A study of the causes of lameness in horses has been carried out by researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at The University of Nottingham in England.

The 70 shoers attending an early November clinic at Nature Farms Farrier Supply in Norman, Okla., went home with some great ideas to enhance their trimming and shoeing work. Six members of the American Association of Professional Farriers board of directors spoke at the Hoofcare Essentials Clinic.

"Lincoln," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field, focuses on the fight to end the Civil War and to pass the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. There is a little secret that you may not realize unless you have some inside information. All of the horses in the movie are wearing urethane Ground Control Horseshoes made in Boerne, Texas. Inventor of the urethane horseshoe, Kristy Watson, and owner of Ground Control Horseshoes received a call in October of 2011 from David Oats, the farrier for the horses in the movie. He said he had orders from Spielberg that a horseshoe was required that would be quiet on the set. Over 200 Ground Control urethane horseshoes were sent to Virginia for the equine cast members. So when you watch the movie, Lincoln, just think about the little secret role that a small company in the Texas Hill Country is playing in the epic movie. For more information go to www.plastichorseshoes.com

For more than 4 years, New York farrier Taylor Keenan has worked with an Oldenburg that has a severe club foot. Not only would you not call this a text book case, but you might as well threw the text book away with this horse.

The 2012 class was added during a ceremony at the International Hoof-Care Summit on Thursday, Feb. 3 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Vibram/Farrier and Hoofcare Resource Center Co-Op Challenge asks partipants to shoe with a keg shoe.