Farrier Model Dean Dibsdall Wins British Reality TV Show; Next Project Is Documentary of His Life Shoeing Horses

Farrier Dean Dibsdall has been in the news in England lately for his victory in a reality last-man-standing show called "Playing It Straight".  He also works as a model and next month will be the star of a documentary about...himself. (Photo courtesy of Horse and Country TV)

You never know who your friends are. In this case, a perfectly nice farrier from England turned out to be have a second

Racing Two-Year-Old Thoroughbreds: Does It Promote Longer, More Successful Racing Careers? Kiwi Numbers Might Not Tell the Whole Story

Zenyatta was the exception to the rule, if judged by the New Zealand statistics. She began her phenomenal racing career in the fall of her three-year-old season. (Dave Cooper photo)




Just published: The association of two-year-old training milestones with career length and racing success in a sample of Thoroughbred horses in New Zealand JC Tanner, CW Rogers, EC Firth Equine Veterinary

Hallmarq Standing MRI and Chronic Equine Foot Lameness: What’s Going On Inside the Foot?

Sport horse lameness requires a diagnosis to pinpoint the injury site and a prognosis to predict when and if the horse might return to training. The veterinarian chooses from a set of alternative plans to gain recovery based on restricting the horse to stall rest, turning him out, or following a prescribed limited exercise program. The program is determined by the site of the injury and the

Video: Rood and Riddle Laminitis Treatment and Stem Cell Therapy for Regally-Bred Rescued Racehorse

"Laminitis: Film at 11" was the message in Tucson, Arizona this weekend as the media framed the play-by-play of treatment to a rescued laminitic Thoroughbred by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Vern Dryden. Videos are posted at the end of this article. This slideshow is compiled of images taken by Kim Reis. The slide show in its entirety and the individual photos as well

Historic Capewell Triumphs Recalled As Connecticut Looks Back After Learning Delta Mustad News of Nailmaker's Departure

On the nailmaking floor: Stanley Wojnilo has worked for Capewell Horse Nails for 53 years. This photo was of Stanley was featured in the Hartford Courant newspaper today. Stanley came to America from Poland and his first--and only--job was making horseshoe nails for Capewell. According to the newspaper report, in the early 1900s Capewell shipped 20 million pounds of nails a year. 




Several

Capewell Ends 131-Year Run Making Nails in USA as Delta Mustad Consolidates Horse Nail Factories

George Capewell's Grave; photo from the Library of Congress

The news from Delta Mustad hit the streets today: Capewell nails will no longer be made in America. Of course the company has big plans, but a chunk of US horse history ceases with this announcement.



Detail from grave

Hoofcare Publishing and I wish all the employees of the Connecticut factory the very best in their new pursuits

Professional Farriers Honor Larry Rumsby

AAPF Presentation: (left to right) Director Steve Prescott, Vice President Dave Farley, Director Roy Bloom, Honorary Member #1 Larry Rumsby, President Jeff Ridley and Director David Dawson. 

Canadian farrier Larry Rumsby of Bromont, Quebec received special recognition recently when he was named the first honorary member of the American Association of Professional Farriers (AAPF). Larry was

Headlamps and Horseshoes: Finnish Farriers Shed Some Light on Their Equipment

Farrier Lee Canham works in the dark Finnish winter with a headlamp that illuminates the hoof for him.
 (photo by Tuomas Kauko)


They call it the Midnight Sun. In winter, above a certain northern latitude, there's simply not much daylight. For farriers who must keep working on their clients' hooves, that means shoeing in the dark for at least part of the year.



Finnish farriers Lee Canham

A Slip of the Anvil on Downton Abbey: Did you catch the reference?

Here's some trivia for a February Sunday afternoon: how closely are you paying attention when you watch television?




Notice the horse being shod in the background as the
wedding proceeds. 


If you're like me, you'll be glued to the television tonight for the final episode of the second year of the PBS/BBC mini-series Downton Abbey. 



