Who Left Those Hoofprints in the Sand?

The impermanence of art: the incoming tide will wash away the hoofprints on the beach near Mont St Michel, but the FEI has made a grand impression on the world that only 100 days remain before the opening of the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. (FEI photo)

It's 100 days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games begin in Normandy, France. Something was bound to happen, but who would expect this?

Off Topic Video: Slo-mo beach gallop--with a twist

It's no secret that the Hoof Blog is known almost as widely for launching unusual horse-related videos and commercials as for hoof-related stories. You saw the Budweiser Clydesdale ad here first and now you're seeing the new--and slightly weird--Citroen commercial.

The what?

The Laminitis Conference: 2011 Program and Speakers Announced

Dr. Chris Pollitt used thermography to capture the ebb and flow of temperature change in a foot during the onset of acute laminitis over 48 hours (note numbers in the frames) during a research trial at the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit. Dr. Pollitt returns to West Palm Beach to speak at his sixth consecutive conference; he's the only speaker to have been on the roster for all six meetings.

Hoofcare and Lameness is pleased to announce its support for the 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot (a.k.a. "The Laminitis Conference" or more casually known as "Palm Beach Laminitis"). The program is now complete and you're invited to visit the web site and peruse the lectures and workshops and speakers.

The event: 6th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot

The dates: October 29-31, 2011

The place: West Palm Beach Marriott, West Palm Beach, Florida

Early discount registration deadline: September 10, 2011
Registration fees include meals and all related events
Trade show and sponsorship opportunities are available 

As in past years, all paid subscribers on the roster of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal will receive invitations to the conference. This is the only outside use of the subscriber list that is allowed beyond the walls of this office, so you know this must be an event that is important not to miss. Watch for an announcement in the mail soon, assuming we have your current address.

Non-US subscribers might not receive the mailing, but be sure to look into coming.

This video was made for the opening session of the 2009 Laminitis Conference. Actress Glenn Close was honored at conference (her horse did not survive laminitis); Mr and Mrs Castle, featured on the video, lost their horse Spot, and are key sponsors and friends of the Conference. Mark and Carol Zebrowski stayed involved after losing Cotton and are now active in planning the laminitis conference. 

As in previous years, the event will have two tracks, "scientific" and "practical", (roughly equivalent to "research" and "clinical"/"in the field") as well as an additional caregiving program that is designed for horse owners, but would benefit anyone interested in the care of lame horses.

If you have attended this event in the past, you know that the program is only part of what should attract people to this event. There will be additional events and activities announced later. 

James Orsini DVM, DACVS

Jim Orsini, DVM, DACVS of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine is once again the director of the conference. Rustin Moore, DVM, PhD, DACVS is the chair of the program, with John Peroni, DVM, MS, DACVS of the University of Georgia chairing the scientific program.

Rustin Moore DVM,PhD,DACVS

I was privileged to chair the practical program again this time, with the able assistance of  Amanda House DVM of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Scott Morrison of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and Pat Reilly of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. I think I've worn them out with brainstorming.

Chris Pollitt, BVSc, PhD

As is the custom, the conference is organized by a "program first" planning process instead of a random selection of topics based on inviting speakers first. Four themes to be covered in the conference are centered on the key words "insulin", "inflammation" and "intervention"; a special theme of the practical program is new advances in our knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the foot, both shod and unshod, domestic and wild, large and small, young and old.

David Hood, DVM, PhD

A special in-depth multi-speaker panel will discuss, with audience interaction, the "new normal" horse foot and the variations in the types of feet that make so few assumptions possible.

Some of the key announcements in the practical program include:

The return of David Hood PhD DVM to the speaker roster. Dr. Hood will concentrate on his studies of chronic laminitis and, in particular, evaluating relative lameness, changes in gait and aspects of movement and weightbearing in the foundered horse that need to be considered (and recognized) separately from normal lameness. How do you judge the improvement of a chronically foundered horse based on its movement, rather than just on a radiograph? And does severe lameness permanently alter a horse's landing and weightbearing pattern?

Simon Collins, PhD

Dr Hood will also give a workshop on working on "the unwanted hoof", or on neglected or abused horses that are turned over to him by charity and rescue organizations. He now has a herd of foundered horses looking to him for recovery so they can be re-homed. I'm looking forward to seeing his cases--and his solutions for these horses. This should be helpful to anyone, but in particular when people are seeking low-cost rehabilitation of chronic founder cases or want to completely surrender their laminitic horses. This scenario is facing veterinarians and farriers around the world, and many of these horses can be rehabilitated and re-homed. Dr. Hood will share how he does it and what treatment and ethics might be involved.

