Stromsholm's November Newmarket Hoof Care Conference Focuses on Long Toes - Low Heels in the Competition Horse

Stromsholm, a leading British hoof care products supplier, will host the Newmarket Hoof Care Conference on November 17, 2014 in the Millennium Suite at Newmarket Racecourse in Newmarket, England.

Attendance is by advanced reservation only. Please call 01908 233909 to request a reservation.


Speakers will be Dr. Stephen O'Grady (USA), Dr. Thilo Pfau and Professor Renate Weller of the Royal

British Non-Farrier Found Guilty of Over-Trimming, Gluing Hoof Boots; Charged as Animal Welfare Act Violations

The following information is being printed verbatim, except where noted in italics and where spelling has been Americanized. This is a document created by the Farriers Registration Council in the United Kingdom. Hoofcare Publishing requested a copy of this document today and was kindly sent this for publication.

On 2 October 2014, Mr Ben Street of Hixon, Stafford (England) was found guilty

England Wins 35th International Team Horseshoeing Championship at Stoneleigh; USA Third

No doubt there is still smoke in the air over Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, England tonight, but the coal forges are dark, the hammers have gone silent, the horses are loaded and the farriers? Well, they're probably celebrating somewhere, or else on planes and ferries and trains to the 11 nations they call home.



They all have plenty to celebrate, since just getting to compete at the

American Farrier’s Association Team Heads to England for 35th International Team Horse Shoeing Championships

The American Farriers Team was named at the 2014 American Farrier's Association Convention. From left to right: Immediate Past President John Blombach, CJF; Jake Engler, CJF; Josh Stanley, CJF; Rusty Wells, CJF; Ben Mangan, CJF; Robbie Mederos, CJF; and Tom Petersen, CJF. Photo courtesy of the AFA.


via press release:


The American Farrier’s Association (AFA) is pleased to announce that

Hooves Get the White Glove Treatment from Best Shod Horse Judge at Burghley Horse Trials in England

Photo courtesy of Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and Getty Images


You always hear about it, but rarely does anyone ever see it done. Sure, farriers get dressed up in suits and wear bowler hats and white gloves to inspect horse hooves. Sure they do.




"They" are the British farrier judges on the Worshipful Company of Farriers list who are trained in the fine art of recognizing the

Research: Does the Unshod Dressage Horse Really Bear a Competitive Disadvantage?

Irish researcher Richard Mott writes: "This photo is an example of some of the gait analysis work I’m doing for my dissertation comparing the stride patterns of shod and unshod horses. Most previous research has measured shod horses then taken their shoes off and measured them again straight away. The result? 'Look how badly they go without shoes!' To my knowledge, this is the only study that

It's Official: England's Steven Beane Wins His Fifth Calgary Stampede World Championship Title

The Calgary Stampede did not provide photos of the awards this year, so The Hoof Blog had to go hunting for some. We found a perfect photo taken by Tony Kay, OBE, Her Majesty's British Consul General to Calgary and the prairie provinces of Canada. Tony is now quite a fan of farrier competitions and especially of Steven Beane. He snapped this photo of Steven on the huge video screen above

Results: English Farrier Steven Beane Wins His Fifth (and Final) Calgary Stampede World Championship in 2014

Steven Beane practicing at home before Calgary. Photo by Aaron Kampfer, used with permission.


Unofficial news from the Calgary Stampede has placed English farrier Steven Beane in the enviable position of having just won his fifth--and no doubt last--world championship at the Calgary Stampede.


The news was reported late last night, Calgary time, by event sponsors Delta Mustad Hoofcare

Farrier Photography: Matthew Wright Exhibit Shows Andy Eadie Shoeing on England's Lambourn Downs

Photographer Matthew P. Wright followed farrier Andy Edie around the Lambourn Downs area of England. The result is a photography exhibit that has been made into a book, which can be previewed here.





Let's face it, there just aren't very many art exhibits dedicated to photography of farriers or horse hooves. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was invited to one.

Not long ago, if I

Badminton Horse Trials' Farrier Prize to the Best Shod Horse 2013 Won by David Smith

There might not be much left of a pair of shoes by the time the horse has made the circuit of the world's most challenging cross-country course, which is just one phase of the Badminton Horse Trials. Video of horses in this year's event courtesy of Centaur Biomechanics.



Each year, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials presents a "Farriers Prize" for the best shod horse at the world's

On the Case: California Wrap, British Style, for White Line Disease

One of the best things about the Hoof Blog is hearing from people  inspired to share how they would use different materials or methods to achieve the same thing.

Paul Raw, DipWCF is a farrier in northern England who had never heard of the California Wrap featured on the Hoof Blog back in December 2012. But as soon as he saw what Southern California Equine Podiatry's Dr Mark Silverman and

Equine Lameness Education: Sue Dyson Will Be Milne State-of-the-Art Lecturer for 2013 AAEP Convention

Via AAEP News Room




World-renowned equine orthopaedics expert Dr. Sue Dyson will deliver the Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture during the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 2013 Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, December 7 – 11.

Her lecture, “Equine Lameness: Clinical Judgment Meets Advanced Diagnostic Imaging”, will focus on three key areas: the recognition of

England Farriers Team Champions at International Team Event

This weekend, the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association hosted the 33rd International Team Horseshoeing Championships at Stoneleigh, England.

Gill Harris, editor of Forge Magazine, has kindly sent the complete results with the exception of the apprentice team event, which is being double checked.

Apprentice Individual International Class
5 Kenny Little
4 Stuart McGaffin
3 Phil Smith
2

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

Calgary Stampede Farriers: Steve Beane Victory Video and Official Re-Cap

The Calgary Stampede has provided a short video interview with British farrier Steven Beane, AWCF of Yorkshire, England. Steven won the World Championship Blacksmiths Competition at the Stampede last weekend for the fourth consecutive year.

Here's the official press release from the Stampede about the final day of the competition and the last Hoof Blog post on Calgary (for this year):

British Farrier Banned for 90 Days for Damaging Former Client's Horses

A farrier in England has faced two prosecutions for professional misconduct after he was found to have crudely remove one front shoe from each of two event horses owned by a former client.



In court for criminal damages, the farrier "was convicted of cutting the shoes off both animals other than in the ordinary course of farriery, which damaged them" according to a local newspaper account,

Hillside Horse Gets a Jockey...After 3000 Years, Thanks to Irish Bookmaker Prank

England's Uffington Horse is a 3000-year-old iconic carving into a chalky hillside. Was it designed by the ancient Celts as a sign to the gods, like some sort of equestrian crop circle? No one really knows. It's always been there, galloping freely across the vast clear hillsides.

Until this week, that is, when the local people woke up to find a jockey on the horse. and reins.

The amazing

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

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,

Spielberg's War Horse Movie Television Commercial: Here Comes a Great Film!

It doesn't open in theaters until Christmas, but the television commercial is ready to roll. We all know Santa Claus is coming to town, but so is War Horse; Mr. Spielberg's epic story of what war looks like through the eyes of a horse opens on Christmas Day. Two tickets and a promise to buy the popcorn will make a great gift for anyone you know.

Back to the commercial: Hoof Blog readers will