Was Popeye the Sailor Man a Farrier, too ? Vintage Popeye Horseshoeing Cartoons

(Sorry, you may have to watch an ad before the Popeye cartoon.) If the video does not play, click here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x44xxuu
So you think woman farriers are something new? How about Olive Oyl for a role model?

First Canadian Farrier Earns WCF Advanced Credential: Congratulations to Gerard Laverty

Gerard Laverty AWCF, right, observes one of his farrier students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University outside Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. In November Laverty became the first Canadian to receive an advanced qualification from the Worshipful Company of Farriers. Ten out of eleven of his current students are women. (Photo credit: Canada.com)

In November, Kwantlen Polytechnic University farrier faculty member Gerard Laverty became the only farrier in Canada, and joined a handful of farriers in North America, to officially receive an elite designation as an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF) of London, England.

A native of Northern Ireland, Gerard has represented Canada in international farrier competition. He previously earned the journeyman and therapeutic endorsement certification levels through the American Farrier's Association.

"I didn't know what I was getting into," Gerard said recently. "The AW (examination) requires a horse to be shod with therapeutic shoes and you produce a specimen shoe. It's more modern than the AFA's TE test. You have an hour to repair a hoof crack, or open an abscess, or do a resection. They tell you which to do. And for the specimen, they give you three pages of shoes that you might be asked to make."

He had to take the practical test twice, making four long trips from Vancouver to London. Before taking the test, he spent time working in Scotland with Allan Ferrie FWCF for coaching, and with Gary Darlow in England.

His individual test called for him to shoe the front end of a horse with a pair of straight bar shoes. The frog could not touch the bar when the foot was loaded and the solar border had to be relieved.

For the modern materials portion, he had to create a toe extension and work on a quarter crack. Glue-on shoes such as the Imprint thermoplastic shoes are allowed, as is Vettec's Equithane. Part of that test involved determining if the horse was sound. "You have to take the horse out and judge if its sound or lame. You have to declare it. That after you declare it, the judges trot it to see what they think of your evaluation."

The Associate level is designed to test a farrier's ability to do referral and/or therapeutic work. In the paper "So You Want to Be An Associate", Simon Curtis FWCF writes: "They are looking for you to convince them that you have a depth of knowledge of anatomy, conditions and diseases of the foot, and how conformation affects the gait and the foot, and vice versa. You need to show traditional forging skills and be able to apply them to an individual horse. You need to show a range of shoemaking skills in different materials including fabricating.

"They are assessing your ability to think on your feet when confronted with a task that you might not have experienced. You need to be able to use and have an opinion on the modern materials listed. You need to be comfortable looking at x-rays and assessing a horse with a veterinary surgeon.

"The above list of skills is quite wide ranging. However, it is only what one would expect a farrier engaged in remedial or consultancy shoeing to possess. The veterinary examiner is looking to see if you could partner him in treating farriery related conditions. The farrier examiners are looking to see whether they could refer a case to you."

Laverty takes great pride in teaching students farrier skills at Kwantlen's nine-month course. He joined Kwantlen in 2003, bringing with him 30 years of industry experience and added his name to the impressive list of faculty at Kwantlen that has included Hank McEwen and the late Cindy Dawn Elstrom.

Gerard’s career began with a three-year apprenticeship in Dublin, Ireland, with the Irish Horse Board. He graduated with a gold medal in both theory and practical skills. Gerard moved to the U.S. in 1981, then immigrated to Canada and began a business in Prince George, British Columbia.

The Worshipful Company of Farriers offers one examination above the Associate, called the Fellowship (FWCF), which is the highest qualification from the company and perhaps the most difficult farrier examination in the world. Farriers with this qualification have the highest level of farrier knowledge and skills, and must be able to present their knowledge to an audience in a lecture or paper form similar to a masters thesis.

For more information about the Kwantlen farrier program, please visit: kwantlen.ca/trades . You can also email Gerard Laverty or call him at 604.599.6177.

© 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.

The Silent Anvil: Mr. Watson

Update: Final plans will be announced in the next day or so about a memorial service to be held in Gordonsville, Virgnia, most likely on Saturday, January 3, 2009. Arrangements are being handled by the Preddy Funeral Home, 301 N Main St, Gordonsville, VA 22942. The closest airports are Charlottesville and Richmond. Thanks to David Watson for the information.

If you are in the farrier profession in the eastern United States, you probably know who I am talking about when I just say "Mr. Watson died".

Edgar Watson, known respectfully as "Mr." and affectionately as "Eddie", lived in Keswick, Virginia and was one of the great "living legends" of not just the farrier world, but the horse world as well.

He will long be remembered for the champions he shod, the beautiful artistry he created at the anvil, and the stories he told, but mostly will be remembered for his gentle manner and his willingness to help and encourage all of us, in whatever we tried to do to better our work or our horses' care.

For the past ten years or so, Mr. Watson was chronically ill with a list of ailments that would have been the end of any normal human. He kept coming back and even ordered himself a brand new shoeing rig recently...when he was 80 years old. He began shoeing horses professionally in 1948.

Follow this link to an album of photos of the appreciation day held for Mr. Watson in 2007, when he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon. Thanks to the Virginia Horseshoers Association for posting these photos. And here's a second link to a few photos of his fantastic shop.

I will add to this post when I know more; thanks to Steve Mayer for letting me know.

If you have a kind word to say about your friendship with or memories of Mr. Watson, please click on the colored link word "comments" at the end of this article. A new window will open up and you can leave your message. It will default to "anonymous" unless you sign it, and that's fine, but just include your name in the comment if you want to be identified. You can also email a comment to "blog@hoofcare.com" and I will post it for you.

