Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital opens doors for International Equine Podiatry Conference April 18-20, 2024

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 welcome attendees to the hospital's third International Podiatry Conference. 

Attendees should expect to roll up their sleeves, buckle their aprons, and spend two days in a stimulating state-of-the-art treatment and diagnosis center where the highly-trained staff looks expertly -- and exclusively -- at the equine hoof. A registration at this conference guarantees that the motivated participants can and will get their hands dirty and their questions answered.

15 Talking Points on Laminitis Prevention from the BEVA Congress: What Horse Owners Need to Know to Prevent Laminitis

At the 2019 British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress earlier this month in Birmingham, England, three speakers emphasized the need to further educate horse owners on the prevention of laminitis and in the dangers of equine obesity. Their lectures have been condensed down to talking points for communicating with owners about changes in horsecare that may help horses avoid the disease.

Australian Equine Laminitis Research Veterinarian Andrew van Eps Joins Penn Vet New Bolton Center

Australian laminitis researcher
Andrew van Eps, BVSc, PhD, MACVSc, 

DACVIM is moving to America. Dr. van
Eps is noted for his contributions related
to cryotherapy, or icing, of horses' lower
limbs to prevent laminitis, and recent
research on support limb laminitis. (Hoof
Blog/Laminitis Conference file photo)

Renowned for his research on equine laminitis, Dr. Andrew van Eps joined the faculty of Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in December as Associate Professor of Equine Musculoskeletal Research.

Van Eps has spent the majority of his career at The University of Queensland in Australia, most recently as Director of the Equine Hospital and Associate Professor of Equine Medicine. The University is also his alma mater; he graduated with his veterinary degree (BVSc) in 1999 and his PhD in 2008.

The move marks a return to New Bolton Center, where he completed his residency in large animal internal medicine in 2008 and spent another year as a lecturer and clinician.

“We are fortunate to have attracted Dr. van Eps to Penn Vet,” said Dr. Gary Althouse, Chairman of the Department of Clinical Studies at New Bolton Center. “He comes to us both as a seasoned clinician and an equine researcher of international caliber.”

Research Update: Laminitis and Lameness Project Funding Announced by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s board of directors has announced a slate of 19 research projects which the Foundation will fund for a total of $1,003,580 in 2014. The list includes eleven new projects and five which are in their second year, as well as three Storm Cat Career Development Awards.

Research Report: Dr James Belknap Summarizes Developments in Understanding Laminitis Funded by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation

The following report by Dr Belknap summarizes the sequence of his latest research on laminitis through funding supplied by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and is reprinted with the Foundation's permission.

Dr. James Belknap of The
Ohio State University

The funding by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation (GJCRF) and the NTRA (Barbaro Fund) of our last two projects on the efficacy of cryotherapy in laminitis has allowed us to bring to fruition a great deal of effort by many investigators over several decades. This has furthered our understanding of laminitis and to truly bring to the forefront the first laminitis therapy which has passed thorough scientific rigor as an effective therapy for laminitis.

Laminitis is a disease in which the hoof wall separates from the soft tissue attached to the distal phalanx (coffin bone), resulting in the distal phalanx undergoing a crippling displacement towards the ground surface of the hoof.

Laminitis Research: BEVA's Equine Veterinary Journal Grants Free Public Access to New Findings

Temporary open access to a group of laminitis research papers is available to students, professionals and horse owners.

This doesn't happen every day.

The Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) has announced that it is giving the public open (free) access to a collection of important new research papers on equine laminitis.

Normally, non-subscriber access to these articles would be as much as US$40 per view.

The papers include practical advice as well as the latest research. The initiative has been made possible thanks to sponsorship from the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Trust.

Professor Celia Marr, BVMS, MVM, PhD, DEIM, DipECEIM, MRCVS, and editor of the EVJ explains: “In view of the growing public interest in high quality science, there is increasing demand for easy, open access to journal articles via the internet, particularly on topics such as laminitis.

"In recent years, there has been an explosion of knowledge and new thinking about this devastating condition. We have also recognized that some of the old-fashioned remedies, such as standing in cold water, have sound science behind them. I hope that horse owners who are unfortunate enough to have come across laminitis will find this new online resource valuable.”

Laminitis is an equine health crisis whose time has come. The British Equine Veterinary Association Foundation recognized the need for open access to the latest research, and responded by opening a special edition of its journal to the public. (BEVA image)

The EVJ laminitis virtual issue, comprising 15 original research articles on topics including the role of insulin, the effects of cryotherapy and the regulation of epidermal stem cells in affected horses, is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1001/%28ISSN%292042-3306/homepage/laminitis__recent_advances_and_future_directions.htm.

In addition, the issue contains several articles from international experts commissioned by the EVJ on important aspects of laminitis including causes, treatment, prevention and future research projects.

Contributors to this special issue include world-leading equine veterinary and research experts on the subject of laminitis: James Belknap, Ray Geor, Samuel Black, James A. Orsini from the USA, Andrew van Eps from Australia and Nicola Menzies-Gow from the UK.

Subjects covered include the present state and future of laminitis research, endocrinological aspects of the pathophysiology of equine laminitis, sepsis-related laminitis, supporting limb laminitis and progress towards effective prevention and therapy for laminitis.

The EVJ has a long history of promoting laminitis research. In 2004, the publication produced a special issue dedicated to laminitis and since that time significant numbers of articles on laminitis have been published every year.

Professor Marr concludes: “We hope that this special laminitis virtual issue will provide the rigor and quality of information that many horse owners are now seeking, to help them to understand and deal with this condition as effectively as possible.”

The landscape of academic publishing is changing as "open access" becomes the zeitgeist.

Open access in scientific publishing is a growing controversy in the academic and professional publishing world. New peer-reviewed journals are appearing that offer the public free viewing and sometimes downloading of new research and educational content, while others continue to restrict access to individuals and libraries that purchase subscriptions. These new journals both challenge the traditional model of restricting access to research while also expanding exposure for researchers.

Logo for the open access system.

Authors and researchers desire more access for their papers, but the traditional model restricts access, and the fees do not go to the authors and researchers. Journal publishers, on the other hand, have the high cost of editing and printing journals and of maintaining web sites.

The debate over open access is a fascinating one. EVJ's opening of this special issue to the public is evidence that the British Equine Veterinary Association recognizes the benefits of at least occasionally opening a few papers to the public, who often donate to the research that is detailed in the papers, but are often asked to pay to read what they have already funded.

To learn more:

Click to purchase and/or review the contents of the 2004 special print edition with Dr. Pollitt's papers

Click to view ordering information for your own copy of Professor Denoix's valuable reference on the horse's foot.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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