Fran Jurga`s Hoofcare + Lameness

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Video: Rood and Riddle Laminitis Treatment and Stem Cell Therapy for Regally-Bred Rescued Racehorse

"Laminitis: Film at 11" was the message in Tucson, Arizona this weekend as the media framed the play-by-play of treatment to a rescued laminitic Thoroughbred by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Vern Dryden. Videos are posted at the end of this article. This slideshow is compiled of images taken by Kim Reis. The slide show in its entirety and the individual photos as well are © Heart of Tucson. Media facilitated by Greg Ambrose (thanks). Click on the "play" icon to start the show.

Somewhere in the desert outside of Tucson, Arizona, a horse is wondering "Where'd everyone go?" this morning. Film crews, spectators, new shoes, tourniquets and a big buzz have electrified life at the barn the past few days as a rescued, rundown racehorse received state-of-the-art treatment for his chronic laminitis.

A lost and sickly Thoroughbred taken in by the Heart of Tucson rescue and therapy group has turned out to be a quite royally bred son of the famed Three Chimneys Farm stallion Dynaformer, who also sired such great racehorses as Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Melbourne Cup winner Americain. His name in the Jockey Club record books is Dyna King.

But laminitis doesn't care who you are.

Vernon Dryden, DVM, CJF

Dyna King, whose identity was unknown when he limped off trailer at the rescue center after being found abandoned and lame in the desert, now goes by the barn name "Gifted". He was was slow to his feet yesterday, and slow to hobble down the barn aisle to the mats where he'd stand for two hours while far-from-home Vern Dryden, DVM, CJF of the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Center in Lexington, Kentucky went to work on his feet.

The treatment, performed at state-of-the-art Bandalero Ranch near Tucson, included frog-support equipped Sigafoos glue-on shoes and dental impression material with a hospital plate--a standard treatment these days.

But this treatment had something else. In addition to Dryden's world-class expertise in treating laminitis, analyzing the radiographs and preparing the foot for his special shoes, the horse felt both his front limbs get wrapped. A catheter was inserted and Dryden pumped millions of stem cells into the horse's lower limbs.

Rood and Riddle's regenerative medicine program's stem cell project uses specially-harvested umbilical stem cells collected from blood in the afterbirth of foals.

Dyna King's story caught the imagination--and support--of local television station KGUN9-TV in Tucson. A production crew followed Dryden on the job and the horse's treatment has been featured on Tucson television news over the weekend.

KGUN9 and Heart of Tucson kindly shared the videos and slide show so they can be posted here for Hoof Blog readers around the world.

Intro TV News video:

Interview with Dr Vern Dryden; video © Heart of Tucson:

If you'd like to donate to help Dyna King, click here for the Heart of Tucson donation page. Note: Dr. Dryden's treatment and services were donated, but the costs of caring for Dyna King will be high.

To learn more:

KGUN9-TV news article and more recent video than shown

Hoof Blog report on umbilical stem cell treatment at Rood and Riddle Podiatry Center

Call 978 281 3222 to order your copy; always in stock!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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). 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.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Historic Capewell Triumphs Recalled As Connecticut Looks Back After Learning Delta Mustad News of Nailmaker's Departure

Several reports from the Hartford area today expressed sadness at the news that Capewell Horse Nails will now be made abroad, following yesterday's announced by Delta Mustad.

The Hartford Courant had an article featuring Stanley Wojnilo, the company's veteran nailmaker. On Twitter, the Connecticut and Hartford Historical Societies announced the news.

Things few people know: before the existence of today's Farrier Industry Association of salesmen in the hoofcare industry, there was the Order of Nutmegs. When there were horseshoer conventions, the Nutmegs would have big banquets and just generally celebrate in grand style.

Why were they called "Nutmegs"? A "nutmeg" was a name for a pedlar without many scruples. They'd travel around with a wagon-load of goods back in the days before mail order or malls. One of thins they sold was the spice, nutmeg. But it might not be a nutmeg you were buying--it might be a knot of wood. They looked alike.

Among those Nutmegs toasting the horseshoers (and each other) at conventions in the old days were Capewell salesmen who called Connecticut (known as "the nutmeg state") home. Capewell had an army of salesmen on the road visiting hardware stores and blacksmith and horseshoer supply houses. A Capewell salesman was synonymous with the successful tradesman.

