An Amputee Donkey in Egypt Walks Again--on a Recycled Artificial Human Leg

Donkeys figure quite prominently in the original Christmas story, so why not have one star on the Hoof Blog on Christmas Eve? Hector the Egyptian donkey is making news around the world this Christmas, and bringing smiles to faces wherever his story is told or read.

Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group Announced at 2014 AAEP Convention, Will Pursue Board Specialization Status

At the 60th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held December 5 to 9, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group, Inc. publicly announced its existence and intended mission.

Laminitis Research: Feed Company SPILLERS Will Sponsor Two PhD Programs in 2015

Hoofcare Publishing is encouraging donations to laminitis research this holiday season. Right on cue, this press release arrived today with news of new support for program research in Great Britain. Thanks for Spillers for their continued support of laminitis research.

The British horse feed company SPILLERS®, as part of the WALTHAM® International Laminitis and Obesity Research Consortia, is continuing to support important research on laminitis and obesity, with its involvement in two new PhD programs in 2015.

Barefoot Hoofcare Practices Subject of British Government Survey to Veterinarians

A government survey of British veterinarians is taking no prisoners and leaving no stones unturned. While the clear goal of the newly-launched Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ("Defra") online survey is to collect veterinarians' comments on what they have seen and thought about barefoot hoofcare practices in the field, it's obvious that farriers are under this microscope as well.

No one has ever said it in quite such succinct words, or asked from so many angles, however.

Vive St Eloi...and the Spirit of the Monuments Men: Painting of Farrier Patron Saint Returns to Owner

It's the first week in December, time to toast all those French farriers and veterinarians and jockeys who are taking the day off (Monday or Wednesday, depending on your preference) in honor of their patron saint.

But we have something else to toast this St Eloi's Day. Call it an idea whose time came round at last, or call it the influence of Hollywood or the charm of George Clooney and Matt Damon. Whatever you call it, it makes a great blog story.

Because you couldn't make this kind of thing up. Truth really is stranger than fiction sometimes.

Victory's Magnum Champagne Award to Stakes-Winning British Farriers for Fifth Straight Year

Congratulations to the six-man farrier team shoeing the Thoroughbred racehorses of top trainer Richard Hannon in Wiltshire, England. The shoers have yet again won the Victory Magnum and no doubt sent Atlantic Equine’s champagne bill into orbit! Notice that the magnums bear special Victory Racing Plate theme labels, and each bottle has the name and silks of a different stakes-winning horse from Hannon’s yard on the label.

Farriers working for top British racehorse trainer Richard Hannon, Jr. have won Europe's Victory Magnum Prize for an unprecedented fifth time in succession.