The sun will never set on the utilitarian design of the Volkswagen Beetle. But as a farrier shop on wheels? It looks a little dangerous with that propane tank wedged in there like that, when you know there's nothing in the front of a Beetle, but forget about that and just enjoy this beautiful portrait of a beautiful car by our long-lost friend David, who knows a thing or two about farriers.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
FEI NSAID Congress Presents Medication Facts and Philosophies for Equestrian Sport Decision Makers
Background: In November, the Federation Equestre Internationale, the world governing body of horse sports, will convene its General Assemby in Taipei. On the agenda is the groundbreaking and emotional vote whether or not international horse sports should allow horses to compete on low levels of mild anti-inflammatory medication, similar to what is now allowed in the United States. Currently the FEI operates under a zero tolerance policy, which is in keeping with many nations' national policies and even legal statutes.
An attempt to pass this important rule change at last year's General Assembly was clouded in confusion and resulted in international furor that led to a decision to reconsider and re-vote in 2010. To make sure that the latest information was available to all voting nations, a congress convened in Switzerland last week with leading veterinary experts.
For this reason, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next month will be competed under current FEI rules. Had last year's attempt passed permanently, horses from all over the world would have come to the USA and perhaps competed on medication for the first time in their careers, much like the international racehorses who come for our Breeders Cup. Some countries had grumbled about boycotting the 2010 WEG if the drugs were allowed.
An emotional issue? It's hard to think of a more hot-button issue in international sport or racing. It is what sets the USA apart from the rest of the world. We think they should be like us. They think we should be like them. And so the world goes round.
The second day of the Congress clearly demonstrated that this is a debate that cannot be viewed purely from a scientific perspective and that ethical values and legal issues also have to be taken into account.
Following Monday’s mainly science-based presentations, FEI General Counsel Lisa Lazarus opened Tuesday’s session by outlining details from nine European countries that prohibit or may prohibit the use of NSAIDs under national law.
In light of these legal issues, Ms Lazarus stated that the FEI has two options: either abandon any proposed change in the treatment of NSAIDs, maintaining the status quo that NSAIDs cannot be administered to sport horses during FEI competition anywhere in the world; or permit the use of NSAIDs at appropriate levels as far as the FEI and its members are concerned, but make it clear to all athletes and participants that the FEI’s rules do not supersede national law, and that anyone participating in the sport in any of the nine countries must note that national laws prohibit, or may prohibit, the use of NSAIDs.
Lynn Hillyer (GBR) of the British Horse Racing Authority, explained that the Racing Authorities of Europe, Hong Kong, North and South Africa, Australasia, Asia and the Middle East (except Saudi Arabia) rule that horses must not race under the effects of any drugs, but acknowledge that medication is necessary – off the racetrack – to ensure a horse’s physical well-being. “In other words, medication should be an aid to recovery, not a tool to enable a horse that should be resting and recuperating to race or train.”
Stephen Schumacher, Chief Administrator of the Equine Drugs and Medications Program of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), stated that the USEF Equine Drugs and Medications Rules allow NSAIDs usage with quantitative restrictions. “We believe that the welfare of our horses is not put into jeopardy with the judicious use of NSAIDs and their use may in fact be beneficial,” he said.
Dominik Burger, President of the Veterinary Commissions of the Breeding Associations for Swiss sport horses, spoke on the breeding perspective. He concluded that the issue would benefit from a pluralistic ethical analysis based not just on the welfare of horse and rider but also on regional and global public values like integrity, equity, justice, duties and responsibility.
Steve Maynard, Laboratory Director at Horseracing Forensic Laboratory Sport Science, outlined that quantitative analysis, applied to determine the exact level of a substance being present in the body, is significantly more costly than qualitative analysis carried out to detect the presence of a substance.
The public perception of equestrian sports, sponsors and the media perspective were all aired in Tuesday’s panel discussion, when British journalist Brough Scott asked some hard-hitting questions about the possible repercussions of reintroducing NSAIDs in competition.
