Invitation: Join Molly the Pony at The Ohio State Vet School on August 6th

Hurricane Katrina survivor Molly the Pony with her owner/rescuer Kaye Harris and surgeon/hero Dr. Rustin Moore in 2006 after Molly's amputation surgery in Louisiana. Molly will travel to Ohio in August for a reunion with Dr. Moore...and you're invited!

You and your family and friends are invited to a presentation and a meet-and-greet with "Molly the Pony" (one of the world’s only prosthesis-wearing ponies, and a well-known survivor of hurricane Katrina) at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Thursday, August 6th from 4:30-8 p.m. at the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building (VMAB), 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio

At the event you will meet Dr. Rustin Moore. He is the Bud and Marilyn Jenne Professor and Chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Moore was the surgeon who performed the amputation on Molly's right front leg while he was director of the Equine Health Studies Program at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Dr. Moore will give a brief presentation, “It’s All About Molly,” at 5 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. in the Wexner Auditorium located in the VMAB; light refreshments will be available near the auditorium in the Hummel Grand Lounge.

Molly will be available on the lawn outside of the building for visitors to have the opportunity to meet her and her owner, Kaye Harris, before and after Dr. Moore’s presentation.

ABOUT MOLLY - Molly the Pony was rescued by Kaye and Glenn Harris after Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, several months later she was injured by a dog that was also a Katrina rescue. Although her other numerous wounds healed, her lower right front leg was too severely damaged. Her rescuer and now owner, Kaye Harris, advocated for Molly, inquiring about amputation and a prosthesis.

This procedure is rare, with many obstacles, and now Molly visits anyone who could benefit from her quiet wisdom and inspiration. She has inspired people of all ages and abilities. A children’s picture book was written about her and she has traveled widely to share her story. “Molly the Pony” books will be available for purchase in the Hummel Grand Lounge with proceeds benefiting Molly’s Foundation. (Cash or checks only please.)

Please forward this to anyone you think would enjoy this unique opportunity!

Please RSVP to Katie Kostyo (kostyo.1@osu.edu) or 614-688-8433, by August 3rd and indicate the number of people who will attend.

Directions to the College of Veterinary Medicine:

From SR315, exit at Lane Avenue and head east. Turn right (south) on Fyffe Road. At the next light, turn left on Woody Hayes Drive and then take a right on Coffey Road; follow Coffey to the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building. Free parking is available during the event in the lot just north of the building (east of the Veterinary Hospital). Guests DO NOT need a pass during the event hours.

Please visit the College of Veterinary Medicine’s web site for more information on the college at: www.vet.osu.edu/

More information:

Click here for Molly's MySpace Page

Click here to see Molly's segment on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Click here to read about Molly in the New York Times.

Click here to read the original Hoof Blog article about Molly and her book.

© 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.

Guild of Professional Farriers Special Election Brings in All-New Officers

The Hoof Blog has received an announcement from the Guild of Professional Farriers that an unusual special election was held on July 13 and an entire new slate of officers is now in place at the head of that organization.

The new officers are Ronald E. Kramedjian, President; Jeff Holder, Vice President; Russ Vanderlei, Secretary; and Rick Burten, Treasurer.

Tom Bloomer, who was serving as president until July 13, becomes Past President.

The Guild was formed in 1996 in an effort to provide an organization for full-time professional farriers. The organization runs a certification testing program and has been pro-active in the media as a voice on farrier-related issues. The Guild has a code of ethics for farriers to follow when working with veterinarians.

In 2002, the Guild made national news by warning horse owners to question the Strasser method of barefoot trimming, suggesting that it involved radical trimming methods and might cause lameness for their horses.

In 1997, Henry Heymering was elected the first president of the Guild. North Carolina's David Millwater was the first secretary and served from 1996 to 2000.

When contacted today about the mid-year changes in Guild leadership, Heymering had no comment.

In the announcement, the new officers thanked the officers leaving service for their commitment and past service. "Their dedication and commitment to the Guild has helped us to get to where we are," the new officers said.

Information about the Guild is available at www.guildfarriers.org.

