supplies Ireland is trying to get the "Green Anvil" competition circuit established, and they somehow teamed up with visual anthropologist Lia Philcox from London, who must have quickly figured out that the participants all had a sense of humor and made that the theme of the video.

One reason I like this video is because there is almost no narration, which means our friends in Japan, the Ukraine, Iran, Chile and Slovenia (among many other countries who read this blog) can have a good laugh even if they don't speak English.

Here's Part One (click on the screen to play):


And here's Part Two (click to play):


Thank you, Lia, for unlocking the video so we can show it here. And thanks, Farrier Supplies Ireland, and thanks to all the fearless Farriators! You're all winners because you have made a lot of people around the world laugh! And cheer!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online or received via a daily email through an automated delivery service.

This post was originally published on October 19, 2008 at www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal, please visit our main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.