Sven Holmberg, FEI First Vice President chaired the final debate on the pros and cons of the in-competition use of NSAIDs. Tim Ober (USA) and Mike Gallagher (CAN) spoke for the use of NSAIDs and Peter Kallings (SWE) and Christian Paillot (FRA) spoke against their use.
FEI Veterinary Director Graeme Cooke, who had earlier updated participants on the work of the FEI List Group, summarized both sides of the debate, drawing on key points from all the speakers over the two days. The FEI has achieved a number of key objectives through the Congress, he said, gathering up the science that had become available since 1993, bringing together the scientific and non-scientific, providing an opportunity to hear related views, and ensuring there will be a record of this unique event in order to inform not just National Federations, but everyone with an interest in the debate and allowing for further review before the FEI General Assembly in November.
In his final summing-up, Holmberg stressed the importance of keeping the debate alive between now and the vote on in-competition use of NSAIDs in November, so that the decision taken at the FEI General Assembly is one that is founded on sound knowledge and in the best interest of the sport and the horses.
“There is no doubt that both sides of the Atlantic and the rest of the world have the same clear goal in mind: that the welfare of the horse is really paramount to whatever we do,” he said.
A report on the Congress will be sent out to all National Federations, and the FEI website will continue to offer a feedback area for comments. To maintain the flow of information for National Federations that were unable to attend the Congress, videos of all speeches and power point presentations, as well as the panel sessions and full debate, will be made available on the FEI YouTube Channel later this week.
A mini site for the Congress with documents and abstracts has been set up on the FEI web site. Comments on the medication issue are invited; please email your opinions to nsaidcongress2010@fei.org
A mini site for the Congress with documents and abstracts has been set up on the FEI web site. Comments on the medication issue are invited; please email your opinions to nsaidcongress2010@fei.org
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Monday, August 23, 2010
Friends at Work: Farrier Jim Kline's Client List Hasn't Changed Much in 20 Years
Video courtesy of the Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal
I'm glad I watched this video. Now I have a new yardstick for judging change in the horse world. They say people are in and out of the horse business; Jim Kline says he hasn't been taking on any new customers for the past 20 years or so. There might be people hanging onto their horses just so they won't fall off his client list.
Does that sound like a successful horseshoer to you? I think it should.
Jim lives in a nice part of the world, the Hudson River valley, a few hours north of New York City. His territory would be the magnificent hunt country and Thoroughbred farms of Millbrook and Rhinebeck, rolling into the Litchfield hills of Connecticut.
I don't know what you will get out of this video; it's a little snapshot of a few minutes spent with one of New York state's senior farriers, but he offered a lot of food for thought for me.
"Thought" is a word that is easy to connect with Jim, because he thinks a lot and I always stop and listen when he speaks because I know he's been pondering things. If you ever have the chance to meet him, you'll be glad you did. You can ask him about almost anything and you're sure to get an answer back that will turn around and put you to the test, whether you ask Jim about Thoroughbred feet or what's for lunch.
This video accompanies a feature article about Jim that was in the Poughkeepsie (NY) Journal today, along with a beautiful photo of him. Sometimes I cringe when I see these articles and wonder if the journalist knew just who he or she was interviewing but this piece is great--Jim just talked about what it's like to be a farrier in one of the best places in the world to be one. And the reporter had the good sense to just write down what he said.
Watch the video, read the Poughkeepsie Journal article, and get to know Jim Kline.
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Hoofcare @ Saratoga Presents Ada Gates: "The Blacksmith Was a Debutante"
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| Ada Gates Patton clowned around at Del Mar with some of her shoer pals before heading east. I guess there was no way this would be a serious photo; Ada climbed onto Ron McAnaly's stable pony and wielded a rasp. Why does this shot have a hint of Broadway to it? Can these guys shoe and sing and dance? |
Hoofcare @ Saratoga is ready to do it again! We'll follow up last week's successful and hugely educational "Rood and Riddle" night with star farrier/veterinarian Raul Bras with something entirely different.