Favorite Photo: A Mule and Her Farrier Keep Close Company

by Fran Jurga | 18 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Susie the Mule nuzzles the jeans pocket of her farrier, Kevin Boyer, in southern California. Photo by Susie's owner, Roberta Frederick, who is a great photographer with a charming set of models in her mules and her farrier, who is a longtime subscriber to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal. (I realize his friends might not recognize him from this angle.)

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. 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).

Stem Cell Tendon Repair for a Dressage Horse: Not Your Typical Public Radio Reporter's Assignment

by Fran Jurga | 14 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Today, we'll go along with KQED, the National Public Radio station in San Francisco, as they cross the bridge and leave the city behind. Their destination is the vet school hospital at the University of California at Davis. Amy Standen, the intrepid reporter, doesn't usually set up her sound equipment in a horse barn, but she gamely accepts a warmblood with the assumed name of Disney (to protect his real identity) as her subject for the day.

The goal is to portray advances in equine stem cell treatments for tendon injuries, using bone marrow or fat tissue stem cells, as promising experiments for future human treatments.

Have a listen! Thanks to KQED for setting up this shared audio file. Click here to go to the home page of Quest, KQED's science program, which produced the equine stem cell segment, where you will find photos and the reporter's notes.



© 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.

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.

Favorite Sunday Video: Elephant Gait Analysis

by Fran Jurga | 12 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog



It has been reported here, and published in scientific journals, that elephants have limited gaits. Research tells us that they can't run, or even trot, and they can only accelerate their walk, according to research conducted at the Motion and Structure Laboratory at the Royal College of Veterinary Medicine in England.

"Poor elephants," I always thought. Stuck in a four-beat walk their entire lives.

But I think those researchers should take a look at this video. It never fails to make me smile...and to want to go for a swim.

Maybe elephants have some secrets that they keep to themselves. If this is a four-beat gait, it's done with such obvious enjoyment.

Question: when horses swim, do they move their limbs independently (four beats) or in diagonal or lateral pairs (like a trot or pace)? Just curious...

Elephant lovers: Click here for another favorite video, the elephant on a trampoline. Elephants have all the fun!

English Farrier Stephen Beane Wins Calgary's World Championship Title

by Fran Jurga | 9 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Farrier Steven Beane of North Yorkshire, England, won the World Championship at Calgary this week.

English farrier Steven Beane outdueled his countryman Darren Bazin in 2009’s final of the Calgary Stampede’s 30th anniversary World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition. Steven earned his first career global title in the process after two previous close calls under the Stampede Big Top. Beane, who was the Calgary runner-up, or reserve champion, in 2005 and ’06, took home first prize of $10,000, a limited-edition bronze trophy, and a handcrafted gold-and-silver Stampede championship buckle. Beane had trailed Bazin, a two-time WCBC winner, by seven points entering Sunday’s five-man final, but stoked up a fantastic finish, finishing with 153 points to Bazin’s 141. England’s Derek Gardner was third with 118 points; Welshman Grant Moon was fourth with 109 points; and Canada’s Iain Ritchie finished fifth at 88. Point totals for all competitors reflected three days’ work in front of the forge. Roughly 25 first-time competitors made the trip to Calgary, after winning national competitions in their home countries. A large number of past champions and runners-up made the trip because it was the 30th anniversary, making this one of the most impressive fields ever contested at the Calgary Stampede. Other class winners were Gene Leiser of Texas USA in a forging class, and in the artistic division, Mike Chisham of California USA, Stephane Demartinprey of France (I think), and John Steel of Pennsylvania. Ben Casserly of England won the rookie award. (Thanks to the Calgary Stampede for this photo and the results information.) Congratulations, Steven! © 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.

"Relax Dressage Medication Rules!" Anky Speaks Out in Support of Isabell, Defends Meds for Therapeutic Use

by Fran Jurga | 6 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

They are the Affirmed and Alydar of the sport horse world. Venus and Serena on horseback. One wins one day for technical perfection. The other wins the next day for taking risks on a horse that seems barely under control...and yet delivers in artistic superlatives. A single hoofprint out of line often is all that separates the two.

