AAPF/CAPF Announce Farriers Assistance Program for Injured or Ill Members

You see this message in an elevator. Now you might see this on the side of a farrier vehicle, too. (Seth Neilson photo)

What happens when farriers are injured or ill and can't work? Their friends in the profession help them, that's what happens. And the American Association of Professional Farriers and Canadian Association of Professional Farriers have joined forces to establish a way to get it officially done for the members of the two associations.

Video: Inside the Online Veterinary Anatomy Museum with Mark Evans

The Online Veterinary Anatomy Museum ("OVAM") continues to mature, expand, blossom and amaze, and now British television host (and veterinarian) Mark Evans adds his two cents to the value of this web-based resource of sharable resources with this video feature.

The Laminitis Conference Announces Call for Abstracts/Presentation/Poster Summaries for 2013

Plastination specimen by Dr. Christoph Von Horst, HC Biovision/plastinate.com

The International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot has published its call for abstracts for the 2013 conference, to be held November 1-3, 2013 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The document, visible in this article, can be downloaded for your reference or shared to social media.

Off Topic Video: Slo-mo beach gallop--with a twist

It's no secret that the Hoof Blog is known almost as widely for launching unusual horse-related videos and commercials as for hoof-related stories. You saw the Budweiser Clydesdale ad here first and now you're seeing the new--and slightly weird--Citroen commercial.

The what?

Hoofcare History: Japanese Hoof Sandals Gave Horses Removable Traction

This amazing photo from Japan shows the traditional straw sandals worn by horses there. The sandals attached with straw ties around the pastern. Notice that this horse's hind feet are left alone. (T. Enemi image courtesy of Rob Oechsle)

As much as I love reading the history of hoofcare and lameness from British and American historical perspectives, it's the other countries and other parts of the world that keep my reading lamp on at night. There is so much we don't know about how hooves were cared for in other cultures.

From my reading, it almost seems like horseshoes were one of the things that European merchants and explorers brought with them to new lands--and left behind, along with Christianity. They converted the people to Eurocentric religions and their horses to iron shoes.

But what were they using before the Europeans showed up, and is there something that we can learn from them?

Oklahoma Farrier, Victim of Trailer Theft, Boosted by Fellow Viet Nam Veterans

Please wait for the remote video clip to load.

Sometimes when bad things happen to good people, it brings out the best in other people.