Equine Biomechanics on Broadway: Technical Videos Preview What the Audience Won't See When War Horse Opens in April

If you're new to War Horse, this video from London explains a bit about the play and shows some scenes of the horse puppet in action.

Everyone will soon be talking about the USA Broadway premiere of London's long-running hit stage play, War Horse. I've been writing about it on this blog and everywhere else that would allow me since it launched in 2007. Now we have a chance in the USA to

Laminitis Research: Equine Insulin Resistance Does Not Respond to Metformin Medication; Diet and Exercise Remain Key to Laminitis Prevention

Researchers in Australia tested the effects of a human medication, metformin, on ponies with insulin resistance, a condition that puts horses at risk for developing the endocrine or metabolic form of laminitis. The medication had no effect. (J.A. Holland image)
New research on the pharmacological management of the condition of insulin-resistance in horses and ponies has suggested that diet and

Midnite: Mini's Back on All Four Hooves Thanks to Prosthetic Boot

Midnite is a miniature horse at a rescue farm in North Texas; he has lived his whole life with a deformed hind foot that is missing its coffin bone, according to the Rescue.
Have you heard about Midnite? His story is all over the Internet and television news shows today. This young miniature horse was a law-enforcement rescue case who hopped into Ranch Hand Rescue in South Argyle, Texas on three

Cheltenham's the Place to Be Today

Last year at Cheltenham, the celebrity riders, trainers and familiar faces got together and recorded a song about the race meet that they all love so much for a charity fundraiser.

UPDATE: Watch the video of today's unbelievable Cheltenham Gold Cup on YouTube!
In Gloucestershire, England they run a four-day National Hunt race meeting that is like no other in the world. It's like Saratoga on

St Patricks Day: It's Never Easy Being Green

Is there anything people won't paint green on St. Patrick's Day? Between blinders and check reins, maybe these horses probably can't see what's happened to their feet. Photo by chautauquatourist








© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need

Farrier Image in Charity Print Auction for Japan

A photo by brailowsky on Flickr.
"The Farrier": You've seen him before; this print graced The Hoof Blog back in 2008. Now our friend Vitek from Australia is auctioning this print to help the people of Japan through a wonderful fundraising auction started by a group of international photographers on the photography web site Flickr.com.

He would like to start the bidding at $100 Australian

Grayson Laminitis Research Funding Breaks New Ground: Richardson, Pollitt and Van Eps Join Forces for International Support-Limb Laminitis Prevention Study

Today the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation announced its selection for the 2011 round of equine research projects that will be funded.

Laminitis research figured prominently in the mix of subjects to be studied. In particular, two studies will receive support from the Lexington, Kentucky-based charitable organization.

The first covers the dreadful form of laminitis that led to the death

Equine Hoof Lameness, Laminitis Survey Results from British Study; Statistics Announced at National Equine Forum

Great Britain's Princess Royal addressed the National Equine Forum, where new statistics on horse health were presented.
The 19th National Equine Forum (NEF), held in Great Britain on March 8, 2011, was the launch pad for the results of the United Kingdom’s first public National Equine Health Survey. The event was attended by over 200 of the country’s most influential members of the

Arkansas Veterinary Practice Act Definitions Sought for Guiding Exclusion of Farriers, Tooth Floaters, Other Professions

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Before you click "play" on the video, please take a minute to read this text so you will know what you are watching.

It's time for the politics of horsecare again. Or is it the politics of veterinary care?

We're back in Little Rock, Arkansas, and here are the gentlemen of the House Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resources

Laminitis Prevention Research: Ponies Adapt to Grazing Time Reduction by Eating More in Less Time

Recent laminitis prevention research soon to be presented at a biannual nutrition meeting in the United States suggests that ponies given reduced access to pasture are capable of ingesting considerable amounts of herbage during the time they are turned out and may indeed increase their intake during this time as they become accustomed to the routine.

Intake of large amounts of fructan and other

Theo Jansen's Anatomical Inspirations: Abstract Musing Can Help You Understand and Appreciate Hoof Design

Spring is in the air and a hoof blog editor's fancy turns to...kinetic sculpture. 

But you'll soon understand why.

To anyone who says we can't improve on the way that horses are trimmed or shod, or the way that lame and sick horses' legs are treated or cared for, I'd have to say we're just not trying hard enough. And the answer is not likely to come from tinkering with the designs and

Racetrack Horseshoer's Survey Launched by Grayson Jockey Club's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit

The Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee of the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has compiled an online survey to collect data from horseshoers at US racetracks. Information from the survey will be used to assist the committee's efforts to study how horseshoers are licensed by states or racing jurisdictions, and what changes horseshoers feel may be warranted