For many years, the Capewell factory in downtown Hartford was derelict. It was once called "one of the great cathedrals of American industry". Capewell was one of the first US companies to ever offer daycare for the children of women who worked in the factory. I'm not sure when this photo was taken; the last time I tried to find the factory, I couldn't. Maybe I was lost, or maybe it is gone. Delta Mustad bought the Capewell horse nail business, not the building, in 1985. Photo by Nivek29

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Capewell Ends 131-Year Run Making Nails in USA as Delta Mustad Consolidates Horse Nail Factories

George Capewell's grave; photo from the Library of Congress

The news from Delta Mustad hit the streets today: Capewell nails will no longer be made in America. Of course the company has big plans, but a chunk of US horse history ceases with this announcement.

Detail, horseshoe and nail from Capewell grave

Hoofcare Publishing and I wish all the employees of the Connecticut factory the very best in their new pursuits and of course we wish the best to all our friends all over the world who are part of the Delta Mustad Hoofcare universe.

Someday I'd like to give the Capewell name and nails their due place in history. It could be a book, and maybe it should be a Ken Burns-type documentary film. Capewell's tradition in and around Hartford, Connecticut deserves it.

George Capewell was born on June 26, 1843 in Birmingham, England, and soon emigrated with his family to Connecticut. He started working in factories at the age of 15, and worked his way up by demonstrating his prowess for the new field of mechanical engineering.

He spent five years perfecting a machine to automatically make a nail with the necessary block-like head, beveled blade, and point, which was patented in 1880. It was an age when other nails were manufactured, but the tips were blunt, and required the farrier to "point" each one on the anvil.

Capewell's nail machines were a success, and he ran parallel manufacturing operations in the US and Great Britain. He sailed on the maiden voyage of RMS Lusitania, which would be sunk by German U-boats and signal the beginning of war against Germany for the Americans.

Capewell's factory in Connecticut burned to the ground in 1902, but he rebuilt it. During the war, he was a pioneer of progressiveness: he hired women to work in his factories and provided free day care on site for their children.

Capewell's old ads and calendars are highly collectible, but its wooden boxes are treasures.

Throughout his life, he expanded his company to dominate sales all over the world. Capewell bought out many of its competitors; when it finally purchased its arch competitor, Putnam Nails, in 1895, inventor Silas Putnam had to publish a letter endorsing Capewell as the best nails in the world.

He died on November 6, 1919, just five days before the end of World War I.

I remember the first time I visited the factory in Connecticut. I remember meeting some Polish women who worked as nail inspectors. Their job was so important. I was impressed, and everyone was always so nice.

Mustad hired me to write the announcement that they had bought Capewell. Nails were a very political hot-button issue in the horse world back then; Capewell owned the US market, and Mustad opened their operations here from a warehouse in Auburn, New York around 1980.

After Mustad bought Capewell, a beautiful new factory and warehouse complex was built north of Hartford amidst the tobacco fields of Bloomfield.

George Capewell

The workers always seemed a little embarrassed that I was so interested in meeting them. They always have been so important to the farrier industry and the horse world, and they always will be, since it sounds like Delta Mustad plans to continue making Capewell nails.

I'm so glad I was able to see those old Capewell nail machines at work, in the original factory, and meet those people.

I can still hear the clattering sound the machines made in the high ceiling halls of that old factory in Hartford. I hope I never forget that sound.

Here's the announcement that Delta Mustad Hoofcare posted on its web site today: (text in italics is direct quote from company)

Today Mustad, the world leader in hoofcare products, including horseshoes and nails, announced the consolidation of its global hoof nail production in Mustadfors (Sweden) and Emcoclavos (Colombia).

The closure of the Capewell production facilities in Bloomfield has been announced on Feb 21st, 2012.

“We are continuously looking for ways to improve our production, distribution and customer service,” says Hans Mustad, CEO of the firm. “After a careful and thorough evaluation process we have decided to close the nail production at Capewell and move the entire Capewell production to Mustadfors, Sweden.

In Bloomfield a total number of 26 employees are affected by the closure.

"All agreements with our staff are made in the spirit of Mustad´s values as a family company, with a 180-year tradition in social responsibility,” confirms Hans Mustad. The North American sales and customer teams are not affected and remain unchanged.

An old post card showing the now-abandoned and derelict Capewell factory in downtown Hartford. Mustad moved the company to Bloomfield soon after purchasing the company.

“With the focus on two state-of-the-art production facilities in Sweden and Colombia we are in a position to further improve the quality of our products, utilize innovations and manage even better supply as well as customer service,” continues Hans Mustad

“We are very grateful to the Bloomfield employees for their dedication and craftsmanship in producing Capewell horsenails. Their efforts have been instrumental towards maintaining Capewell's 131-year reputation for exceptional quality with suppliers and customers from around the world. We will continue that positive legacy as we transition to the next phase of Capewell's future” confirms Petter Binde, Mustad’s Sales & Marketing CEO.