When Germany's top dressage star Isabell Werth was suspended last week for a positive medication test on her lower level horse, her arch-rival Anky Van Grunsven of Holland did not shout with glee that her rival would not be at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen this weekend to oppose her.

In a poignant moment of sport solidarity, Anky stepped up to microphone and voiced her criticism for the zero tolerance medication rules that make it impossible to sedate a nervous horse for a routine stable procedure like shoeing or clipping. In Isabell's case, it was a medication for the condition known as "shivers". (Click here to read post about Isabell and shivers medication.)

Here's Anky's statement, taken from a video published in Dutch last week:

"I am not a supporter of doping at all but I want to do what is best for the horse.

"An example: when I want to clip my horse before a show, I would like to give him a light sedation to relax because my horse is a bit afraid of the clipping machine. The stuff we use to relax the horse is doping positive. Imagine, I asked the vet how many days before the show I can clip my horse and he says three days. But what if it is found in my horse’s blood at the show five days after I used it? That means my horse is doping positive! But I think it’s for the horse benefit to clip him.

"I think the rules have to be changed. The research regarding doping is very expensive but it will be a good idea to work with a logbook and write down what had been given and why.

"If the medication is not to improve the performance, I think there is no reason to maintain the zero tolerance for these cases."

Click here to watch the video. It's in Dutch but has some nice footage.

Note: in another poignant twist of fate, Anky did not win at Aachen this weekend. That honor went to the American, Steffen Peters, on Ravel. One can only wonder what might have happened if Isabell had been allowed to compete.

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© 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.

Drama at Aachen as German Horse Pulls Up Lame During Dressage

by Fran Jurga | 4 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

The limb in question: photo Kenneth Braddick of dressage-news.com.

I may not be in Aachen, Germany this weekend for the World Equestrian Festival, but the Internet certainly had me ringside at the dressage competition today when Germany's best hope for a high score in the Grand Prix Special was pulled up after entering the arena.

Niels Knippertz of the Aachen press team wrote: "Ulla (Salzgeber) was riding around the arena when all of a sudden Herzrufs Erbe went lame by (arena marker) "B". Ulla dismounted and led her horse out, but he was still very lame."

An RSS feed from US journalist Kenneth Braddick of dressage-news.com showed the leg in question and provided more details. Click here to read Kenneth Braddick's report and see more photos.

Ulla schooling Herzi at home. (Jacques Toffi image courtesy Ulla Salzgeber's web site)

Even more amazing was that Ulla Salzgeber posted a report on her web site about the incident within hours. Roughly translated, she recalled being stopped in the arena, waiting for the veterinarian, and wrote that the preliminary diagnosis was fairly devastating: a severe "Sehnenzerrung", or bowed tendon. Ulla was so shocked by that news that she immediately withdrew her mare Wakana out of the Grand Prix Freestyle and retreated home.

"Meanwhile, Herzi's hoof is packed in plaster to give it relief. And on Sunday he goes to the clinic to Dr. Brake, for further treatment," Ulla wrote.

Ulla predicts that a year will be required to heal the tendon and believes her horse deserves the chance to come back.

Ulla and Herzi placed 15th in the Grand Prix on Friday, which was won by American rider Steffen Peters riding Ravel in his Epona plastic glue shoes.

Many thanks to Niels, Kenneth and Ulla for their excellent communication across the Atlantic and across the language barrier.

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© 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!

Isabell Werth: Illegal Substance Found Was Shivers Medication

by Fran Jurga | 1 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

The sport horse world was shocked last week to learn that Olympic Gold Medalist Isabel Werth of Germany has been provisionally suspended from competition for a doping violation and now faces up to two years' suspension.

Werth issued a press statement (below) which states that she administered the banned anti-psychotic substance not as a sedative but as a treatment for the horse's shivers condition. She had believed that all traces of the medication would have left the horse's system before the competition but that was not the case.

Shivers is a difficult to treat condition seen usually in warmblood sport horses and draft horses. It is often confused with stringhalt, which is a completely different condition, and has been studied at the University of Minnesota by Dr. Stephanie Valberg.

