Medal of Honor: An Almost-Anonymous Farrier Hero

It's the Medal of Honor of the United States of America. Sometimes called the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is the highest honor for valor in action given to a member of the US military. It was the first official medal created for US military heroes, simply because the egalitarian Americans claimed they didn't want all the pomp and ribbonry of the Europeans. Their democratic values meant that heroes of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War and other early conflicts received little individual recognition for their heroics.

You might say: they were all heroes.

But along came the Civil War, and the attitude changed. One of the individuals chosen was a somewhat anonymous horseshoer from Maryland named Samuel Porter who was a long, long way from home when he stood on the banks of the Little Wichita River in west Texas in July 1870 and faced 100 Kiowas led by Kicking Bird near what would today be Archer City and Lake Kickapoo.

Samuel Porter's grave is in Los Angeles National Cemetery in Brentwood, California, where it was photographed for Memorial Day. The plaque reads:

"Samuel Porter, Farrier, Company L, 6th U.S. Cavalry, who distinguished himself at Wichita River, Texas, on 12 July 1870 by gallantry in action. His conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, and selflessness are in the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army."

Farrier Porter was born in Montgomery County, Maryland, and that seems to be about all that the US military (or anyone, presumably) knows about him. But, as of today, a lot more people know that there once was a brave farrier named Samuel Porter.

In all, Hoofcare and Lameness research has been able to document seven farriers who have won the Medal of Honor.

The grave of farrier hero Samuel Porter, originally uploaded by underactive.

The Long-Awaited Comeback of Overdose: Laminitis Recovery for the Hungarian Wonder Horse

"Does he look ready to you, Hoof Blog Friends?" Hungarian Thoroughbred trainer Sandor Ribarszki holds the left front foot of his country's idol racehorse "Overdose" in Neuenhagen near Berlin, Germany, last week. Overdose suffered from laminitis more than a year ago. He seems to have hoof casting tape or a wrap (as suggested by one reader--I assumed it was tape since it is so prevalent these days) on this left front and a glue-on shoe on his right front. The Hoof Blog has had a lot of readers from Hungary in the past year; perhaps they are learning about laminitis treatments used on their national hero. Overdose's folkloric comeback is reported on web updates in all sorts of languages. Photo from fOTOGLIF EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER

Overdose's return to racing has been pushed back again: the racing press in Europe reported him scratched from a race in Berlin, Germany today, but entered in a race at Royal Ascot in England over Memorial Day weekend. That's a tall order for a horse recovering from laminitis. The five-year-old has a huge following all over the world and over 1,000 Facebook fans. They call him "The Budapest Bullet". He's the winningest racehorse to come out of Hungary in generations. Photo from fOTOGLIF EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER

This video slide show of images of Overdose has a soundtrack of one-liners from the US film Seabiscuit. There are a lot of parallels between the two horses. Overdose was purchased for 2000 pounds in England and went on to win there and in Germany, Italy, Hungary and France. He is the national hero of Hungary and the Hungarians want to see him run again.

Just watch him run; this race was at the beautiful Baden-Baden spa in Germany. It's fun to watch this clip just to listen to the call.

16 May 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

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Favorite Video: New York Racing Association Salutes Racetrack Horseshoers

What makes a racetrack a racetrack? Horses running. And horses won't be running without a legion of horseshoers swinging their toolboxes down the shedrows each day. They squeeze in their hoof duties between a horse's  hotwalking and feeding and vet treatments and gate schooling and all the other important appointments in a Thoroughbred-in-training's day.

But the horseshoer's visit is important. It's the one that aligns the wheels of the runner, fixes the flats, re-balances the imbalances, patches the punctures, checks the valves.

No one knows that better than the shoers at the New York Racing Association tracks. They drive back and forth across the intersection of Long Island and Queens as the meets move between Aqueduct and Belmont. These are suburban blacksmiths, who are more likely to shoe a horse in the shade of a highway overpass instead of a chestnut tree. That is, until July comes and they move to bucolic Saratoga.

What you don't see in this video is the ghosts. The ghosts of horseshoers past. New York has a great tradition of fine horseshoers, solid craftsmen who shod the best racehorses in American history for the best trainers who based themselves at Belmont to be close to their wealthy New York owners. The legends range from John Dern who flew around the country working on horses like the tender-footed Assault with legendary trainer Max Hirsch (who actually lived right on the grounds at Belmont Park), to Elmer Campbell who shod the last winner of Triple Crown, Affirmed, back in 1978. Going back even further would be the ghost of Irishman Andrew McDermott, who shod the horses of August Belmont, including Man o' War. And hundreds more, each a legend in his own way, as horseshoers tend to be.

