Each day, American Farriers Journal encounters a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at an aspect of the equine industry. Our favorite content for "This Week" is aggregated here. We hope it offers a useful tip to improve your hoof-care business, expands your knowledge by giving you something new to ponder, or entertains you when you need a break most.   

• Examiners Offer Certification Insight
• Building a Better Calk
• Therapeutic Shoeing for Heel Pain
• The Science Behind Racing Surfaces

Examiners Offer Certification Insight

Farriers across the country will have ample opportunity this fall to test their horseshoeing knowledge and hands-on skills by participating in American Farrier's Association certifications. In this video, captured at the 2020 AFA Convention in Chattanooga, Tenn., AFA examiners present Certified Farrier and Certified Journeyman Farrier demonstrations including live horses, scoring and a Q&A Session. 

Building a Better Calk

Willoughby Forge is hosting a forging competition at the Lake County Fair Grounds in Crown Point, Ind., Sept. 26-27, in which teams of two will be required to make two pitching shoes on Saturday, then all the teams that qualify to the specs will be in a horseshoe pitching tournament the next day using the shoes they made. Indiana artist, blacksmith and farrier Tom Willoughby demonstrates his approach to building calks for the specimen shoe in the video below.

Therapeutic Shoeing for Heel Pain

Have you ever had a horse with heel pain? Brock, Texas, farrier Lee Olsen shares how Olsen Equine helped an underperforming cutting horse by relieving its heel pain using a Mustad Equi-Librium heart-bar shoe paired with Capewell Slim Blade nails. Olsen also offers some tips on shaping shoes.

The Science Behind Racing Surfaces

Mick Peterson, PhD, director of the University of Kentucky’s Racetrack Safety Program shares his insight about the science behind creating safe racing surfaces during this podcast from The Horse. Peterson’s research links traditional understanding of engineering mechanics and materials to the biomechanics of animals.