Farriers are extremely familiar with shivers, as the horse has difficulty balancing itself on three legs. Shoeing or trimming can be dangerous for the farrier and the horse.

Click here to read an article previously published on the Hoof Blog about shivers, with an illustration. An excellent article by Dr Beth Valentine in Hoofcare & Lameness #75 is also a good resource.

Here is Isabell Werth's statement:

Yesterday I was informed by the FN (German Equestrian Federation) that during a medication test on May 30, 2009 at the CDI in Wiesbaden, traces of the substance FLUPHENAZINE were found in a sample taken from my small tour horse Whisper. Therefore I feel the need to inform the public personally – in addition to today's FN press release – about the background of this matter.

Whisper suffers from the so-called SHIVERING SYNDROME. This affects the central nervous system and causes imbalances if the horse has to stand on three legs for a longer while – for example when being groomed, bandaged or shod. Feeling insecure, the horse begins to shiver and lunges uncontrollably for fear of losing its balance and keeling over. This illness is not painful and does not influence a horse's ability to compete, but it entails an increased risk for the persons working with the horse (farrier, groom, rider).

Therefore I asked my veterinarian Dr. Hans Stihl (SUI), if and how this Shivering Syndrome can be treated. Dr. Stihl explained to me that so far there is no cure for this ailment, but that several horses in his care had showed positive reactions to a drug called MODECATE. This drug contains FLUPHENAZINE as an active substance. So we treated Whisper once, on May 16, 2009, with this drug, in order to find out if he responds to it. This was the case, the shivering was reduced, and there was less uncontrolled movement when we raised one of his legs.

When asked for the settling time, Dr. Stihl told me that according to his experience, six days are enough, but one could never be completely sure. So, to be on the safe side, we decided to let Whisper compete again on May 30, 2009 in Wiesbaden. I took this decision to the best of my knowledge. In spite of this, the FEI doping lab has now found traces of said substance. One reason may be that the lab has used new analyzing methods.

The FEI has suspended me immediately, as dictated by the rules of procedure. The fact that only ineffective traces of the drug were found does not matter according to those rules. I deeply regret this incident, but I was convinced that I had acted correctly. I wish the rules were revised as quickly as possible in a way that allows reasonable treatment of sport horses without risking long suspensions because the settling times change constantly with each new method of analysis and become literally “incalculable”.

I am aware that I have given reason to doubt the honesty and cleanness of my person and of our sport. I herewith apologize to everyone who is close to me and to equestrian sports. Of course I will do everything to help clarifying any questions that still remain.

(Isabell Werth)

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© 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.

Grayson Jockey Club Summit's DVD "The Hoof: Inside and Out" Ready for Free Downloading

(Continuing Education Announcement) Welfare and Safety Summit Committee Releases Free Educational DVD on Hoof Care

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee is now offering a free educational DVD. The Hoof: Inside and Out examines the physiology of the equine hoof and demonstrates proper care and shoeing techniques. “The hoof is the foundation of equine performance so it is imperative that those entrusted with the well-being of racehorses possess the knowledge necessary to properly care for and maintain this core component of equine locomotion,” said WinStar Farm co-owner Bill Casner, chairman of the Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee. “This DVD provides some basic information that will be helpful to owners, trainers, grooms, and anyone else involved with the racehorse, to have a better understanding of the hoof and its care.” The 65-minute DVD, which was produced by the Keeneland Association’s broadcast services department under the direction of G.D. Hieronymus, includes seven segments: Introduction and Overview Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Physiology — The Equine Limb Basic Hoof Care and Trimming The Basics of Horse Shoeing Types of Shoes Farrier’s Role and Communication (with Trainers and Owners) The video is available for download (at no charge) from the summit’s website at http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp. (Note: this is a large file download.) A DVD copy of The Hoof: Inside and Out can be obtained free of charge (limit one per customer) by contacting Cathy McNeeley, The Jockey Club’s administrative assistant for industry initiatives, at (859) 224-2728 or cmcneeley@jockeyclub.com. The Hoof: Inside and Out features the insights of a number of hoof experts and industry professionals, including Mitch Taylor, director of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School; prominent Kentucky-based farriers Steve Norman and Colby Tipton; Dr. Scott Morrison of the Podiatry Center at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission; Kentucky Derby-winning trainer John T. Ward; Bill Casner; and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation President Ed Bowen. The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, featured a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing, and veterinary community for two-day workshops in October 2006 and March 2008. Both summits were hosted by Keeneland Association. Additional information about the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is available on the summit’s website at http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp.