Scott Morrison DVM

Chris Pollitt, BVSc, PhD will be leaving behind an almost-empty Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit; he will attend along with three of his key researchers (Simon Collins, Brian Hampson,and Melody de Laat) who are all speaking, as well as Andrew Van Eps DVM, PhD, DACVIM, of the University of Queensland vet school, who earned his PhD studying laminitis with Dr. Pollitt.

Dr. Pollitt will be sharing the latest research findings from his lab, and will host a special session of innovative 3-D anatomy of the horse hoof and laminitis, along with the AELRU's Simon Collins. 

Raul Bras DVM, CJF

Scott Morrison DVM and Raul Bras DVM from Rood and Riddle will bring with them the latest treatment regimen in use in their program, which has a very large laminitis case load. In particular, they will speak on hoof evaluation and treatment options (such as matching case parameters to treatments and judging the viability of weightbearing structures before putting them under stress), the use of umbilical stem cells for chronic laminitis, case strategies to avoid and treat support-limb laminitis, and the use of hoof casts with acute sinker syndrome.

Lisa Lancaster PhD, DVM

One of several new faces at the conference will be Lisa Lancaster MSc, PhD, DVM, the popular author of many articles in Hoofcare and Lameness (along with Drs Morrison, Pollitt and Hood) and the author of The Sound Hoof. Dr. Lancaster will review her histological and laboratory analysis of hoof flares and the white line at the toe crena, both conducted at the Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine with Dr Robert Bowker, as well as her experiences in using medical acupuncture for both acute and chronic laminitis, and the difference between the two. Lisa currently assists in teaching medical acupuncture at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and is particularly interested in using acupuncture therapy to help horses on both sides of the laminitis coin--and there is a difference, she contends.

Brian Hampson, PhD

The second new face is Brian Hampson PhD. The PhD is a new one; Brian has just completed years of research at the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, but instead of studying lamintis directly, he studied the hooves of wild horses. His findings will surprise you.

Brian studied wild horse hooves from a variety of climates and terrains and conducted very careful research. His lectures will focus on what environment does to hooves, particularly the laminar interface, when no humans are around. He'll also talk about laminitis as it appears in each of these foot types--when, why and how. Again, more surprises.

Aaron Gygax, CJF

Farrier Aaron Gygax lived in the United States for a while, working in Palm Beach and at Rood and Riddle, but he is now back in his native Switzerland. He'll be focusing on working with upper-level sport horses who are under pressure to stay in competition training despite their hoof problems and lameness issues. Aaron spoke at the conference in 2007, and was one of the most-asked-for farrier speakers. Don't worry, his English is great!

Pat Reilly

Farrier Pat Reilly of New Bolton Center has taken on the challenge of speaking on what it's like being the referral farrier for the barefoot horse; what's different for these horses in the field and in the clinic, and how the latest scientific information on barefeet can be incorporated into treatment for hoof issues?

Rob Boswell, DVM

Rob Boswell DVM of Wellington, Florida will speak about his recent successful treatments, and Dr. Orsini will speak on intervention techniques used in hospital settings to prevent laminitis in surgical and medical high-risk situations.

Andrew Van Eps DVM, PhD

Andrew Van Eps DVM PhD DACVIM of the University of Queensland School of Veterinary Medicine will co-present with Scott Morrison on support-limb laminitis cases. He'll also speak on cryotherapy to prevent laminitis and on his new work on microdialysis and the "bioenergetics" of the laminar interface.

Donald Walsh, DVM

Finally, Donald Walsh DVM, president of the Animal Health Foundation, will talk about field situations where vets and farriers can help identify horses with the earliest signs of insulin resistance, before the cresty neck and fat deposits and stretched white line make the condition obvious. Dr Walsh is in touch with the real world of horse owners and the frustrations they face and feels that more intervention is needed to prevent early IR horses from reaching the stage of more severe laminitis episodes.

(Some of the speakers are wearing leis because the conference included a dinner cruise in past years and leis were worn by all.)

The Laminitis Conference is like no other equine conference you'll attend. It's a bit like a retreat, or going to an island, with the organizers, speakers, and attendees all together for three days. Meals and evening social events are seamlessly integrated into the conference, and the faculty is available to the attendees throughout the event.

There's a trade show, and the conference works to develop relationships with many key companies who are involved in the sponsorship of the event. Professional event management keeps the meeting running smoothly. And a high percentage of attendees return each time to not only learn, but to share their experiences. It is a meeting where many in the audience could easily be at the podium.

And it's a meeting that you shouldn't miss.

www.laminitisconference.com

Conference registration is now officially open and must be done online. A discount applies to all who register by September 10. Special discounts are available for "teams" (vet/farrier, etc.) who register at the same time. Hotel reservations are now being taken as well; if you want to stay at the host hotel and avoid renting a car, you must reserve your room as soon as possible.

Full details on hotels, registration, the complete program and faculty list are on the conference web site: http://www.laminitisconference.com.

