Friends at Work: Would You Put Yourself in His Shoes?

Photographer Arjan Haverkamp saw nothing unusual about this scene at the Dierenpark Amersfoort (zoo) in The Netherlands. I think he was curious about the donkey's hooves. When I saw the photo, all I could see was the farrier's shoes!




Yes, Arjan tells me, it is a good idea for farriers to wear the traditional Dutch wooden shoes when they work around horses. "The wooden shoes give good

Saddle Research Trust Rides the Crest of an Equestrian Science Wave

What's the most interesting equine research organization that's not on your radar (yet)? Meet the Saddle Research Trust.



The Saddle Research Trust (SRT) was founded in 2009 to promote the welfare of the ridden horse and to raise awareness of the widely underestimated issues surrounding saddles, equine backs and performance. They've hosted conferences, supported research and initiated an

Olympic Farriers Honored with Medal Ceremony by Worshipful Company of Farriers

The podium was crowded at the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, London on the summer night of July 29th. The Olympics had begun a few days before. The world had arrived in London. At nearby Greenwich Park, the eventing was in full swing.

A team medal ceremony was in order; even though they represented different nations' teams, they were all from the same tribe: Team

Tennessee walking horse shoeing videos: Ending soring begins with education

The end of August has arrived and that means just one thing: it's time for the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

It's one of the largest and possibly most successful horse shows in the United States. As many as 170,000 people from 40 states have attended the 11-day show in recent years. As many as 2,660 horses may compete in the show's171 classes; more than

Two shakes of a dog's tail: Gyro locomotion of animal skin

What if scientists took the same tools they use to analyze how horses walk, trot, canter and gallop and turned it to how they use their bodies?

Forget the legs and hooves (or paws).



Most mammals have a quantity of loose skin that they can move. That looseness gives the skin a locomotion all its own and now scientists are measuring it and trying to understand how and why animals are able to

Hoof Blog Fun: Animated Anatomy Models of the Imagination

It's Sunday, so let's have some Hoof Blog fun.

As you can imagine, the walls here at Hoofcare Publishing are plastered with new and old anatomy posters and gait diagrams.



This one needs a stud girth and over-reach boots.

One day I started wondering about the horses who model for anatomy diagrams. Were they chosen for their ideal conformation--or did they even exist at all? Are there such

Heavy Hooves: Farrier Work Transformed with Tony Golding's Artistic Vision

No words are needed for this video, and none were supplied. This is the work of one of my favorite British photographers, Tony Golding, who normally is photographing British heavy horses in all their glory.

But this time he turned to the bottom of those same horses' feet and zoomed in on the hands of the farriers at a shoeing contest at one of the big shows in England. He got very close and

Cornell Vet School Adds iPads for Portable Radiograph Display

Cornell's Dr. Cheetham shows a client his horse's radiograph right in the farrier shop!



Cornell University Hospital for Animals is excited to share that they have initiated the use of iPads in both the small and large animal hospitals to provide a convenient way to show clients high resolution medical images.

The new Retina display is very good on the iPad 3--possibly better than most of

Laminitis Trust's Eustace Welcomes Owner-Sourced Research Donation from Feed Company Spillers

Robert Eustace, founder of the Laminitis Trust, receives a cheque from Rachel Austin of SPILLERS®


The British feed company Spillers® has donated GB£12,000 (approximately US$20,000) to the Laminitis Trust, to help fund important research on the devastating condition of laminitis in horses.