Note: Fran Jurga and Hoofcare & Lameness Journal were involved in making this DVD. Readers of the journal and blog will recognize authors, photos and video clips from Hoofcare projects. In addition to the "stars" listed above, the video includes still photos and clips by Sarah K. Andrew, Rob van Nassau and his Hoof Problems book, Michael Wildenstein and other sources. The 65-minute video is a large-file download.

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Hoof Blog contents © 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.

Rachel's Hoof Blog Confidential: Hind Hooves of the Hottest Filly in the USA

by Fran Jurga | 29 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

The jock in the shower: Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra enjoyed a bath after her 19-length romp in Saturday's Mother Goose Stakes at New York's Belmont Park. She set a new stakes record, in spite of being eased to a rolling canter by rider Calvin Borel at the finish.

Photographer Sarah K. Andrew (Rock and Racehorses) followed the filly back to the barn and waited patiently for Rachel to do a little dance so you could clearly see at least one of the four fleet feet on this filly.

As far as I know, Rachel is still being shod by David Hinton from Oklahoma.

Rachel has now moved to the Asmussen training camp at Saratoga Springs, where the rest of the racing world will join her in a few weeks.

Hoofcare & Lameness and The Hoof Blog will be there, too. Join me on Tueday nights at The Parting for speakers and social time, and plan to be at our special Hoofcare & Lameness night at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Tuesday, August 4, where we will celebrate the addition of lots more horseshoes and hoof paraphernalia to the RideOn! exhibit on horse health.

Horseshoes from the Rood and Riddle Podiatry Clinic are prominently featured in the new exhibit, along with hoof boots from Castle Plastics and Hoofeez from New Zealand, another handmade shoe by Cornell vet school's Michael Wildenstein, the new hoof pads from Vibram, a Plastinate hoof model from HC Biovision (formerly featured just in photos) and much more. Watch for speaker and sponsor announcements!

Did I just say that Rachel Alexandra was the hottest filly in the USA? Make that the hottest racehorse, period, in the USA, although I would still give equal time to her older rival, Zenyatta. The buzz surrounding these two horses is enlivening a racing scene that had been written off by the doom-and-gloom set a few months ago.

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© 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.

Ireland's Fine Horses Once Passed Through This Arch

County Carlow in Ireland is home to this skeleton of a once proud forge. Double-click on the image for a larger view. Photo kindly loaned by Paddy Martin.

Throughout the lifetime of this blog, I have periodically shared evidence of a few special remaining buildings that are scattered around the globe. These buildings are usually in the British Isles. They are special in that they employ the simplest and most elegant form in nature, the arch, to emulate a horseshoe as the supporting doorway of a smithy or shoeing forge.

True to form, as soon as you publish one, another one pops up. Or, in today's case, two pop up.

We have Paddy Martin from Ireland to thank for these, and I do thank him heartily.

The top photo is my favorite. The arch of the old forge may soon be all that is left. It was definitely the strongest form. Notice there is also an arch in the fence gate. And even the ivy on the cottage is attempting to imitate the form of an arch. This must be a magical place.

I can't help but notice that the scale of this arch is more powerful than many of the horseshoe doorways seen in other smithies from days gone by. You could drive a truck through there, or a loaded wagon. Surely either this farrier was a proud man, or a prosperous one, or both, and that must have meant that the horses in the area enjoyed visiting a fine smithy, back in the day.

But why hasn't it been preserved? There's certainly something beautiful in the neglectful state, but how long before it crumbles?

