Burney Chapman by Miller,Brown& Bradley

We, who knew Burney, all have Burney stories. I just wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and pass on two of mine. Burney was one Farrier who had a goal of pushing Farrier Science in the United States to progress above and beyond anything imaginable up to that time. He strived to end the concept of 200 years of tradition unhampered by progress. Mike Savoldi, Burney and I spent countless hours, many times into the wee hours of the night peering over photos, charts and paper napkins drawing of feet. Like I said, he was a man for progress and education.
The real legacy of Burney was evident the day of the “shoe-in” for Burney. I was in Reno, Nevada when I received a call saying there was going to be a shoe-in for Burney at this place and would I be able come. With all Burney had given to me, that phone call was all it took – I parked my truck at the airport and was on the next flight to Lubbock, Texas. When I arrived, there were not just a few local Farriers, bur Farriers from all over the United States. Old ones – young ones, all those who had been touched by Burney in some way and like me, just wanted the ability to give something back. There was no fanfare, no news flashes; no ego’s begging for the limelight, just a bunch of friends helping out a friend in need. Some of the finest Farriers in the country were there trying to give a little back to Burney in appreciation of the time and education he had given to all Farriers. We all left after that day, hoping against all odds that we would have the chance to see this fine man again. Some did not, but those who did and saw his struggle will always remember that day when friends gathered together for a true friend.

    Back in the early 1980s, The Arabian Horse Horse business was booming. I was on a retainer and was shoeing for Lasma Arabians in Scottsdale, Arizona and La Grange, Kentucky. They also had a small operation in Southern California.
I was trying to salvage a few mares and one stallion that were suffering from acute laminitis. I wasn't having much success with them using old fashioned methods.
    I first saw Burney Chapman at the AFA convention in Houston in 1983. He was demonstrating his heart bar shoe on a mare as badly affected as any in my care. I was sitting in the back with Kenny Mankel of Cannonsburg, Michigan. We could see up close as they were video taping the demo and the big screen monitors made it possible for us to see every detail. Burney's "Texan" narration left nothing unexplained. By the time Burney was finished he was inundated by about 500 farriers from around the world all with questions. I told Kenny, "This will work on some of my clients!" I did get to meet him briefly, but he'd blown the lid off on a topic of monstrous proportions, so his time was limited.
    A couple of days later, back in Arizona, I talked to the ranch manager about Burney and the success he was having with his methods. He asked me to call him and see if he could come out and work on these mares and the stallion. The ranch veterinarian was skeptical and said it was useless, but we made the decision to ask him to come. Burney arrived the following Sunday and we immediately went to work on a couple of the mares. By the time he was finished with the second one, he began directing me through the procedures. I was most impressed with the precision the heart bar needed to be applied. These horses had a collective sale value of about three and one-half million dollars. Burney returned on a regular basis and we worked on them for about seven months. They all lived, the mares carried their foals full-term, and the stallion returned to breeding soundness.
    Burney worked on some of the Kentucky horses for several years with great success. I was able to manage the Arizona and California horses with equal success. Over a period of time, I found my vocabulary expanding with the exposure to words and phrarses such as, "resection and debridement, prolapsed soles, circumflex arteries, compromised circulation, pressure necrosis, sinkers" etc. I was just one person in the cadre of shoers Burney directed and helped.

    It was a great experience to watch and work with Burney, but mostly it was a privilege to call him a good friend and fellow horseshoer.

     In my humble opinion, one of the greatest advancements in farrier science, in our time, has been the fact that Burney Chapman re-introduced the heart bar shoe for a multitude of therapeutic applications. The heart bar has been a godsend for foundered horses, crushed heels, extensive resectioning of the hoof capsule etc. As Burney said, "it is not a new shoe, just an old shoe brought back into use."  This came from his many years of research for a practical devise in the treatment of founder.
    I was fortunate to witness the dramatic results of his working on the Grand Prix Olympic hopeful, Galoni, in this tribute to Burney. The poor animal had a hard time walking before Burney went to work on him. A couple hours of his "magic" and the horse felt so good that, when he trotted up and down, I nearly got wind burn from him kicking out with both hind feet. I was standing almost too close to him. It was the most dramatic change I had ever seen in a lame horse.
    One time Burney spent some time at our house. Long, tall Burney had to sleep diagonally in the double bed in order to get a good night's sleep. It was during that visit that I noticed every time we went inside anywhere, off would come his cowboy hat. It was so obvious; I mentioned it to him. He then told me how it was when he worked on the 6666 ranch. They were out on a cattle roundup, and even when they went under the fly to get their victuals at the chuck wagon, all the hands would doff their hats. Once their plates were full, they'd go out and sit cross legged while downing the meal --- with their hats on.
    Burney was a true gentleman wherever he might be. Whether in the company of a lady, or out on a roundup, he knew correct protocol regarding one's hat.