History Mystery: Were Custer's horses also fighting laminitis at the Battle of Little Bighorn?

Is there any one among us who does not know the meaning of the simple words, "Little Bighorn"? Today is the anniversary of the day after the massacre known generally as "Custer's Last Stand". The battle was on June 25, and the history books tell us that it was June 26 when the annihilated troops of the US 7th Cavalry were found.

Comanche, the lone survivor of the battle of Little Big Horn, with the German immigrant farrier Gustave Korn, who saved his life and helped the horse recover from seven wounds suffered in the battle. Photo courtesy of Newwest.com and the Library of Congress, available from the Denver Public Library's Western Image Collection.

Volumes have been written about the horses that carried General George Custer's troops but recently an interesting footnote has been unearthed in the book Laminitis and Founder: Prevention and Treatment by Drs Butler and Gravlee. I was very surprised when Custer's name popped up on a page.

The authors put forth an interesting footnote from agricultural (not military) history that has not been widely published before. They quote a report published in the journal Agricultural History in 1944, which states that Custer's horses had been wintered in fields known for heavy growth of plants and soil rich in selenium.

An animal science researcher found the same reference. In 2000, Cornell equine nutritionist Harold Hintz mentioned the lameness problems of Custer's late-arriving pack train horses; Professor Hintz brought equine selenium toxicity back into the Custer conversation.

Sitting Bull took care not to winter his horses in those types of fields.

But it wasn't until the 1930s--more than 50 years after the massacre--that it was scientifically proven that selenium is toxic to horses in large doses, and that it causes a form of laminitis-like changes of such severity that horses' feet will actually start to slough. In Custer's day, it was known as "alkali disease", and the US Army had kept records of horses sloughing their hooves when grazing in the upper plains states as far back as 1860. (USDA, 1991 report on selenium toxicity)

(To learn more about selenium toxicity, scroll down and read our post from June 11, 2007; horses are still suffering from selenium-based laminitis today, as the University of Missouri vet school shares.)

By the way, the Native American name for the Little Bighorn is "The Greasy Grass" River.

Most people will confidently tell you that no one on the US Cavalry side survived the battle, but that is not so. One horse, named Comanche, was found alive on the battlefield. He alone was standing, if barely, out of 225 horses that marched into the valley. 

Comanche was a wild horse from Texas who was rounded up and sold to the US Government. He was ridden by a horse-loving Irish immigrant, Captain Myles Keogh. Writer Deanne Stillman worked on the definitive biography of Comanche as the icon of the American wild horse. Her new booHorse Latitudes: Last Stand for the Wild Horse in the American West, published by Houghton Mifflin in  2008.

Another interesting book is Custer's Horses by Gary Paul Johnston.

And what became of Gustave Korn, the German farrier who was Comanche's personal groom? Korn cared for Comanche at Fort Riley in Kansas, among other locations. The horse was revered by the entire US Army.

However, in 1890, Korn was assigned to field duty and was sadly killed at Wounded Knee. According to records, Comanche became depressed without Korn at his side, although another farrier, Samuel Winchester, was assigned to be his personal servant.

On November 7, 1891, Comanche died of colic in Winchester's arms. The horse was 29 years old.

As an interesting aside: Comanche's hide was stuffed and he has been living at the University of Kansas at Lawrence for over 100 years, unless he has been moved recently. It's interesting to read that his hide was excessively long-haired.

Comanche was never ridden after Little Big Horn, and spent his days roaming freely about the fort, where he bullied people for food and ate out of the trash. He also developed a liking for beer and was known to be intoxicated more than once.

To learn more:
Colorado State University hoof tissue test for selenium toxicity

Hintz, H.F. and Thompson, L.J., 2000. Custer, selenium and swainsonine. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 42(4), pp.242-243.  Link to abstract only.

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2007 unless otherwise noted.

Doug Butler Will Open a Horseshoeing School in Nebraska; Butler Professional Farrier School Will Be in Crawford

Doug Butler, PhD, FWCF will open a horseshoeing school in Crawford, Nebraska this fall. Teaching alongside Dr. Butler will be two of his sons, Jacob and Peter. "Butler Professional Farrier School" will also offer a certification program for its students to progress from level to level, and will offer classes from beginning to advanced as well as personalized graduate-level training.

Learn more at http://www.butlerprofessionalfarrierschool.com

Farrier Schools Meet in Oklahoma City; Educators’ Alliance Formed

Farrier Schools Meet in Oklahoma City; Educators’ Alliance Formed

A two-day meeting has just closed in Oklahoma City, OK; Can you say “American Farriers Education Council”?

Let’s just call it AFEC.

