 |
| This is the time of year when some nonpaying and unwanted boarders start moving into stables. The evidence isn't always as obvious as on this mule's foot. (Kurt Fisk photo) |
Showing posts with label stable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stable. Show all posts
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Rats in the Stable? Check the Horses' Hooves and Your Grandfather's Stable Manual
Friday, February 03, 2012
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 |
Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal
Read this blog's headlines in your Facebook news feed when you "like" the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page
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.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friends at Work: Ernie Gauoette Shod His Way from the Racetrack to the Show Barn
Somehow it didn't surprise me to see Ernie Gauoette's picture in the newspaper today. Our friend Ernie has been shoeing show hunters and jumpers at the well-known Briggs Stable in Hanover, Massachusetts for a while now and he's a good model, as well as a nice guy, so Ernie gets his picture taken a lot.
What did surprise me was when I went to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper's web site and Ernie's voice came out of my computer speakers as if he was right in the room with me; the paper made a video of Ernie explaining a few aspects of shoeing. Thanks to the magic of YouTube.com I was able to embed the video and share it with you.
Enjoy the video and please know that what you are seeing Ernie do is pretty normal shoeing in the Boston area from Thanksgiving to Easter. The shoe was four tiny tungsten drive-in studs for traction on ice or slippery pavement and a big black "pop-out" pad that prevents snow from building up on the bottom of the horse's foot. Pop-out pads are a poor rider's gait analysis system. They make an audible pop-pop-pop-pop with each stride set as you ride and if the rhythm is off, you know you have a problem. A sure sign of spring around here is when horses go back to clopping instead of popping.
The shape identification system for hooves that Ernie alludes to on the video is the "Eagle Eye" system developed by farrier instructor Scott Simpson in the 1980s. He taught farriers to look for Norman, Stubby, Ralph and Tag...and guess what? It's pretty accurate!
By the way, Ernie's excellent accent comes through nicely. Every region of New England has a distinct accent so we can tell each other apart. Thanks to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper and web site. Click here to go to Ernie's page and leave a comment, or leave one here by clicking on the word
"comment" below.
© 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.
What did surprise me was when I went to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper's web site and Ernie's voice came out of my computer speakers as if he was right in the room with me; the paper made a video of Ernie explaining a few aspects of shoeing. Thanks to the magic of YouTube.com I was able to embed the video and share it with you.
Enjoy the video and please know that what you are seeing Ernie do is pretty normal shoeing in the Boston area from Thanksgiving to Easter. The shoe was four tiny tungsten drive-in studs for traction on ice or slippery pavement and a big black "pop-out" pad that prevents snow from building up on the bottom of the horse's foot. Pop-out pads are a poor rider's gait analysis system. They make an audible pop-pop-pop-pop with each stride set as you ride and if the rhythm is off, you know you have a problem. A sure sign of spring around here is when horses go back to clopping instead of popping.
The shape identification system for hooves that Ernie alludes to on the video is the "Eagle Eye" system developed by farrier instructor Scott Simpson in the 1980s. He taught farriers to look for Norman, Stubby, Ralph and Tag...and guess what? It's pretty accurate!
By the way, Ernie's excellent accent comes through nicely. Every region of New England has a distinct accent so we can tell each other apart. Thanks to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper and web site. Click here to go to Ernie's page and leave a comment, or leave one here by clicking on the word
"comment" below.
© 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.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Central Park Loses a Solid Citizen: Carriage Horse Dies
Juliet, one of the carriage horses at the southern end of Central Park in Manhattan, died early Friday morning in her stall on the third floor of a stable in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. To my surprise, and appreciation, the New York Times has published a combination news story and obituary of one of New York's beloved and controversial (depending on your politics) four-footed citizens. Click here to read the story on NYtimes.com. (But please come back to the HoofBlog.)
In the past, we have written articles about carriage horses slipping on the pavement and, in 2004, about a carriage horse in New York that was electrocuted through its steel horseshoes.
Thanks to the Ritz Carlton for coming to the horse's rescue with what was probably a very expensive rug. There's something tragically poetic about this story.
All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2006 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 link to subscribe via secure server to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal: http://www.hoofcare.com/subscribe.html
Save on books! Visit our "fall cleaning" sale of out-of-print, used, and damaged books: http://www.hoofcarebooksale.blogspot.com
Contact Hoofcare Publishing anytime: tel 978 281 3222 fax 978 283 8775 email bloginquiry@hoofcare.com
Fran Jurga, Publisher Hoofcare Publishing 19 Harbor Loop Gloucester, MA 01930 USA
In the past, we have written articles about carriage horses slipping on the pavement and, in 2004, about a carriage horse in New York that was electrocuted through its steel horseshoes.
Thanks to the Ritz Carlton for coming to the horse's rescue with what was probably a very expensive rug. There's something tragically poetic about this story.
All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2006 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 link to subscribe via secure server to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal: http://www.hoofcare.com/subscribe.html
Save on books! Visit our "fall cleaning" sale of out-of-print, used, and damaged books: http://www.hoofcarebooksale.blogspot.com
Contact Hoofcare Publishing anytime: tel 978 281 3222 fax 978 283 8775 email bloginquiry@hoofcare.com
Fran Jurga, Publisher Hoofcare Publishing 19 Harbor Loop Gloucester, MA 01930 USA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)