Blacksmith Buddies: Vet school students and farriers work together in Florida

What is (or are) Blacksmith Buddies? A few years ago, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine students and local farriers joined forces for mutual education and camaraderie. It was such a success that it has gained momentum and now has an extended program of both informal ridealong opportunities for students and multiple educational events for both students and farriers during the school year.

WEGucation: Horse health lectures added to FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 schedule

Can you feel the "back to school" energy in the air? As calendars turn to September, it is obvious that the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG) at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in North Carolina are just ten days away, and WEG organizers are capitalizing on the back to school mindset.

No, it won't be all competition, all the time in Tryon; an educational program will run throughout the event, which runs from September 11 to 23, 2018.

Burghley's best-shod horse 2018: Records broken and handicaps overcome with farrier's one-handed excellence

For the third time in five years, an Irish Sport horse named Coolys Luxury was won England's Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials' "Best Shod Horse" prize for rider Tom Crisp and his long-time farrier James Hayter.

And not just that: Ringwood Sky Boy, ridden by New Zealand's Tim Price had been judged best-shod back in 2015.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Have you ever heard farriers brag that they could shoe a horse with one armed tied behind their backs?

That’s pretty close to what happened when the day came to shoe this horse for Burghley 2018.

Gene therapy: Second stage of research documents further success for rehabilitation of tendon injuries in lame horses

Equine surgeon Milomir Kovac performs an ultrasound on a horse; ultrasound was used to monitor healing in tendon injuries in a group of race and sport horses treated with an experimental gene therapy designed to both speed healing and improve the quality of the healed injury site to prevent recurrence. (Image courtesy of University of Nottingham)

In October 2017, The Hoof Blog reported on experimental research looking into direct-injection gene therapy for soft tissue lameness injuries in horses. The authors of the 2017 paper had successfully cured lameness in two horses and published their results in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Dyson: Equine performance assessment tests veterinarians' ability to recognize pain-related behavior

Before the study horses were ridden, Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy (ACPAT) physiotherapist Jo Spear assessed each one. (Saddle Research Trust photo)

Will veterinarians succeed in using Dr Sue Dyson's new "equine ethogram" system to identify behavioral signs of musculoskeletal pain in horses?

Transitions: Hoof research innovator Renate Weller makes career move to corporate veterinary education

Professor Renate Weller (center) of the Royal Veterinary College in the United Kingdom announced this week that she is leaving academia for a career in corporate veterinary education. Weller has been a magnet in the equine industry for her inclusive and inspiring dialogues with students, horse owners, farriers and the public. She is shown here during a demonstration for an equestrian group touring the RVC's Structure and Motion Laboratory where she conducts research. (RVC publicity photo)

Professor Renate Weller, Drvetmed, PhD, MScVetEd, ACVSMR, FHEA, NTF, ECVSMR, MRCVS, has announced her decision to leave her academic teaching role at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London in the United Kingdom.