Many pundits on the sidelines of farrier politics thought that when Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School owner Reggie Kester called a meeting of school owners and instructors, the result would be a massive attack on the American Farrier’s Association, whose task force on education and registration in early 2005 was highly critical of the farrier education system in the U.S.

Instead, the reports from Oklahoma yesterday and today were optimistic and encouraging. “This is the best thing that could have happened,” beamed Doug Butler PhD FWCF, author of Principles of Horseshoeing III, the textbook used at most farrier schools around the world. “It brought these people together for the first time in years and they are working together for the benefit of education. I am very excited.”

According to Dr. Butler, 16 farrier schools were represented; a total of about 25 people were in attendance.

AFEC certainly did vent its frustration over recent negative publicity, but most instructors are long-time members and supporters of the American Farrier’s Association and are hoping for improvement in relations following the AFA’s mid-year Board of Directors meeting in Omaha in early September, which will include an open forum on farrier education and licensing. AFEC’s frustration is outlined in a list of 16 resolutions related to AFA politics and makes clear the AFEC stand that blanket criticism of farrier education will not go unanswered.

According to Chris Gregory FWCF of Heartland Horseshoeing School in Missouri, there are 47 farrier schools in the US. Hoofcare & Lameness has identified 24 private schools and 11 college/university-affiliated schools that offer courses aimed at complete beginners. Our criteria was that a school be “brick and mortar” and teach a residential horseshoeing course. There are a few schools that we just don't know much about. Other schools teach only advanced courses or short seminars as enrichment for working farriers; still others teach night courses for horse owners who wish to learn to care for their own horses. We also found two schools that teach horseshoeing by distance learning (aka “correspondence course”). In the fall of 2005, two new farrier schools will open in the USA that will teach new ideas in farrier science, such as barefoot hoofcare, hoof boots, and plastic horseshoes.

Officers of the new association are Reggie Kester (Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School) President; Bob Smith (Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School) Vice President and Spokesperson; and Susie Goode (Tucson School of Horseshoeing) Secretary-Treasurer.

Among the accomplishments of the group, in addition to the formation of the association and the hashing out of a list of resolutions related to AFA politics, were the resolution that member schools would adopt the use of a standardized curriculum based on the new edition of Butler’s textbook. He will work with AFEC to create testing modules to monitor students’ progress through the lessons in the book.

Another key development is the addition of continuing education events to attract graduates back to their alma mater farrier schools for upgrading of skills or certification levels on an annual basis.

For more information, please contact Bob Smith: 916 366 6064. I was not there so I can’t answer your questions.

I am posting an image file of a press release and resolutions from AFEC and hope it is readable. if you click on the image, you will go to a photo page and in turn can scroll through both pages of the news release and view the resolutions.


--Fran Jurga

Doug Butler Speaks Out on Farrier Regulation and Education "Crisis"

18 May 2005

Doug Butler, author of the leading textbook on farrier science in the world, has spoken out on the subject of a perceived "crisis" in the way that farriers are educated in the United States.

Working with Hoofcare & Lameness editor Fran Jurga, Dr Butler has written a short statement on farrier regulation, which was the hot button item on the agenda of the American Farrier's Association at their recent convention in Tennessee in February.

Dr Butler has also written a longer statement on overall farrier education, which he has been intimately involved in for decades. His book is used in the classroom or recommended as an external reference at most US farrier schools.

In addition, Dr Butler has traveled to and been tested under both free enterprise and government-regulated farrier systems.

Dr. Butler's statement on farrier regulation:

"American farriers have been the envy of the world because of their freedom to practice the craft without political interference and their ability to obtain a high standard of living.

"Granted, our standard of practice should be higher. This will be changed only when we attract and convert more dedicated craftsmen with the desire and integrity to adhere to high standards – not by legislating curriculums.

"The call for regulation is the obsession of a few manipulators who favor bureaucratic control as a solution for all of life’s injustices. Those of us who have practiced and taught the trade for several decades have seen that politically-administered control in the hands of a few is not wise."

--Doug Butler (AFA) CJF PhD FWCF

P3: Doug Butler's New "Principles of Horseshoeing" textbook edition

This weekend, Hoofcare had a booth at the Southern New England Farriers Association's fall clinic in Connecticut, where I ran into Dr Doug Butler. He has completed a revision and re-design of his textbook, the third incarnation of PRINCIPLES OF HORSESHOEING, nickname "P3". His son, Jacob, is listed as co-author, which is nice.

The book is handsome and heavy and full of photos. It is a major revision of "P2", which has become the standard textbook used in horseshoeing schools around the world and as a reference by farriers.

We hope to work with the Butlers and market this book through Hoofcare & Lameness. Check with Hoofcare in October or November to see if this happened.