Paddy writes, "I'm now 60 years old and the first time that I saw this old forge was when I was walking or 'driving' cattle from a farm near Castledermot to another farm near Rathvilly in County Carlow...a distance of about seven miles. I was helping my father and I must have been about 10 at the time. I seem to remember the name Cummins or Cummings being associated with this old forge. At about 18 I moved away from the area and I have only become reacquainted since my daughter moved into a house two minutes away a couple of years ago.

"The forge is located at Corballis Cross Roads which is on the 'back road' from Castledermot to Baltinglass through Crop Hill in South Kildare. The building itself seems not to be past restoration...must have a closer look when I'm there again."

Note to Paddy: Find out if it is for sale....

And this slightly different rendition on the arched doorway is in County Kildare. Photo kindly loaned by Paddy Martin.

Paddy's second forge photo is one that I believe I have seen pictured before; he says it is on the road from Kildare Town to Rathangan in County Kildare. It is very similar to others found in Ireland but it doesn't have the single window above the keystone--or maybe it did and it has been bricked over.

I need to make some sort of a Google Map with all these great old forges marked on it so someone (maybe even me, someday) could go on tour and visit them all. We could have some sort of a smithy architecture road rally up and down the British Isles. In order to win you'd have to have a picture of yourself in front of each forge. That's the sort of farrier competition I might be able to win.

When Art and Craft Combined in One Tool: Steve Teichman's Hoof Nippers

by Fran Jurga | 23 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Back in the depths of winter, I was at the American Farrier's Association Convention in Tennessee. The annual fundraising auction there is a special treat because it is a collection of work by farriers, for the most part, or by artists who have painted or sculpted farriers or hooves or horses. From the tiniest, most delicate ring to a huge, rough-hewn coffee table or a towering wine rack, each treasure is one of a kind and somehow bears the indelible stamp of farrierism on it. Unmistakably. Undeniably. The prices that these items usually bring are as impressive as the workmanship.

This year, I was knocked out the most by this pair of GE nippers. Yes, this is a standard out-of-the-pouch pair of GE nippers. But they have been transformed by farrier Steve Teichman of Pennsylvania, who is also a master at artistic engraving. Steve's work is subtle and very fine, and the fact that he would choose to engrave a tool that has reins that are edged in different ways is testimony to his confidence in his art. Surely these are the nippers that would have manicured the hoof walls of the horses in some fantasy kingdom faraway. They looked enchanted.

What are nippers?

For those readers who are not in or around the farrier world, nippers are sort of long-handled toe-nail clippers for horses. The three main cutting tools used in trimming horses are the nippers for the wall, the sole knife, and the rasp for flattening the foot and dressing the wall. Nippers come first and there's no going back if you nip too much. They are used to clip the edge of the hoof wall and come in different lengths, and there are racetrack nippers and saddlehorse nippers. The cutting edges of the blades, where they meet, are very sharp, so that a farrier can nip accurately and get a clean cut on a hard, dry hoof wall as well as a soggy, soft one. Farriers take very good care of all their tools, but are especially careful of their nippers. The nippers in this photo are made from a high grade of steel by the GE Forge and Tool Company of Arroyo Grande, California. I've always wondered when riveted or hinged nippers first came into use and where. Does anyone know?

I admired Steve's nippers all week but when the auction started, they were one of the first items to go. The room was only half full and they sold for far less than their real value, many of us thought. I was crushed, and glad Steve wasn't there. The buyer got a real bargain. And he knew it, too.

As much time as Steve spent engraving the nippers, I think I have spent trying to get a good Photoshop image of them. My friends Liz and Garnet Oetjens took great photos, but they always look different on the computer screen and I've been afraid to post a photo because I want to do Steve's work justice. But enough time has passed: suffice to say, the dark areas are just shadows, not any artifact of the engraving or manufacturing the nippers.

The next AFA auction will be at their 2010 convention in Portland, Oregon February 24-27. I'm sure all the artists are busy working on their masterpieces now. Enchantments are underway in studios, forges, basements, garages and through camera lens across the USA. I'll be amazed, all over again.

© 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.

Father's Day Video Treat: Buster Keaton in "The Blacksmith"

"Under the scrawny palm tree,

 the village smithy stands..."