And if you're also anything like me, you knew that,

ON THE (Dressage) CASE: Euro Rock ‘n Roll Horseshoe Evolves with Vet-Farrier Collaboration, California Style

Just As Successful Dressage Illustrates Synergy Between Horse and Rider, 

Successful Dressage Hoofcare Illustrates Synergy Between Vet and Farrier 
by Fran Jurga

Background: The Hoof Blog took a long look at the Euro “rock n roll” shoe this fall, with photos of the great Spanish PRE grand prix dressage horse Fuego, who wears them when he competes against the likes of Totilas and Parzival.

Book Announcement: Pete Ramey's Collaborative Reference "Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot" from Hoofcare Books

Title:  Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot
Author: Pete Ramey, lead author, with collaborative chapter authors
Chapter authors: 
Robert M. Bowker, VMD, PhD
Hilary M. Clayton, PhD, Dipl ACVSMR, MRCVS
Brian Hampson, PhD
Eleanor Kellon, VMD
Kerry Ridgway, DVM
Debra R. Taylor, DVM, MS, DACVIM
Kathryn Watts, BS





CHAPTERS BY GUEST AUTHORS: Concept of the Good Foot: Its Evolution and

Have a Heart: Hoofcare's Plastinated Valentine to the World

Today's a big day for hearts. Whenever I think of hearts, I think of that racehorse champion of days gone by, Phar Lap. He's always associated with Australia, but the truth is that he was foaled in New Zealand. Next month will be the 80th anniversary of his tragic death at the heigh of his racing career.


When Phar Lap died, his heart and his hide went to two museums in Australia, and his

Deformity in Motion: Neglected Hooves Respond in Ireland

Johnny and James are two otherwise anonymous donkeys in Ireland who have been lucky enough to be rescued and find some kind people at The Donkey Sanctuary there.

Horses and ponies and donkeys with overgrown hooves are not uncommon to find. We routinely see photos of them when they are rescued by agencies or brought to farriers and vets for care.

But Johnny and James are different because

AVMA: Horseshoeing Is No Longer an Excluded Profession in the New Model Veterinary Practice Act (But Farriery Is)

What's in a name?

If you are a non-veterinarian who goes by any number of job titles to define your work with horses' hooves, you might start to wonder.

Perhaps you thought you were practicing blacksmithing, plating, hoof care, trimming, horseshoeing or  podiatry. While those job titles seem to evoke a definitive impression of what the person does for a job, the more archaic and woefully

War Horse Hoofcare: Puncture Wounds Then and Now

While collecting photos of farriers during World War I, I passed over this photo several times without realizing how interesting it was. It took a magnifying glass to appreciate this one.

The sign reads, "'Kindness to animals, 500 horses lamed weekly by nails dropped on roads and horse lines by cookers carrying firewood with nails left in. Please remove nails."

As if the war horses didn't

Foal Defomity: SPANA's Video Postcard from a Developing World Clinic

This video is provided to give you an idea of the type of challenges that a charity like SPANA faces at its clinics. We do not have medical records or radiographs of this foal to document the severity of the injury. We all know that this type of deformity would be a challenge to any veterinary practice, and yet the treatment seems very simple and straightforward and the effect was almost

War Horse Hoofcare: Don't Come Between a Farrier and His Horse

Photographers talk about the "point of infinity" in an image. There's a horizon or a focal point that draws your eye to the defined distance. Or lack of a defined distance.



This photo of farriers at work at a British horse stables in France during World War I is a study in efficiency, 1915-style. You see one man (on far left) in charge of the bellows for the little portable forge. One

War Horse on Your Coffee Table: A Beautiful Book About the Film from Hoofcare Books

Scroll down to the bottom of this article to initiate your order and proceed to PayPal.


Every once in a while, a book comes along that belongs not in your office, not in your barn, not in your truck. No, this book belongs on your coffee table, or maybe in the waiting room of a  vet clinic or farrier shop.

Over the years, this blog has championed the story of War Horse, from the very time