Update: The latest word is that a memorial service is planned for Saturday, January 3, 2009.

Mr. Watson, right, talking to Danny Ward, left, sometime in the last 20 years or so.


© 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.

Video: Update on Blood Test for Thoroughbred Breakdown Risk Markers, Researcher McIlwraith Interviewed

by Fran Jurga | 20 December 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

Click on the screen to launch the video.

"How's his blood?" "Did you check her blood?" Questions like those might be the new mantra of racehorse owners when questioning a trainer before a race.

Colorado State University researcher Dr Wayne McIlwraith is bullish on the reliability--80% accuracy, he claims--of a blood test developed in his Equine Orthropaedic Research Center. This video is a good introduction to the concept of a blood testing protocol in the bigger picture of breakdown prevention.

The blood test will certainly not replace good horsemanship and monitoring of routine soundness and training issues, and there's no indication yet of what the test would cost, but this is a good news video for the holiday season.

Tests like the CSU protocol will do nothing to help accidents like the horrific death of a runaway filly at Aqueduct racetrack in New York last weekend. Nor will it help horses who go down from clipped heels or other stumbling upsets, starting gate mishaps or any number of accident-type situations that can happen in a race.

It's not clear how often racehorses would need to undergo the blood screening, or if McIlwraith would recommended that this test be a requirement for entry in a race. Breakdowns frequently occur during training sessions, although the public only sees the ones broadcast on television.

But I hope that the racing world does embrace this glimmer of hope, that it is found to be predictive, and that this is a legitimate step in the only viable direction left for racing: up. Up with horse welfare, up with safety, up with preserving the excitement and vitality of a great sport.

They should name it the Eight Belles Test. Passing the Eight Belles test would be a good thing.

Click here to download a pdf file of an article explaining more about the test, written by Andrea Caudill. This article appeared in the October 2007 edition of The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal, and is also posted online by the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation.

Click here to download a PDF file of Dr. McIlwraith's recommendations for reform of racing to improve horse safety, as presented to a Congressional subcommittee in June 2008.

Thanks to ZooToo for sharing this video.

© 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.

Slide Show: AAEP Convention's Farrier Conference Reception

Please click to launch the automatic slide show.

The Farrier Conference at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego wrapped up last Wednesday night at a "meet the speakers" reception that included some key figures in the world of hoof research, education, and innovation. All farrier conference attendees were invited to the reception.

Many of the people reading this blog have been the beneficiaries of the hard work and even harder thinking that the men and women in the room that night have brought to the art and science of caring for horses' hooves. It was an honor just to be in the room!

The conference was moderated by Dr. Steve O'Grady, who somehow escaped the camera, as did speakers Jay Merriam and Ian McKinlay.

Thanks to everyone who had anything to do with the conference, especially John Suttle, who encouraged farriers to attend--which they did! The audience was an interesting mix of vets and farriers, young and old, from all over the country--and the world.

More reports from the AAEP Convention will be posted as they are completed.

© 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.

New England Horses Test New Shoe Design for Frozen Landscape

Posted by Fran Jurga | 16 December 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

I hope these shoes fall within the parameters of the model rule for toe grabs and traction devices. Would you classify this as a rim shoe?

All we talk about around here is the weather, it seems; the forecast is for more ice and frozen rain here in New England. There is a storm predicted to hit here every two days for the next ten days.

For those of you unfamiliar with US news, the northeastern corner of the USA, where I live, is a tangled mess of frozen, solid and increasingly immovable debris. The worst ice storm in a century has changed our landscape forever. I wonder if we will ever trail ride again! There will be a lot of work to clear pastures, let alone trails.

Well-known farrier John Blombach told me tonight that the roads are so blocked where he lives that they literally plowed the treetops, branches, telephone poles, and power lines out of the roads. There are no ambulances, no firetrucks, no open stores.

A tree went through the roof of the porch of John's lovely old house, and another through an upstairs window; he was coming and going through the cellar. But he has a generator now, and lights, and he sounded very upbeat.

Southern New England Farriers Association President Garth Bodkin lives on a beautiful lake in central Massachusetts. He said he has trees "all over the place" and no power. It took him three calls to get through but he too was upbeat; as John said, "No matter what happens, it can't get any worse."

Farrier/microbiologist Shirley Fraser of Pepperell, Massachusetts, had been out using her truck for friends who needed to get water to their horses. She may be in great demand: she was hitching up her Percheron to "go move some trees around".

Only one of the farriers I heard from today has had power restored, and that was Allie Hayes of HorseScience, who lives about 25 miles from here. She rehabs wildlife, in addition to makeing leg models, and I wondered how she was coping. The key to her business is a huge freeze drier that she uses to prepare her hoof specimen; it runs on electricity. I was envisioning a big defrost event, but luckily I was wrong.

"The cold weather was my friend and there was no damage to product in the dryers and they survived the outage and are up and running again." she wrote in an email today. "We got power back some time in the wee hours Monday. I was up at 3 a.m. restarting the freeze-dryers."

Over in New York state, things were pretty bad in the Saratoga area, and it sounds like Troy was hit particularly hard.

In many communities, schools are closed until sometime in January. (A good thing, since people are living in the gymnasiums.) Some people may be without power until the end of the year.

This image was entered in the "Photoshopped Horses" contest at Freaking News, and brought to my attention by theequinest.com. I hope to show some of the others in the days to come. This one is by Michael Bendler of Seymour, Connecticut. I hope he won!


© 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.