Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky will host the third International Equine Podiatry Conference.The doors to the forge are always open at the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Someone is always going in or out, and the equine podiatry clinic is a favorite stop on every hospital tour. But from April 18-20 this year, the doors will open even wider to ..read more

Joe Alfano has been the horseshoer at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg for 50 years. The horse show honored him this year by inducting him in the event's Hall of Fame. Joe is shown here with his niece (left), well-known equestrian Jennifer Alfano, and PNHS Executive Director Susie Shirk. (Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography)How do you top reaching the landmark of 50 years of ..read more

At England’s Staffordshire County Show earlier this month, British farrier Grant Moon, FWCF represented the Worshipful Company of Farriers in an inspection of Shire Horses entered to show. This is one of the hind feet he inspected. (Photo courtesy of Grant Moon)The feathery hooves of Britain’s magnificent Shire horses are receiving close scrutiny in 2023, as the breed society addresses possible ..read more

On Saturday, the 2023 Kentucky Derby favorite was scratched from the big race, just hours before the horses headed to the starting gate. Two-year-old champion Forte stayed in the barn that afternoon, after a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian scratched the colt following a post-gallop inspection in the stable area.Forte’s scratch by regulators came at a time when a dark cloud already ..read more

Ian Davies, DipWCF is hard at work in his new job.The British-born and British-educated farrier has joined the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Davis, California. The vet school welcomed Ian to his new position yesterday.Ian brings 25 years of experience to his new position. While focused on farriery, his experience has been gleaned by ..read more

Human patients use them--why not horses? Therapy devices don't always translate for parallel use between humans and horses, but a system developed at a US veterinary college may bring relief for horses suffering from swollen limbs and lymphedema. And it can do on all four legs at once.Veterinary researchers from North Carolina State University in Raleigh have utilized technology aimed at helping ..read more

You might have heard that the Budweiser Clydesdales will be missing from the action at Super Bowl LVII this Sunday in Arizona. The St Louis brewer will not run an expensive ad featuring America's favorite team. (Yes, a hitch of giant Clydesdales are more beloved than either the Chiefs or the Eagles will ever be.) But there will be a Budweiser Clydesdale commercial, you can be sure of that. It ..read more

The world watched Swedish barefoot show jumpers sweep the individual and team gold medals at the FEI World Championships in August in Herning, Denmark. At the same event, the media received a preview of a comprehensive hoof science study that hopes to explain why they won. The Hoof Blog offers this exclusive report.For almost a year, a research group led by Professor Lars Roepstorff of the ..read more

History was made at the FEI 2022 World Championships in Herning, Denmark in August. After the first two rounds of jumping, three of the top four horses on the scoreboard were shoeless. And at the end of the full event, the world champion individual horse was barefoot, as were half the winning gold medal team.Maybe barefoot showjumpers on indoor footing aren't news anymore, after the brilliant ..read more

We all know horse owners who can recite entire pedigrees, race records, or a lifetime of judges' scores. But veterinarians and farriers would prefer that owners have the history of their horses’ insulin test results on the tips of their tongues. A new stallside diagnostics tool called Wellness Ready provides real-time equine insulin levels from a simple blood test kit; it is now available to ..read more