California Chrome: Horseshoer Judd Fisher with a Horse on the Doorstep of History

Best of luck to California horseshoer Judd Fisher as he waits to find out if the horse with his shoes on will make history today by becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Cross your fingers, rub a horseshoe, raise your glass--whatever happens, Judd has done a great job to get California Chrome to this point.  (Judd Fisher photo)

Read more about Judd Fisher and the special shoes that California Chrome wears.

Who Shod the Last Triple Crown Winner?

Sometimes a great event gives me a chance to dig into the archives and find some lost facts that deserve to have another chance to shine.

Triple Crown: Remembering Affirmed, the Horseshoer's Son, and the Horseshoer Himself

Whenever a big race is coming up, you'll see The Hoof Blog joyfully tweeting good wishes to jockey Rosie Napravnik. She is, after all, the horseshoer's daughter who made it to the big time. Her father, New Jersey shoer Charles Napravnik, often shows up in the winner's circle.

In fact, in the photo below of the Kentucky Oaks winner's circle when Rosie won on Untapable, you can clearly see Charlie, with his gray moustache and fedora hat, behind his daughter as she hoists the trophy over her head.

It's a lot of fun to be a Rosie fan, but she's not the first champion jockey to call a horseshoer "Dad". You'll see the original today in the Belmont Stakes coverage. He was the last jockey to win the Triple Crown.

E-Hoof: European Hoofcare Educational Reference Takes Profession to the Next Level

E-hoof.com is in the launching stage and is available for a ten-day free trial. The massive reference and education site has been under construction for years and Hoof Blog readers are invited to view the English-language site.

This article has been a long time in the making. For years, I have tried to peek behind the curtain while wizards created wonders. Finally, it is time to unveil what is surely the single most ambitious hoof-related education project that anyone has ever undertaken.

St Dunstan and the Devil: Why We Hang Horseshoes Over Doors

A French painting by Antoine St Aubert seems to illustrate one version of the St Dunstan legend, or a French legend like it. Religious history seems to be full of blacksmith and farrier saints!

Today is celebrated as the feast day of St Dunstan, a 10th Century saint who lived a quiet life as a smith and a musician in Sussex, England, until one night the devil paid him a visit and one of the great traditions of folklore was born: the nailing of a horseshoe over a door.

Who Left Those Hoofprints in the Sand?

The impermanence of art: the incoming tide will wash away the hoofprints on the beach near Mont St Michel, but the FEI has made a grand impression on the world that only 100 days remain before the opening of the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. (FEI photo)

It's 100 days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games begin in Normandy, France. Something was bound to happen, but who would expect this?