Go to www.laminitisconference.com for full details.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.

Theo Jansen's Anatomical Inspirations: Abstract Musing Can Help You Understand and Appreciate Hoof Design

Spring is in the air and a hoof blog editor's fancy turns to...kinetic sculpture. 

But you'll soon understand why.

To anyone who says we can't improve on the way that horses are trimmed or shod, or the way that lame and sick horses' legs are treated or cared for, I'd have to say we're just not trying hard enough. And the answer is not likely to come from tinkering with the designs and devices we already have in our hands.

Kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen builds 'strandbeests' out of PVC pipe and turns them out on the wild ranges of the sand on Dutch beaches. The goal is for his perpetual motion creations to become permanent, independent citizens of the sands.

Jansen's kite-like sculptures will trot along the beach on PVC legs and coffin joints.

That's right. He wants to turn them loose. It sounds like he's been watching some fantasy beer commercial where the wild horses run free forever.

You can't help but notice that his sculptures' legs and feet mimic the design of horse' limbs, right down to the single digit and breakover action of forward motion via a rotating distal joint.

I

Maybe Jansen's been reading the Hoof Blog and saw this extreme rocker rehab on a foundered foot from Loic Entwistle's photo files in Germany. I'm sorry I don't have more information about this photo. I don't even know if this is Loic's work. But the image has always intrigued me. It's a thought-provoker.

Think backwards for a minute. What if you could be Jensen and design a new hoof for the horse, one that would be easier to work on, to keep sound, to serve the horse on multiple surfaces, in multiple environments, under a rider's weights, in different sports?

What would your design parameters be for the lower limb and hoof? Where would you start--at the bottom? in the middle? Would you specify a model with replaceable (transplantable or implantable) parts?

There's no doubt that Nature designed an amazing structure that functions organically with perfection when everything's right. Humans just seem to muck it up, in one way or another. Bioengineering is on its way to being able to identify weak tissue structures; perhaps digital cushion implants will be possible soon, or coronary band grafting will allow rehab to be completed in six weeks instead of six months.

I suspect most of us would be happy to tinker with the parts to improve them, but we like the design just the way nature has given it to the horse, and to us to work on, to ponder, to study, to capitalize upon, or to admire.

Maybe we should invite Theo Jansen to watch our horses run on the racetrack. What we'd end up with in return might be a little different than what you''d see him sketch on a drawing board. Imagine a silky, kite-like kinetic sculpture floating around the infield of a dark racetrack at night, under its own perptual power, making eerie music like a chorus of call-to-the-post buglers playing a duet with every foghorn on the coast of Maine.

People would pay to see (and hear) something like that. I think they'd pay to see lots of things he does. Keep an eye on him, and his beests. I think he's trying to tell us something

© 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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The First Day of Summer: Favorite Guinness Commercial and Favorite Horse Commercial Are One and the Same

Surfers wait for that one wave. Guinness drinkers wait for their pints (they take a long time to draw). And around here, we wait a long time for summer to come around again, but so it has arrived today. To celebrate, here's a little bit of classic video, courtesy of our friends at Guinness.

This commercial is perennially called the best television commercial ever made. It's labeled "iconic". I've watched it enough times over the years, to be sure, but I still can't really tell you what's going on. But I also think that might be the point.

It's summer. President Obama tells us it's even "recovery summer". So let's just sit back and take this minute's entertainment at face value. Don't worry, Captain Ahab, we're living the dream.

I hope you agree that this video is a fitting salute to the first day of summer...and one of the most creative uses of horses in a commercial, ever!

By the way, the inspiration for this commercial was the famous children's book illustrator Water Crane's painting, Neptune's Horses. Neptune,  of course, was the ruler of the sea and in his second identity, as Neptune Equester, he served as the patron saint of horses in Roman mythology. He was supposed to protect all the horses in the chariot races. I've always loved this painting.

If you have a slow connection and you're having trouble seeing any horses in the Guinness commercial, try toggling the stop and play button, and leave the screen alone for a while to see if perhaps YouTube needs to load. You can also click on the lower right of the YouTube screen on the blog and the video will open in YouTube and it might play at a better resolution. This video was made in the last century so it is not HD.

21 June 2010 | The First Day of Summer | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com 

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing

Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.

Pollitt's Laminitis Images Have a New Look: MIMICS Software Goes 3-D

by Fran Jurga | 27 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

The cover of the Proceedings of the 2009 laminitis conference is a compilation of images of one foot of a chronic laminitis case from the University of Queensland in Australia. The foot's CT scans were converted to 3-D images using Mimics software and the expertise of Dr. Simon Collins of the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England. (Double-click on image for a larger view in a new window, but sorry that the web requires a low-resolution version of a very high-resolution form.)

When the end of the Fifth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot comes, attendees might remember proportionately less of what they heard...and more of what they saw.

