Silent Anvil: Buster Conklin, Retired Cornell Vet School Farrier, Has Died

Say good-bye to Marshall "Buster" Conklin of Horseheads, New York, one of the great faces and spirits of late-20th century horseshoeing in America.

Buster was the longtime farrier instructor and resident farrier at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine but he will be remembered much more for his character and his passion for his profession than for any job he held. After all, no job could quite hold a man like Buster Conklin.

I'm sure more information will come in and I'll think of something to say but not quite yet. Just "good-bye, Buster" for now.

And definitely, "What a guy".

Please check back for more information. Photo © Fran Jurga, Hoofcare Publishing.

Lecture Preview: Dr Britt Conklin at AAEP's Focus on the Foot

by Fran Jurga | 13 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog


It was 106 degrees in Texas the other day as Dr Britt Conklin drove down the highway. He'd left home at 2:30 that morning to try to get some horses shod before the heat became too overwhelming.

There's nothing quite like the inside of a truck with good air conditioning on a hot Texas day.

Dr. Conklin and I were talking his upcoming lecture on Monday, July 20 at the AAEP Focus on the Foot meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Conklin will leave the heat of Texas far behind and turn his attention to sharing his considerable expertise with the assembled vets and farriers.

His topic is "Therapeutic Shoeing: A Veterinarian's Perspective", and he hopes to help vets get beyond the formulaic approach to a lameness problem. He agrees that a specific shoe design does not fix a given problem in all horses. "Vets get bogged down by the appliance. I'd like them to see the approach, first," he said. "All therapeutic shoeing can really do is apply or relieve leverage, tension, and pressure in three planes. And it can provide protection. But it can certainly make you think...and vets need to learn to think through what is wrong and what can be done for that particular horse."

Dr. Conklin is a certified farrier and co-owner of Reata Equine Hospital in Weaterford, Texas, where he opened a 3000 square foot podiatry clinic in 2008. He worked as a farrier to put himself through undergraduate school at Texas Tech University and attended veterinary school at Texas A & M University. While at A&M, he apprenticed under Danny Taylor CJF, PhD, who in turn worked with Dr. David Hood on "The Hoof Project"; Taylor earned his PhD for his research in the biomechanics of the equine foot’s digital cushion.

Dr. Conklin has deep case files to reference but this one has always stuck in my mind.

© 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.

Mike Wildenstein and Cornell Vet School Unveil Enlarged Farrier Shop; Dedication to Former Instructors Is Built In!

Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York has a newly enlarged farrier shop and teaching area at the large animal hospital. Thanks to farrier student Richard Mercer for his reporting of the completion of the project.

The enlarged shop will enable Adjunct Professor Michael Wildenstein FWCF (Hons) to increase the enrollment of students in the basic program and accommodate more working farriers and veterinarians who wish to study foot science and problems under his direction at Cornell.


Left to right above are current Cornell farrier students Ryan Poole, Chad Blasch, Jon Grigat, and Richard Mercer. Standing behind is instructor Mike Wildenstein. Notice the five draft horse shoes that Mike forged and laid when the concrete was poured, cementing the legacy of Cornell’s past resident farriers. Each shoe contains the name and years of service. Left to right Henry Asmus 1913-1939 (Asmus was also the school’s founder), Eugene Layton 1931-1965, Harold Mowers 1965-1976, Buster Conklin 1976-1991, Michael Wildenstein 1991-?. Mike’s previous class would not allow him to stamp an end date.


This long view shows the length of the shop with the new work stations for forging. Notice the shoe case on the wall above the Belgian; it contains specimen shoes made by German immigrant farrier Henry Asmus almost 100 years ago. Asmus is widely regarded as the most influential farrier in American history. He was a tireless educator whose heart lay both in the veterinary school and in the farms. He believed in educating farriers working in the field, and in helping horse owners learn more about proper hoof care. He was a visionary man with an extraordinary combination of intellect to understand lameness in horses and artistic skill in blacksmithing. He was the only professor of horseshoeing in the United States, until Mike Wildenstein's appointment in 2007, and was an adviser to the US Army and the US Department of Agriculture. Farriers who studied under him at Cornell received advanced rank when they enlisted in the military to serve in World War I. Asmus died in 1939.


The shoeing area is also enlarged; note another case of Henry Asmus’s shoes hangs in this area. The expanded shop has doubled in size, with six forging stations, and an expanded safer area for the horses. The school now takes four students for each semester (up from three, for the first time in the course's history) and has sufficient space for those wanting to take advanced classes or for visiting farriers.