The funds were raised as the result of a special campaign run by Spillers®, which involved the feed

Walking Horse Celebration: Humane Society (HSUS) Proposal Calls for Biggest Show to Ban Pad Stacks, Use Independent Veterinarians and Farriers to Inspect for Soring

A proposal from The Humane Society of the United States was made public today; it calls for 20 percent of the horses at the Walking Horse Celebration to have their shoes pulled for inspection by independent  veterinarians and farriers recommended by the AAEP and AFA, respectively. (USDA file photo)

The following proposal has been put forward by The Humane Society of the United States ("HSUS")

Olympic Hypersensitivity: Cut on Coronet Forces Canadian Jumper's Horse Out of Games

An FEI inspection of a jumper's pasterns. The clipped pasterns on showjumpers means that any cuts and scrapes, especially on light-colored hooves and coronets, are visible. When these horses compete, they wear jumping boots and may have studs screwed into their shoes. Their pasterns are exposed below the boots. Horses wearing studs commonly step on themselves when they scramble before or after

Scott Lampert Product Test: Regen-X Hoof Wall Treatment Results Measured

 SPONSORED POST





Hoof Wall Regeneration Study by Farrier Scott Lampert

Introduction: If you spend any time on the show circuit in the United States, you know the equine-specialist Perfect Products company and the reputation of its line of show-oriented horsecare products.

This spring, Perfect Products joined the hoofcare industry when it introduced Regen-X, a hoof wall improvement product.

Olympic Horseshoes: Eventing at London 2012 Saved the Best for Last

Source: sfgate.com via Hoofcare Publishing on Pinterest




This is one of my favorite photos from the Olympics so far.

This was the final obstacle on the eventing cross-country course: the horse had to jump through an Olympic-sized horseshoe, with some brush across the base. Mark Todd's horse went through the brush--he was tired--and it slowed down the time.

The shoe is great except no

Friends at the Office: Michael Wildenstein

Today was the perfect summer day. I might have spent it inside the office with my head stuck in the computer except for a visit from our old friend, Michael Wildenstein.

As he was leaving, the sun had gone down and the huge full moon was rising on the horizon over Mike's shoulder. I'm sure that is a portent of great things to come.



Welcome back, Mike.



Call 978 281 3222 or email books@

London's Olympic Farriers: Brendan Murray, Team GB

British eventing team farrier Brendan Murray in his "team kit"


British eventing team farrier Brendan Murray was already on the job, even though the Olympics were still a few days away. But that's all part of his job.



It was the dawn of Brendan's sixth Olympic Games with the British team, and he knows enough of the ropes that he’s now an official part of the advance crew that sets up the

London 2012 Farriers: Meet James Blurton, Lead Farrier

Jim Blurton of Wales is one of those farriers who has more than one claim to fame. But his most recent is the one that might stick the longest.

Jim is a former world champion at the Calgary Stampede. He’s a veteran of countless Welsh national horseshoeing teams. He’s a successful farrier with a burgeoning group practice employing ten or so farriers, and a manufacturing entrepreneur whose

London 2012 Farriers: Tending the Other Olympic Flame

Once there was a peaceful park on the edge of London...

The Opening Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games were pretty spectacular. I’m sure that the highlight for many was when the Queen parachuted out of a helicopter and into the stadium with James Bond at her side and her handbag in place.



But for me, the highlight came before that.

Director Danny Boyle’s timeline portrayal began

Science of the Olympics: Sport Analysis Videos to Inspire Your Thoughts on Horses

Note: NBC Olympics videos have an annoying auto-play function so the videos have been moved off the blog. Please go to "Science of the Summer Olympics: Engineering In Sports", a 10-part video series produced in partnership with NBC Learn to view the videos described in this blog post.





Have you been staring at a television screen, immersed in the Olympics? Are you chewing your nails for

What a Farrier Sounds Like (When Horseowners Stop and Listen)

Horseowner, author, actress and comedian Pam Stone gets (somewhat) serious as she explains how something as simple as her horse losing a shoe can remind us of the people we depend on...and that how we communicate with them is what really matters. This was originally written for a daily newspaper, to be read by non-horsemen. Pam should add "storyteller" to her list of skills.





The panicked

Calgary Stampede Farriers: Potluck Forging Class Showcases the "Art" of Shoeing Horses (And Why That Matters)

People throw around the term "the art and science of farriery" a lot. What does that mean?

Professional hoofcare requires that the farrier use both sides of his or her brain. While they have to learn the anatomy of the horse and the mechanics of the job, they also have to be able to "right brain" the creation, adjustment or placement of the shoe or appliance being attached to the foot.

I