The heightened visual aspect of the exciting biennial conference, which will be held November 6-8 in West Palm Beach, Florida, may lie in the technology side of things, but the impact will be an eyeful that everyone can appreciate.

Leave it to Dr. Chris Pollitt (photo inset at left), assistant director of the conference, to bring the latest and greatest technology to the conference and to enhance his presentations.

The new software is called MIMICS; it is made by a Belgian company called Materialise NV. In a nutshell, MIMICS converts CT scans into three-dimensional forms. I've also seen it used to model a nasal cavity for a surgery case at Cornell's vet school, and for a comparative study of the soft tissue structures of equine feet at Auburn University. Dr. Pollitt says that MIMICS software is used extensively for human skeletal reconstruction surgery and prosthetic implant design and simulation.

"Suddenly I can 'see' an individual horse’s foot from all angles and can virtually dissect it on the computer monitor," Dr Pollitt wrote in the Proceedings.

MIMICS was introduced to Dr Pollitt and to the world of laminitis by British hoof anatomy researcher Dr Simon Collins. Dr Collins will be in Palm Beach to explain how he uses computer modeling in his work at the Animal Health Trust, where he collaborates with lameness experts Drs Rachel Murray and Sue Dyson. His images will be dazzling.

Dr Pollitt wrote in his introductory essay in the Proceedings, "Analyses of feet with chronic laminitis clearly show that distorted tubular hoof growth, lamellar wedge formation and solar loading of the distal phalanx are relentlessly destructive to bone. It behooves laminitis caregivers to understand the unmitigated, severe chronic process and develop proactive, early intervention strategies that will measurably arrest the process. MIMICS in the hands of laminitis scientists will aid this process."

Does anyone besides me see great irony in the way that Dr Pollitt over the years has created stunning visual images of the terribly destructive disease of laminitis? The quality of his images is always worthy of Scientific American or National Geographic and yet the subject is the disease we all dread. Thanks to his artistic eye we all know what laminitis looks like, even though it's the disease we'd most like to see wiped off the equine map.

NOTE: The deadline for registration for the conference has been pushed back to September 28th, since the mail has been so slow in getting the brochures and registration forms to everyone. Brochures were sent to all subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Also, a reduced rate for two-person registrations has been added. Visit www.laminitisconference.com for more information.

Credit: Individual cover images were created by Dr. Simon Collins of the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England using MIMICS software, and are used with permission; they illustrate pathology on the “Bronski” chronic laminitis case studied by Dr. Chris Pollitt at the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit in 2009. Cover montage and design by Fran Jurga will be published with Proceedings of the Fifth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot in West Palm Beach, Florida November 6-8, 2009.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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.

Texas Clinic Partners with Palm Beach Equine; Podiatry Services to Expand

(edited from a longer press release)

The growing trend toward veterinary clinic networks and shared consultants continues. Along with that trend is the concept of podiatry services as a profit center or consultant service. How different clinics plan to incorporate this concept into their service offereings is always interesting: Veterinarians wearing shoeing aprons is a new fashion statement. This information was received today:

Katy Equine Clinic in Katy, Texas and Palm Beach Equine Clinic, headquartered in Wellington, Florida, have formed a strategic partnership. Katy Equine's clients will now have access to Palm Beach's state of the art resources, including 19 leading Florida-based veterinarians, streamlined digital medical records and advanced diagnostic and treatment options. These new resources augment the current services that the Katy Equine Clinic and its founder, James "Mike" Heitmann, D.V.M., M.S., have provided for more than 25 years.

Plans call for the Katy Equine Clinic to become a regional referral hospital specializing in surgery, lameness, podiatry and emergency / ICU care. On the immediate horizon will be the construction of a new surgical suite and the purchase of additional diagnostic tools. Already available are digital radiography, computed radiography, ultrasound, two surgical rooms, shockwave therapy and the ability to create platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of wounds and ligament and tendon injuries. The number of staff veterinarians has already doubled, with Michelle Dumas, D.V.M., and Josh Zacharias, D.V.M., M.S., joining Dr. Heitmann and Catherine Berry, D.V.M.

"Joining the Palm Beach Equine Clinic team is a great opportunity to work with experienced veterinarians and utilize state of the art technology," says Dr. Zacharias, who has a Master's Degree in Veterinary Clinical Sciences and was the Equine Emergency Surgeon at Iowa State University before the move to Texas.

In addition to his role as surgeon, Dr. Zacharias has a keen interest in the equine hoof and attended farrier school. "Equine podiatry is critical to maintaining the athlete's soundness. I look forward to working with the farriers in the Katy and Houston area and providing world-class equine hoof health," he explained in the press release.

© 2008 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This post was originally published on September 24, 2008 at http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness, please visit our main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

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