At the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) 2014 Congress in Birmingham, England last month, Professor James K. Belknap DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVS, of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine reported on an Internet survey he conducted this summer.
Professor Belknap surveyed farriers in the United States and Great Britain about their involvement with veterinarians in the treatment of laminitis and asked for their feedback about working relationships with veterinarians on foot cases. The survey also asked how farriers perceived the level to which the success or limitations of the farrier-vet relationship may affect the outcomes of cases or the perceptions of clients.
Belknap spoke quickly and flipped through his PowerPoint with speed that made it impossible to read to read details in the slide result charts. His presentation was based on tabulation of raw data rather than an in-depth analysis, and he noted that he will probably publish or present the results in a more formal format in the future.
The survey attracted the participation of more than 800 farriers on both sides of the Atlantic. Some questions were worded slightly differently for British farriers, since the farrier profession is regulated there and the education and training are standardized. British farrier Simon Curtis reworded the survey for British farriers.
The actual participation was 455 for the USA and 350 for the United Kingdom. In both groups, the farriers participating described themselves as highly experienced, with a large number claiming more than 20 years of experience as a farrier (see reference slide above: 59% of participants had 11 or more years of experience, and 34% had 20 or more years of experience).
Throughout the series of questions, Belknap noted similar answers and similar frustrations from British and American farriers, indicating that treating laminitis is challenging regardless of location. “Amazing close themes (emerged) between US and UK farriers, despite their differences in training --three-year apprenticeship required, regulated etc.-- compared to the U.S.,” Dr. Belknap noted.
The survey did not drill down to specific shoes or treatments in use for laminitis cases, so there is no trend to report on whether particular shoes or treatments are gaining or losing in popularity. He did mention in passing that US farriers listed cryotherapy (icing the feet and lower limb as soon as possible after discovering that a horse has laminitis) as an effective early treatment, while British farriers did not mention cryotherapy.
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| Dr. Belknap delivering his survey results in Birmingham, England |
Dr. Belknap concurred: “Farriers want to be involved from the initial time a veterinarian examines a laminitis case (even with a call at night or weekend if emergency for the majority of farriers), and work as a team from the start.
“My overall take is that the best approach is for the veterinarian to provide the initial care needed, but inform the owner that they will work with the farrier to come up with a treatment plan which they will then communicate with the owner,” he continued. “There was an overwhelming feeling from both sides of pond that most client problems would go away if client communication was done--on a regular basis--as a team, instead of as two individuals putting the client in the middle.”
To learn more:
Dr. Belknap’s presentation on the survey results is available as a feature of the BEVA Congress’s “EBeva” video education platform. The videos are subscription-based and accessible at ebeva.org.
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