The nonchalant attitude of the New York shoers in this video belies the high-pressure stakes that are played each day with valuable horses and a year-round racing schedule that is breathing shallow breaths, exhaling toward Albany with a cough now and then.

At the top of the politicians' heap, with the power to influence the fate of hundreds of horses as well as the jobs and livelihoods of many hundreds of people and entire communities, sits Governor David Patterson. If you think New York's first African-American legally-blind governor is out of touch with New York racing and the important role it plays, think again: Patterson is the grandson of a New York racetrack blacksmith. His grandfather's skill and hard work helped him to an advanced degree and a career in politics.

Would he know a Queen's Plate from a Clydesdale shoe? Maybe not, but maybe it's not too late to teach him, either. Wake up some repressed genetic memory code and Governor Patterson could build a new plan for New York racing starting on the backside, with the welfare of the horses and the people who care for and about them at the top of the list. He might feel right at home.

A morning on the backside with the horseshoers might put the whole thing in perspective. It always works for me.

15 May 2010 | © Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Friends at Work: All in a Day's Sights and Sounds

German farrier Josh Feuerstein is immersed in his craft. The essence of his day is captured by these audio landscapes, and illustrated in high-definition snapshots that could be any farrier's day, anywhere. Nice work by flat36.com; Josh lives in Biesingen in Saarland, Germany. Go ahead and watch it in full-screen view.

Published 28 April 2010 |You're reading Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. 
Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask.

Friends at Work: New Hampshire Farriers Practice for World Championship at Calgary Stampede

13 April 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

A horse at the mounted police stables in Dover, New Hampshire gets the benefit of a shoeing by veteran Jim Smith during a practice session for local farriers who plan to compete in July's World Championship for farriers at the Calgary Stampede in Canada. It's a long way to go, but New Hampshire pros Tim Bolduc of Fremont, Jim Smith of Milton Mills, George Barker of Gilmanton, and Nathaniel Bruss of Bradford are preparing to represent the "Live Free or Die" state and are being sponsored by the Horseshoes Plus farrier supply store in Barrington, NH. Click here to read a nice story about their practice session that appeared in yesterday's Foster Daily Democrat newspaper, and which included this and other photos of the team.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

California Lameness Veterinarian Van Snow Killed in Plane Crash

9 April 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Equine lameness specialist veterinarian Vandall E. Snow DVM of Santa Ynez, California was killed when the experimental plane he was piloting crashed near San Diego on Thursday.

Van Snow was well-known in the field of equine lameness and had a special interest in the hoof. A graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis, he was the quintessential "early adopter" and experimented with Magnetic Resonance imaging of the foot, therapeutic shock wave, and many treatment protocols before most people had even considered their use.

In 1996, he compiled, authored and published the visual image monograph Sectional Anatomy of the Equine Digit with MRI, edited by Norman Rantanen DVM. In the preface to that book, he predicted that veterinarians would be using Magnetic Resonance technology in the future, and that they would need to adjust to considering the foot's anatomy in three dimensions instead of two. Hoofcare & Lameness was glad to work with Snow on the marketing of that book.

Snow also wrote a chapter in the text Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse by Ross and Dyson.

He first appeared on the Hoofcare & Lameness radar screen in 1990, when he partnered with the late farrier Don Birdsall, also of California, in one of the first vet-farrier teams to give lectures and demonstrations on hoof-related problems. Their 1990 AAEP and AFA presentations launched a new era of hoof balance study and their AAEP paper Specific Parameters Used to Evaluate Hoof Balance and Support became a hoof science classic reference.

Among the many tributes to Van Snow is one from a special customer, Flag Is Up Farm in Solvang, California, owned by Monty and Pat Roberts. Pat Roberts told the Santa Maria Times : “I called Monty in Germany this morning and he was devastated. Our mutual friends are reeling with shock and sadness for his family. He was the best vet west of the Mississippi, a friend told me.”

Dr. John Madigan, director of the School of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital at UCDavis told the paper, "Dr. Snow’s contribution to equine medicine and surgery was invaluable. His findings are what veterinarians use today for reference material. Dr. Snow was a valued member of the equine community and we are proud to have him graduate from UC Davis."

Snow owned Santa Lucia Farm, a rehabilitation and breeding farm in Santa Ynez, California.

According to Quarter Horse News, a private burial service is planned for Saturday, April 17. On Sunday, April 18, a barbecue and celebration of Snow's life will be held at Santa Lucia Farm.

Click here to read the longer but less horse-specific article in the Santa Maria Times. Thanks to Tom Trosin for his help with this article, and deepest sympathy to Van Snow's family and friends and to all the horses that I know he would have helped in the future.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.