It may have been made in 1922, but it will still make you laugh. One of the world's all-time great film stars and comedians didn't need a voice. You don't need to hear his hammer strike or his fire hiss or the horse's hoof hit the smithy floor. He's so good, he makes you hear it.

Settle down for 20 minutes and watch a bit of film history. And if you're a father, happy father's day.

Old car buffs will like the vintage Rolls Royce in this film! I like the rolling ladder, not to mention all the wooden boxes of horseshoes. I liked the display of sample horseshoes too; it looked like he had a sample of a rope shoe or pad, used to prevent slipping on pavement.

Don't you wonder how they set this up for filming and where they found the props? Or did they just remove one wall of an existing shoeing shop somewhere outside Los Angeles?

Keaton was the director as well as the star of this film. I wish I knew more about how and why and where he made this little gem of a film. The video is hosted from archive.org, and we appreciate their help in making it possible to share it with you.

Update: In 2013, a new cut of this film was unearthed, so there are now two versions of this film, with different scenes. This one is the original, longstanding version but wouldn't you love to watch them both!

Thanks to Susanna Forrest, author of If Wishes Were Horses, for assistance with this article.

Here's one of my favorite-ever covers of Hoofcare & Lameness Journal, perfect for Fathers Day! If you double-click on the image, you should be able to see it in a larger size.

© 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.

Tim Flach's EQUUS: What Image Defines the Horse for You?

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. All images and text protected to full extent of law. Permissions for use in other media or elsewhere on the web can be easily arranged.

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.

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness, 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.

Comments to individual posts are welcome; please click on the comment icon at the bottom of the post.

A Foal Meets His First Rasp

Foal_2009_0038, originally uploaded by Equest Images.

"Hey, Mom, what's that thing?"

Photographer Nadja Fischer captured this rite of passage at the Oswood Stallion Station in Weatherford, Texas recently. The shiny tool box on wheels is old hat to the mare, but the foal is curious, and will probably soon feel the cool cut of the rasp's teeth on the soft hoof wall.

Nadja Fischer is a bilingual German/English photographer just launching her career with a promising portfolio of images. We wish her luck as, just like this foal, she learns her way around the business and rises, hopefully, to the top through the proven combination of hard work and talent.

Weatherford, Texas is one of the cutting horse industry's central points for breeding and training farms, and also home to several major equine hospitals.

Thanks, Nadja, and good luck to foal #38!

Another Country Heard From: 2009 Malaysian Farriers Competition

by Fran Jurga | 14 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

National Horse Show 2009, Penang, originally uploaded by zehom.

Last week's National Horse Show at Penang in Malaysia featured the nation's farrier competition. We don't have any details, but these photos are more than we've had in previous years...if there have been competitions in Malaysia in previous years. Thanks to Zehom for sharing these photos with The Hoof Blog. I know we have blog readers from Malaysia, so I hope that someone in this photo gets the news that these photos are making their way around the world!

Before the Sun Sets on the Triple Crown

by Fran Jurga | 10 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.

Before the 2009 Triple Crown series of races fades from our memories, I'd like to share this photo with you, which is my pick for the best of many, many great photos to come out of this year's Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. Sarah K. Andrew did it again, and I'd like to thank her for being in the right place at the right time and for sharing this photo.

What's special about this photo is that it was taken minutes after the finish of the Kentucky Derby. My guess is that Mine That Bird's camp had not done a dress rehearsal of where to go and what to do if the horse won and would be headed to the winner's circle.

Charlie Figueroa has been Mine That Bird's groom and exercise rider throughout the Triple Crown, as well as Chip Woolley's legs while the trainer has been on crutches. Charlie normally works at the farm back in New Mexico, where he breaks and trains the young horses.

I've seen a hundred pictures of this man in the past couple of months and he's been smiling in most of them. But the smile on his face in this photo, when he's just grabbed his muddy horse out of the winner's circle to bring him back to the barn, is very special. You can almost see the lift in his walk. He's a happy man.

After all that racing has been through lately, the Triple Crown seemed to have an angel looking over it, even though Friesan Fire and Dunkirk are now out with fractures, I Want Revenge has fetlock ligament damage, and we're still waiting for Florida Derby winner Quality Road to get back to the races after recovering from his matching front and hind quarter cracks.

