Friends at Work: Elizabeth Decker in the Bluegrass

Click on the screen to watch a slide show of farrier Elizabeth Decker at work; photos by and thanks to Gene Manley of Manley Farm. Slide show is mirrored from Gene's photo set at Flickr.com. Read more below.

Kentucky horse farm owner Gene Manley likes to take photos. He's a man who studies things--flowers, fencelines, his horses, his family--through the lens of his camera. The results are lovely, but when he turned his camera on his farrier last month, he didn't expect that he'd be sharing the photos with the world...but he wasn't counting on Hoofcare & Lameness stumbling on them, either.

Manley Farm outside Lexington is fortunate to have an energetic and hard-working farrier at their service: Elizabeth Decker.

Elizabeth Decker is a great role model for farriers everywhere. A few years ago, she set out to build a farrier business for herself in one of the country's toughest markets. There's lots of competition in Lexington, Kentucky; sure, there are a lot of horses, but there are also surely a lot of mega-farrier businesses and small herds of apprentices following around the Great Ones, not to mention world-class referral experts like Dr. Ric Redden and the stable of vet/farrier pros at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Clinic.

Around Lexington, you never know who will pick up a foot you worked on and have a look. On the other hand, it's a good place to find top-shelf advice, and surgery or hoof repair expertise is just a quick horse van ride away.

Elizabeth earned her chaps with an apprenticeship under the detail-driven eye of sport horse specialist Victor Camp and worked toward her goal of an independent practice. Along the way, she picked up some special cases at the Kentucky Horse Park and began mentoring equine science students at Midway College as the farrier appreciation instructor.

Now she's well on her way and it's been a pleasure to watch her progress. She's subscribed to Hoofcare & Lameness since farrier school, and has even had her father call to order books for her for Christmas. And she doesn't just buy books, she reads them.

Note: these photos are not in order, but you are basically seeing Elizabeth prepare two front shoes, hot fit them, and begin to nail them onto one of Gene Manley's horses. As with all farriers, her job is made more pleasant or more challenging (it all depends...) by the presence of an audience.

Elizabeth can handle it; it's all in a day's work in the Bluegrass!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. All images and text protected to full extent of law. F

Bill Moyer Named AAEP Vice President

William ("Bill") Moyer, DVM will be the 2009 vice president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Dr. Moyer, of College Station, Texas, will join the Executive Committee next year and then serve as AAEP president in 2011.

Moyer is currently professor of sports medicine and head of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He began his career at Texas A&M in 1993 following more than two decades on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. While at Penn, Moyer held numerous positions, including director of the Equine Outpatient Clinic and professor of sports medicine.

Recognized for his expertise in equine lameness, Moyer has authored or co-authored several books, including the bestselling A Guide to Equine Joint Injection and Regional Anesthesia and the now out-0f-print A Guide to Equine Hoof Wall Repair, co-authored with farrier Rob Sigafoos. His research also has appeared in numerous refereed journals and he has been an invited speaker at continuing education meetings worldwide.

Dr. Moyer is a 1970 graduate of the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Research and commentary by Dr Moyer has been a mainstay of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal since its first issue in 1985, when he agreed to serve on the editorial board. Dr. Moyer's Guide to Equine Joint Injection and Regional Anesthesia is the bestselling book technical book ever sold by Hoofcare Publishing; the revised and expanded 2007 edition is now in its second printing.

Dr. Moyer always credits the late New Bolton Center Jack Anderson as an influential mentor in the development of his study of foot-related lameness in horses. Anderson's anvil is enshrined as a monument on the lawn at New Bolton.

© 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 post originally appeared on 17 September 2007 at www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

Who's the Happiest Man in Italy This Week?

World Champion Mirko Piazzi (blue shirt) of the Italian team with his groom Samantha (far right) and the farriers working at the FEI World Reining Championships at the La Palasturla facility in Manerbio, Italy. I wish I knew their names!

Italy has long been knocking on the door of international reining competitions, and the Italian team burst through in great style this week when they won the FEI World Reining Championship.

At the FEI level, tough medication testing kicks in for reiners, and the role of the farrier becomes more important than ever. In the world of horseshoes, Italy is also a rising-star country with the dazzling array of aluminum shoes for reiners and sport horses manufactured by Colleoni there. Endurance is another sport where Italy is providing innovation matched by successful scores.

More insight may be offered in December, when Italian vet/farrier Hans Castilijns from Tuscany speaks at the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Hans's lecture will be a "don't miss" highlight of the farrier conference there. Watch this blog for more information on the AAEP's vast offerings on lameness and hoofcare at this convention, which will be held in San Diego, California. (See you there.)

Teams from Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the U.S.A. competed in Italy this weekend along with individual riders from Australia, Austria, Poland, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden and the Dominican Republic.