The Capewell brand will remain unchanged and continues to be an integral part of Mustad´s market leading, global product offering.

(end of text from Delta Mustad Hoofcare)

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Professional Farriers Honor Larry Rumsby

AAPF Presentation: (left to right) Director Steve Prescott, Vice President Dave Farley, Director Roy Bloom, Honorary Member #1 Larry Rumsby, President Jeff Ridley and Director David Dawson.

Canadian farrier Larry Rumsby of Bromont, Quebec received special recognition recently when he was named the first honorary member of the American Association of Professional Farriers (AAPF). Larry was presented with a forged horseshoe coat rack, designed and forged by AAPF Director Jennifer Horn, at a reception in his honor at the Florida home of AAPF Vice President Dave Farley and his wife Karen.

Olympic Gold Farriers in the same place at the same time: Holland's Rob Renirie, farrier to the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal Dressage team, and Larry Rumsby, farrier to the 2008 Olympic Individual Gold Medal Show Jumper, posed one day on the porch of Larry's family's farmhouse, appropriately situated on Rumsby Road, a stone's throw from Quebec's signature skiing and equestrian resort at Bromont, where the equestrian events of the 1976 Olympics were held.

Larry has been featured on the Hoof Blog in the past and is known around the world in the FEI horse sport world. For many years he traveled the world and was responsible for the shoeing of Eric Lamaze's Dutch Warmblood stallion Hickstead and other top Canadian jumpers.

Wearing Larry's shoes, Hickstead won the Gold Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Hong Kong).

The Hoof Blog toasted Larry after Hickstead won the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics. The graphic still works four years later, and the sentiment is just as sincere. This anvil and tools sculpture stands at the entrance to Marechalerie Bromont.

Larry's wife, Louise Mongeau, runs Marechalerie Bromont, a thriving farrier supply business.

To learn more:

Golden Horseshoes: Larry Rumsby's Shoes Were "Lamazing" for Canada in Hong Kong

Seamus Brady Will Live On in Legend

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Headlamps and Horseshoes: Finnish Farriers Shed Some Light on Their Equipment

Farrier Lee Canham works in the dark Finnish winter with a headlamp that illuminates the hoof for him.
(photo by Tuomas Kauko)

They call it the Midnight Sun. In winter, above a certain northern latitude, there's simply not much daylight. For farriers who must keep working on their clients' hooves, that means shoeing in the dark for at least part of the year.

Finnish farriers Lee Canham and Tuomas Kauko make sure they can see what they are doing by wearing headlamps while they work. They contributed some insight on why every photo I see of them seems to include a cyclops eye in the middle of their foreheads:

"No matter how well lit up a place is, a farrier will almost always find his or herself working in their own shadow," wrote Lee, who was born in Wales and has also lived in Spain, Iceland, and Sweden. "Hence the headlamp: problem solved! That´s my theory; also it's dark half of the time in Finland and when it's minus 20 or 30 degrees (Celsius), a good headlamp can help with the frostbitten fingers."

Is Finland the safest place in the world to shoe a horse? Lee Canham wins the best-dressed award for his noise-cancelling headphones, safety glasses and headlamp. No comment on the cigarette! (photo by Tuomas Kauko)

Tuomas Kauko likes the idea of conjuring the image of a dentist in his clients' minds: "I use it to look professional," he said. "I'm quite convinced that usually people think that I'm kind of like a dentist but just a bit sensitive to strong odors so I can't work around people`s mouths..."

I think his tongue was in his frozen cheek for that one, since farriers are bound to catch--or even create--some interesting odors in their daily work.

I´n not old yet and loving it..``I hope all my clients get to see this``

The Hoof Blog originally found Tuomas and Lee through this portrait of Tuomas at work, taken by Lee. I used it as an example of how to take a good picture of a farrier: the photographer should get down low and shoot up--too many photos of farriers don't show their faces well, if at all, because of angle compromises, lighting, and cap brims. But I didn't realize until much later that the photo was actually taken by a farrier, which helps explain why it is so good. The headlamp intrigued me and I decided to track these two down--even though they are a world away in Finland. And I'm glad I did.

"Not that many farriers use headlamps," Tuomas continued. "I think it`s a neglected but (sometimes) very useful tool. I think Lee always uses his lamp but I only use in stables that have poor lighting. Winter time we don`t get much light from the windows so I end up using it much more during the winter.

"By the way, I once spoke with a German guy who was doing his apprenticeship with a very, very respected farrier and they always used tiny headlamps," he added. "The headlamp I use is the kind they sell for sport."