Ada Gates Patton is traveling east from California as I write this. She's aiming at Saratoga, where she will touch down at the Parting Glass Pub at 7 pm on Tuesday, August 24. She has an entertaining program plan, based on her retrospective journey through almost 40 years as a farrier, and particularly as the first woman to be licensed to shoe Thoroughbred racehorses in North America, and perhaps even in the entire world.
Some special guests are scheduled to stop in; among them Dr. Tom Carroll of the Burden Iron Works horseshoeing factory museum in nearby Troy and a host of local horseshoers, many of whom have heard of Ada, but never met her.
Please join us! The setting is informal, you can order food and a drink (or not), there should be plenty of free parking, and we're going to have some laughs and also do some serious talking about hoofcare.
Here's a re-post of one of our most popular articles ever: a "greatest hits" post about Ada Gates:
Where were you the night when farriers stayed up late to watch one of their own on the big stage in New York City? The night one of their own left the great David Letterman speechless? The night David Letterman lost control of his own show?
Ada Gates Patton is in a league of her own. The fact that she was the first woman licensed to shoe horses at a racetrack in the United States is only the beginning of the story. A few years ago, we were in Kentucky for a convention and she made a special trip to Three Chimneys Farm to visit Wild Again, one of the horses she shod back in the 1980s, when he won the Breeders Cup Classic. Ada was international horsemen's liaison for the Breeders Cup in California, and coordinated farrier services for the 1984 Olympics in California.
Ada is originally from New York; she is a descendant of Henry Burden, a Scottish immigrant who invented the first machine to manufacture horseshoes. His machines are credited with helping the North win the Civil War; his factories stretched forever along the banks of the Hudson River in Troy, New York and Burden horseshoes supplied the US cavalry for decades. Today, Ada owns and runs Harry Patton Horseshoeing Supplies near Santa Anita, and serves farriers all over California. The business was started by her late husband, the famous racetrack mentor and long time Santa Anita paddock shoer Harry Patton.
Ada stares up at the derelict but grand church built by her great-great-grandfather in Troy so that horseshoe factory workers had a place to worship. She saved the church from demolition through a loophole in the deed that made a provision for a descendant of the founder to lay claim. What would Henry Burden think of one of his descendants owning a store that sold horseshoes?
Ada is originally from New York, and she is the great great grand-daughter of Henry Burden, the inventor of the horseshoe-making machine. We reconnected her with her roots a few years ago by explaining that her family's church would be torn down if she didn't claim the deed and save it--which she did, and subsequently opened the beautiful old church and invited our Hoofcare@Saratoga tour group of farriers in for lunch as part of one of our tours of the Burden Iron Works.
Last year Ada was honored in her family's church by the Burden Iron Works Museum and its preservation efforts. The image at right is the outline of the Burden horseshoe company's office building, which now houses the museum. The museum and Ada found each other through Hoofcare & Lameness Journal and our Hoofcare@Saratoga program and tour of the museum. The museum is dedicated to preserving the history of horseshoe manufacturing in Troy, New York.
Today, Ada is busy selling shoes. But she recently "joined up" with one of her old shoeing clients, California horseman Monty Roberts, and the two made a DVD together on hoofcare and horsemanship for hard-to-shoe horses. Ada also teaches simple hoof balance principles at horse owner events and markets a hoof ruler to help them keep track of changes in their horses' hooves' dimensions.
Horse Illustrated profiled Ada's pioneering career spirit in this tribute article. They named her one of the 20 most influential women in the horse world in the previous 20 years.
Ada is one person who never forgot where she came from, and is not done getting to where she's going. She's still giving us all a lot of laughs along the way, and digging the Letterman video up out of the 1990s will insure that more people around the world join in.