Team USA took the silver medal with 663.5 points closely followed by Team Germany. Sylvia Rzepka, riding for Germany aboard Doctor Zip Nic, earned the highest score of the day, a 227.5.

The celebration continues on Mirko's blog if you want to congratulate him or share in the fun.

Who ever would have thought that a western riding sport would turn into an international event? Probably no one; it just happened. And it's great fun to watch the international aspects of this sport grow; a victory like this will surely only broaden the sport's appeal more!

Friends in Need: Ribbons for Linda

Linda Best in healthier times, showing one of her Miniature Horses.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with a big heart and some big plans to help her friend. And it worked.

Today was a special day. A little girl named Michaela put on a horse show today, with some help from a lot of bigger people. She wanted to help the woman who got her involved in showing. And she knew the woman needed her help.

The horse world turned out today to help Linda Best, a farrier from New Hampshire who is battling pancreatic cancer without the benefit of insurance. Linda is also trying to keep up her half of the shoeing business that she runs with her husband, Paul. She's also trying to run her farm. She's also trying to home-school her children. Do you get the picture?

But today, she was the guest of honor at a horse show to raise funds for her healthcare. All planned by a little girl who believes that Linda needs and deserves help.

The horse world responded in a big way. The show was helped with a lot of free publicity from the local media, and a lot of sympathy and affection for Linda.

If you'd like to help Linda, you can read about the horse show here.

There is a PayPal donation button at the bottom of that page if you want to forward a donation electronically to Linda's fund at the bank.

You could also send a check to:
Ribbons for Linda Best
c/o Kennebunk Savings Bank
P.O. Box 1880
Ogunquit, ME 03907

UPDATE: A fund-raising auction to benefit Linda will be held this Saturday at the open house at Horseshoes Plus farrier supply company in Barrington, New Hampshire. Farriers have made and donated hand-crafted artwork for the auction. Call 800-382-5434 for details.

Linda has been shoeing horses around here and in New Hampshire since she was 19 years old. She and Paul first subscribed to Hoofcare and Lameness in 1987. They have a unique business, since both of them are farriers. I am sure that Linda hasn't asked for this help, and no one asked me to ask you to help.

Sometimes, you just know what to do. I hope you will, too.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.

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.

Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Farrier Art: Thelwell's First Cartoon Will Be Auctioned in England This Month

"Ow do they feel then?"

Around any barn, anywhere (just about) in the world, you can describe a pony as "a real Thelwell type" and, immediately, whomever you are talking to knows exactly what you mean. They can "see" that pony. Round in the belly, overgrown in mane and forelock, a bushy tail, and a little short-legged, tweedy girl perched atop a flat saddle: there's your basic Thelwell syndrome.

Oh, and both the child and the pony usually exhibit some attitude.

Thelwell cartoons have made us laugh and nod our heads for generations. They are too true, a keen observation on the slightly mad, slightly wonderful world of little kids and ponies. We know those kids. We know those ponies. And we love Thelwell for capturing them for us.

But did you know that the very first Thelwell cartoon featured a farrier? Sketched in 1952, it showed fictional farrier Joe Clark sending the little girl on her way from the forge with new shoes on her pony's feet. Thelwell's cartoons were published in the British magazine Punch, which was of the New Yorker genre of literary publications liberally peppered with humorous cartoons and artwork.

The original of this most important first cartoon was lost for many years, and only re-surfaced after Thelwell's death. A lady came forward who said it had been hanging in her living room for many years and had been bought in a shop in the Cotswolds. She has now arranged to have it auctioned off in Cheshire at the end of this month.

If you love ponies and farriers, here's your chance to own a piece of history. The drawing is expected to perhaps bring as much as 3,000 pounds (approximately $6000 US).

And if you need somewhere to hang it, I have just the place.

Meanwhile, I'll keep scouring the shops and flea markets, knowing that things like this really are out there...if you know what you're looking for and find it first.

Visit the web site of Wright Manley auctioneers in Beeston, Cheshire, England for details of the auction on September 25.

Riding for Real: Snapshot from the Paralympics Equestrian Games in Hong Kong

Bettina Eistel of Germany won the bronze medal in division III at the Paralympics in Hong Kong this week. She was born without arms. Notice both sets of reins.

View a gallery of photos from the Games, from which this one was selected, on Yahoo.com's horse racing channel. Great Britain won team gold with three out of four riders scoring over 70! The USA finished 10th.

I hope the Paralympics will earn a lot of good press this week and help restore some good will to equestrian sports after the embarrassment of the drug test violations in horses competing at the "real" Olympics.

Maybe the Paralympics is the real Olympics. It certainly embodies the spirit of what the Games are supposed to represent, perhaps much more than professional riders are capable to pretending to convey.