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