They've gone to the four winds: Pioneerof The Nile with his hot fit flames is back to California. Belmont winner Summer Bird is headed to Louisiana. Mine That Bird's team seems to understandably like it at Churchill Downs, where rumor has it that the Kentucky Derby Museum has asked Chip Woolley for his crutches when he's ready to walk on his own again.

The Triple Crown may be over, but in six weeks, the sun will be glowing through the fog in Saratoga at dawn, the way it always does and the way it always has. With luck, these three-year-old horses we've come to know and maybe even Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra will give the racing tribe some thrills at America's oldest track.

Charlie, his big smile, and his fast little horse would fit right in.

See you there!

Hoofcare Publishing will host a series of informal educational events in Saratoga during the race meet on Tuesday evenings. Watch this blog for more details of speakers and sponsors, or email Saratoga@hoofcare.com for more details about attending or sponsoring. The blog will come alive! Most events are held either at the Parting Pub's back room or at the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.

Australian Anatomy Animation: Tendons and Ligaments of the Distal Limb

by Fran Jurga | 9 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

People make a lot of jokes about "boning" up on their equine anatomy knowledge, but Australian researcher Jonathan Merritt took it to heart and dedicated himself to creating a three-dimensional model of the lower limb of the horse, on which he has applied the ligaments that hold the entire apparatus together and the tendons that move its parts. He applied them layer by layer so that you can see the enormous complexity of the segmented structure of the equine limb.

The technical definition of a ligament is an attachment between two bones; generally a ligament is in a position that will make use of its fibruous strength in just the right place and angle to stabilize a joint. Ligaments allow flexion, but prevent malfunction. Tendons, of course, are extensions of the muscles in the upper limb that move the joints in the lower limb.

Jonathan Merritt's PhD thesis at the University of Melbourne was on the biomechanics of the forelimb of the horse. The focus of the research has been the relationship between the dynamics of locomotion and the strains induced in the third metacarpal bone. Dr. Merritt's work includes being lead researcher in the study Influence of Muscle-Tendon Wrapping on Calculations of Joint Reaction Forces in the Equine Distal Forelimb in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology (Click here to read online.)

Here's his description of how the little video was made: "The models of the bones were created from real equine limb bones using in-house photogrammetric software that I wrote. The bones were imported into Blender, and the ligaments and tendons were modeled by hand. Finally, a custom RenderMan exporter script was used to export the models and camera animations to the Aqsis renderer."

Dr. Merritt has been very generous to post this video and others he's made both on YouTube and vimeo.com.

I don't know that you can or should download it and hope that no one will abuse his generosity in both posting the videos and allowing them to be seen in places like this blog. The right thing to do would be to bookmark the video, send others to watch it and send an email to him letting him know you appreciated his hard work.

Encouraging talented people like Dr Merritt to pursue further studies in equine biomechanics and anatomy would benefit us all. Thanking generous people like him can't be done often enough.

Click here to go to Jonathan Merritt's home page on YouTube.com; you can send him an email from there and also see some of his other videos.

© 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.

More About Tex

by Fran Jurga | 7 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

A service was held today for Tex Cauthen, a farrier who died in Kentucky last week. At first, all the newspapers could say was that the father of a famous jockey had died, but after a few days, articles like this one ("Tex Taught People to Live") from the Cincinnati newspaper began to bring the true identity of this man to light.

Turfway Park President Bob Elliston said Cauthen was one of the best farriers in the thoroughbred business. In the article he said, "Tex was one of the classiest people I ever met. He was incredibly gifted in his craft and was equally gifted as a human being."

That is wonderful praise.

I've heard from members of Tex's family and friends and learned so much about him that I never knew. I hope you'll take a minute and read the article from the Cincinnati newspaper.

I also hope you all read Ada Gates Patton's memoir of running into Tex in Cinncinati last winter. It was very nice of her to write that all down and share it. Just scroll down to the first article about Tex from last week and click on the comments to read Ada's letter.

© 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.