Join us Tuesday, August 23rd, 7 p.m. in the back room at the Parting Glass Pub, 40 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York. The pub is one block off Broadway. Lake Avenue is also Route 50.
There is never a charge for the presentations. It is just something that Hoofcare Publishing likes to do. The horse industry needs the kind of information that our top-shelf speakers can provide and it is our mission to keep the best information in front of the people who want to hear it.
Hoofcare Publishing thanks the Parting Glass Pub, Frieda and Cliff Garrison, Jim Santore, Skidmore College, and every horse in town for welcoming Hoofcare back to Saratoga.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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).
Ada is one person who never forgot where she came from, and is not done getting to where she's going. She's still giving us all a lot of laughs along the way, and digging the Letterman video up out of the 1990s will insure that more people around the world join in.
Join us Tuesday, August 23rd, 7 p.m. in the back room at the Parting Glass Pub, 40 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York. The pub is one block off Broadway. Lake Avenue is also Route 50.
There is never a charge for the presentations. It is just something that Hoofcare Publishing likes to do. The horse industry needs the kind of information that our top-shelf speakers can provide and it is our mission to keep the best information in front of the people who want to hear it.
Hoofcare Publishing thanks the Parting Glass Pub, Frieda and Cliff Garrison, Jim Santore, Skidmore College, and every horse in town for welcoming Hoofcare back to Saratoga.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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). Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to fran@hoofcare.com.
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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Next Stop on the Pub (Art) Crawl: The Old Smithy in Ivybridge, Devon, England
I imagine a scene something like this: the pubkeeper comes out on the sidewalk to speak to the visitors staring at his sign. "Come in, come in," he says. "We're open!" But they just keep staring at the sign, as if they haven't even heard a word he just said. Finally one snaps out of his stupor and says, "Nah, we don't want a pint, we just came to see your pub's signs."
It could happen, you know. This old pub is in a village that was once on the main route between Exeter and Plymouth on the coast. The pub door opens right out onto the street. Mail coaches and freight wagons must have passed by here, bringing and taking all that would sail on the seas.
The coach road is now the A37 and the big motorway passed the village of Ivybridge by, and the smithy became a pub. Perhaps the smith went from tending the fire to tending the bar. Someone somewhere along the way commissioned some worthy artwork to commemorate this building's hard-working origins. And it's well done.
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Friday, August 20, 2010
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Something about this photo just grabs me. It's another of those, "Huh!" sorts of photos. A photographer frames something we see often in a way that makes it interesting and visually compelling. And makes it look pretty dangerous!
Photographer Tim Dawson had a wonderful time at the New Zealand Farriers Association's North Island Dairy Flat Forging and Heavy Horse Competition in Auckland on July 23-24. While I try to figure out which farrier this is, I will let you enjoy the shot.
For the uninitiated who may have stumbled upon this image, you are looking at the age-old act of a hot horseshoe being pressed against the trimmed bottom of a Clydesdale's hoof. The farrier will hold it there firmly for a few seconds (no, it doesn't hurt the horse) while it gives off some acrid sulphurous smoke. Then he will pull it away and observe the hoof to see if the burn mark is uniform around the wall of the hoof. This will tell him if the shoe is level; without a level shoe, the nails won't be tight and if the nails aren't tight...well, you remember the old "All for want of a horseshoe nail" ditty.
This process is called "hot fitting" and it is done for all types of horses. It is even done for Thoroughbred racehorses, though they wear thin aluminum shoes that can't be heated and pressed. I don't think it has been scientifically proven, but it is widely believed that feet that have been hot fit hold together better because the horn tubules are somehow "sealed" by the heat and they keep out bacteria or there is some other beneficial effect that protects the hoof wall.
But nothing is quite as dramatic as hot fitting a Clydesdale.
The Clydesdale competition was won by Grant Nyhan, Marcel Veart-Smith and Deane Gebert.
Thanks to Tim Dawson for allowing this photo to be shown on the Hoof Blog today.