This terrific photo of the interior of Lee's van shows off his photographic skills. This is not an easy photo to take--in any light. (Lee Canham photo)

Lee and Tuomas don't work together, but their paths cross--so these two talented photographers sometimes get to take photos of each other, like the ones you see here. "Tuomas and I occasionally get to work at the same stables and sharing the same hobby (with the cameras) makes work more fun than it already is," Lee wrote.

If it sounds like Lee and Tuomas are far, far away in their corner of northern Europe, remember that everyone else seems that way to them. Their beautiful country is the center of their universe.

Lee waxed philosophical on the loneliness, sometimes, of the self-employed. He wrote, "Have you ever heard that being a farrier is always challenging? Of course you have. What I think makes it more challenging is the fact that every farrier is so busy and one soon becomes isolated by working for and with one's self. Therefore, the ability to learn from others can be cut off.

"This is where your (Hoofcare + Lameness/The Hoof Blog) site becomes a farrier's asset, along with his tools," he added.

As I write this, Tuomas is leaving for India and Nepal on holiday. He has traveled the world seeking adventure and, as he goes, documenting the horses and farriers he meets. He's even been to Australia and been on a wild horse research trip to the Outback with Dr Pollitt's Australian Brumby Research Unit.

His goal--enthusiastically encouraged by his interviewer, who is now one of his biggest fans--is to publish a book of his photos about shoeing around the world.

The sunlight in India will surely blind him when he gets off the plane but I'm sure he has a plan for that.

Thanks to Tuomas and Lee for their help with this article and for their beautiful, inspiring photography, which they kindly agree to share with Hoof Blog readers today.

To learn more:

Lee Canham photostream on Flickr.com

Tuomas Kauto photostream on Flickr.com

Sunday, February 19, 2012

A Slip of the Anvil on Downton Abbey: Did you catch the reference?

Here's some trivia for a February Sunday afternoon: how closely are you paying attention when you watch television?

Notice the horse being shod
in the background as the
wedding proceeds.

If you're like me, you'll be glued to the television tonight for the final episode of the second year of the PBS/BBC mini-series Downton Abbey.

And if you're also anything like me, you knew that, sooner or later, something related to hoofcare would show up in the second series.

A horse lost a shoe in the first series, with no farrier to be found. Lady Mary was very annoyed that she had to walk the horse home. I thought that surely the farrier would materialize and later turn out to be the rightful heir to the estate.

This year, I've been waiting patiently for writer Julian Fellowes to let another hoof reference fly. And he did.

It happened last week: Second series, episode six, the one where the war is over, but the Spanish Flu has hit instead.

But did you catch the reference?

It was a fleeting one. Lady Sybil has eloped with her Irish anarchist chauffeur lover; they've driven off into the night when Lady Mary discovers they're missing.

Which way did they go? You might wonder.

But Lady Mary knew instantly where they had gone. "Oh, we must hurry! They'll be halfway to Gretna Green by now!" she gushes as she and Lady Edith rush out the door.

That's it. The alarm is sounded: "Gretna Green" means only one thing: Lady Sybil has run away to stand in front of an anvil in Scotland. And since Downton Abbey is supposed to be in Yorkshire, they didn't have that far to go.

The dowager countess will definitely not approve.

Kilts are probably optional and you probably have to pay the piper but weddings are still big business in Gretna Green, which rivals Las Vegas as a town with a wedding-as-industry mindset.

Apparently it was the way that elopements happened for centuries in England. By crossing the border from England to Scotland, couples were eligible to be wed--no questions asked. And the first place you came to when you crossed over from Cumbria was a smithy in the hamlet of Gretna Green.

And the smith had the legal power to perform marriages.

You might wonder how I happen to know about an obscure Scottish village. Well, I've even been there. Twice. Not to get married, but to be a tourist. Gretna Green is in Dumfriesshire, just down the road from Closeburn, the ancestral home of Edward Martin, FWCF, MBE, the great Scottish farrier and blacksmith.

You can bet that Gretna Green was on the tourist route for his incredible hospitality when Americans came his way.

The history was interesting and it was sort of amusing to be tourists at the weddings of total strangers, but a gift shop full of anvil-theme items was simply a candy store for farrier visitors to take home as mementos of this unique village. It must be the anvil souvenir capital of the world.

Now that it's been mentioned on the world's favorite television drama, the wedding business must be booming in Gretna Green. But then again, it always has been.

Photos: Anvil emblem by Chris in Plymouth, smiddy interior by Andrys Stienstra, happy couple by Matt Thorpe.

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