To learn more about Cornell’s farrier school and farrier services, visit http://www.vet.cornell.edu/education/farrier/

Mark your calendar: Cornell will host the 25th Annual Farrier Conference on November 8-9, 2008. Confirmed speakers include British farrier instructor Mark Caldwell FWCF of Myerscough College and Neil Madden FWCF, formerly of the British Army farrier school. For information about attending or exhibiting at this excellent event, email Amanda Mott in the Office of Continuing Education or call (USA) 607.253.3200.

Special thanks to Mr. Dick Russell for handling "Belle" and to Debbie Crane for taking these pictures and for the use of "Belle" and "Fantasy".

Blogger’s note: I can’t believe how clean it is! And the designer dousing buckets must have a story behind them! For non-farriers: the metal contraptions on the counters are not robots from Star Wars, they are gas forges for making or heating steel horseshoes so they can be worked (shaped) while hot, making the steel more malleable. Obviously Cornell believes in the future of metal horseshoes!

If you double click on the photos, you should be able to see them at full size and look at more details. Thanks to Richard for sending high-res photos!

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2008 unless otherwise noted. To learn more about new research, products, and treatments for the horse's hooves and legs as reported to veterinarians and farriers in the award-winning "Hoofcare & Lameness Journal", go to http://www.hoofcare.com Direct “subscribe now” link to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal: http://www.hoofcare.com/subscribe.html Contact Hoofcare Publishing anytime: tel 978 281 3222 fax 978 283 8775 email bloginquiry@hoofcare.com

New Podiatry Center Set to Open in Texas

Dr. Conklin with the famous Quarter horse mare Royal Blue Boon, who was one of his patients when she suffered from laminitis. The mare is the leading dam of cutting horses, and the dam of the great Peptoboonsmal. "She is living out her days at her owners' ranch, is virtually pain free from the laminitis and hasn't had any complications in over a year. She has arthritis but gets along really good for being 27 years old," says Conklin's technician, Kelsey Bohannon.

In just a week, the doors will open on a new podiatry center in the heart of cutting horse country in Weathersford, Texas, west of Fort Worth.

The 3,000 square foot, climate-controlled Podiatry Center at Reata will be the realization of a lifelong dream for Dr. Britt Conklin, a certified farrier and equine-specialist veterinarian, when it opens on April 1, 2008.

The new facility includes a complete farrier shop, several treatment areas, four stalls and a conference room. Clients will have the benefit of state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment such as Eklin digital radiography, venograms, GE Logiq 5 Ultrasound, MRI and bone scan modality access. Local farriers will have access to the facilities and diagnostic equipment to allow them to better serve the needs of their clients.

Cutting-edge treatments and services will include shock wave therapy, IRAP, stem cell therapy, sling and high scale bedding parameters, and customized diet, nutrition and rehabilitation plans for patients.

“We are excited about the opportunities The Podiatry Center at Reata will offer Texas horsemen,” said Conklin. “A top-notch equine podiatry center has been a goal of mine for many years. Having such a center available and easily accessible will allow us to better serve the horses by offering the best possible care and treatment of all hoof problems.”

Dr. Conklin worked as a farrier to put himself through undergraduate school at Texas Tech University and attended veterinary school at Texas A & M University. While at A&M, he apprenticed under Danny Taylor CJF, PhD, who in turn worked in conjunction with Dr. David Hood on "The Hoof Project"; Taylor earned his PhD for his research in the biomechanics of the equine foot’s digital cushion.

Dr. Conklin is co-owner of Reata Equine Hospital, and he has dedicated the majority of his practice to equine podiatry. He is very passionate in his research and is continually working to find new and more improved ways to prevent and treat laminitis.

“We do 90 percent of our work on cutting/reining horses, but have several dressage/eventing barns as well,” Dr. Conklin writes.

Reata Equine Hospital is a seven-doctor referral practice, located five miles south of I-20 in Weatherford, Texas. It houses complete reproductive, surgical, sports medicine facilities in addition to the new podiatry center. Veterinarians on staff include a board certified theriogenologist, surgeon, and certified farrier.

For additional information on The Podiatry Center at Reata, please contact Kelsey Bohannon by phone at 817-599-9635 or via e-mail at brittconklindvm@reataequinehospital.com.

Dr. Conklin bandages a patient's legs.