Dave Duckett Downunder: Hoofcare Education and Farrier Competition in Australia

Special report from Australia by Betsy Lordan, DVM

The Professional Farriers’ Association of New South Wales, Australia recently hosted farrier legend, Dave Duckett, FWCF for a series of educational clinics and a horseshoeing contest.

California Chrome’s Newmarket Souvenirs: Aluminum Bar Shoes with HammerHead Nails

Do racehorses have to go through customs and fill out those little declaration forms? If so, reigning Horse of the Year California Chrome had better think twice when he lands in Chicago on Tuesday, should he check off the “nothing to declare” box.

He’d better hope the customs agents don’t look at the bottom of his feet.

Hoofcare Confidential: American Pharoah’s Subtle Triple Crown Horseshoe by Wes Champagne

Suds stream down the hooves of American Pharoah's legs during a bath at Belmont Park last week. How can such an extraordinary horse run so brilliantly on ordinary horseshoes, you ask. Maybe they only look ordinary, is the answer. (© Associated Press photo by Julie Jacobsen, used with permission)

Badminton Horse Trials Farriers Prize 2015: Instant Replay for Best-Shod Four-Star Eventer Hooves

If you think you've heard this one before, stop me. But some things are worth repeating, and history has repeated itself. So have a farrier, a horse, a rider, an owner, and a judge at the world's premier three-day event. Re-meet the winner of the 2015 Badminton Horse Trials Farriers Prize.

Lost Shoes, Caught Shoes and Twisted Shoes: Drama on the Hoof

It happens. But it rarely happens when you are pointing a camera at a horse. This image begs the question: Did one of these horses lose the shoe a second before the photo was taken, or was the shoe buried in the arena footing and springboarded into the air when one of them stepped on it? Definitely one for the Lost Shoe Hall of Fame by Santa Cruz, California photographer Eleanor Anderson. (Image © Eleanor Anderson)

Lost shoes were in the news this week, and it turns out that the tribunal in Ireland didn't feature the only lost shoes in the news.  Each of us has a favorite lost shoe photo, video or story.

All for Want of a Shoe: Lost Horseshoes Subject of Nine-Hour Irish Turf Tribunal and Australian Rule Change

One of horse sports' great wild cards has always been the lost shoe. Some horses lose a shoe and stop in their tracks. Some keep running and jumping--even winning. Sometimes the shoe sparkles in the sun. Sometimes it's never found.

Some people just shrug it off. Some people want to do something about it. And sometimes it's just a mystery.