Lost Hoof History: How a Blacksmith's Apron Became the Persian Flag

It's Flag Day in the USA. That seems like a cue to tell my favorite story about a flag from far away and long ago.

Close your eyes and pretend this is a fairy tale, because it certainly sounds like one. I have patched this story together from history books, flag books and online references that are translations of translations.

Leeches for Laminitis: Can an Old Idea Work on Today’s Horses?

A leech positioned at the coronet for treatment of laminitis in the German research of Dr. Konstanze Rasch.

In Part 1 of this article, we introduced the idea of the suitability of medicinal leech therapy for equine lameness, and especially distal limb injuries. Please read that article, which contains a great deal of background information and a video, before you read this one.

Blood suckers? Yes, that’s what they are. But, as we saw in part one of this article, leeches do much more than suck blood. As they attach to the skin and dig in, their saliva (for want of a better name) transmits a potent chemical cocktail into the bloodstream of the host--or victim, or injury site, if you prefer to think of it in a more benign way.

Announcing the HoofMakeover Video Series: Farrier Hans Wiza's Case Studies on Restoring Hoof Health

"HoofMakeover" is a series of downloadable case studies of three trims and/or shoeings that each detail the rehabilitation of a hoof over a period of 100 days. Developed by Ontario, Canada farrier Hans Wiza, the videos attempt to simplify hoof re-balancing and de-fuse the challenges of working on horses with weak hooves and conformational challenges by using time, observation and horsemanship to keep the hoofwork in perspective with the whole horse, how he stands, and how he moves.

- - - - S P O N S O R E D   S T O R Y - - - -

Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital to Acquire Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service

via press release

The shareholders of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky and Dr. Bill and Diana Barnes of Saratoga Springs New York are pleased to announce that Rood and Riddle will purchase Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service in Saratoga Springs, New York.

British Farrier Apprentice System Suspended as Training Suffers Negative Government Evaluation

Apprentices are traditionally part of the landscape of farriery in Great Britain. These apprentices to Jim and/or Allan Ferrie competed at the Clydesdale shoeing event at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland. (David McCrone photo, used with permission)

A crisis has emerged in Great Britain, where the future of farrier education has been endangered by a withdrawal of government funding for the program following an unfavorable inspection report to Parliament by a national agency.

The situation described in this article has been going on for a few weeks now, and it seems like there is hope now for a solution, so here’s a report on the situation as it stands today.

Video: Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy's Legacy is Both Tragedy and Inspiration for Veterinarians and Horsemen

Please allow time for videos to load.




You know things are bad when CNN dedicates a segment to injured horses in a natural disaster, but that's what happened on Friday when the global news network aired a story by newsman Gary Tuckman, who was on hand with Oklahoma's Joe Boecker, DVM to show in graphic detail what a tornado can do to a horse.

Hoof Blog readers around the world who think that the Oklahoma victims are strangers in a far-off place should know that someone very familiar to this blog was deeply impacted by the storm. An earlier tornado hit Shawnee, Oklahoma, including property of Michael Steward, DVM.