Diamond's Back! Questions and Answers About the "New" Diamond Horseshoes and Tools

In 2015 the Royal Kerckhaert Horseshoe Company purchased Diamond Horseshoes and Tools.  What had once been the widest-selling shoe and tool line in America (and far beyond) has been getting a new look and, for many products, a new feel and new features. How are things going for the brand, now that the transition to the new owner is complete? Hoofcare and Lameness posed some questions to Farrier Product Distribution (FPD), which we hope will be helpful to everyone who uses--or whose horses wear--the Diamond brand of shoes and tools.

Political Cartoons: Public opinion was forged with humor from the blacksmith shop

How would Joe Biden look at the anvil? Traditionally, political cartoons have portrayed US Presidents as blacksmiths and, sometimes, farriers. Here you see President Woodrow Wilson portrayed in 1917 as a striker, not the smith. Uncle Sam is the smith, and he is urging Wilson to swing and hit, while the iron is still hot. The shoe has "crisis" written on it; it probably refers to the hesitation of the United States under Wilson to abandon isolationism and enter World War I on the side of the Allies. This old political cartoon by William Allen Rogers is from the archive of the Library of Congress's Cabinet of American Illustration.

Saturday Night Live notwithstanding, there hasn’t been much to laugh about when it comes to US politics lately. And ever since former-farrier Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the Democratic primaries back in 2015, there have been almost no tie-ins at all to hoofcare, horseshoes or even horses.

Shane Westman Joins the University of California at Davis as Large Animal Clinic Farrier

Shane Westman recently was appointed Large Animal Clinic Farrier at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. (Image courtesy of UC Davis)

Congratulations to the University of California at Davis and to Washington farrier Shane Westman on Shane's official appointment as farrier at the UC Davis Large Animal Clinic. Shane is embarking on a new career path that will see him following in the rather large hoofprints of that university's famous longtime farrier, Mr. Charles Heumphreus and, more recently, another longlasting farrier, Bill Merfy.

Career Opportunity: New Arizona Equine Podiatry Center Seeks Farrier

Arizona Equine Medical & Surgical Centre seeks an American Farrier's Association certified JOURNEYMAN FARRIER  (or equivalent qualification) for our newly developed Arizona Equine Podiatry Center.   

Evidence-Based Farriery: Plan to Attend Myhre Equine Clinic's 29th Annual Farrier/Veterinarian Conference with Dr. Andy Parks

It's that time of year: let's all drive to New Hampshire and enjoy the 29th Annual Myhre Equine Clinic Farrier/Veterinarian Conference in Rochester, New Hampshire. This article will include as many details as possible for you to make your plans.

Hosted by Dr. Grant Myhre, the big two-day event will be held later this week, October 28-29.

Video: British Racing Farriers, Thoroughbred Hoofcare Featured on CNN Special Segment

CNN racing reporter Aly Vance interviewed Newmarket farrier William (Billy) Mulqueen, DipWCF about the importance of farriery to racehorses for an extended segment on stable staff working for British Thoroughbred trainer William Haggas.

October 22, 2016 was a great day for everyone who works behind the scenes with (and for) racehorses. CNN aired a "Winning Post" edition on the people behind the horses, including a three-minute special feature on the importance of farriers.

Filmed in Newmarket, England at the racing yard of trainer William Haggas, the show, which is distributed internationally (except to the United States), featured CNN's Aly Vance learning about the Somerville Lodge stable lads, equine physiotherapist, veterinarian and a crew of farriers from Mulqueen Farriery Consultancy in nearby West Row in the county of Suffolk.

The videos are posted below, in two parts, courtesy of CNN.