Farrier Jim Hayter Wins Burghley Horse Trials' Best Shod Horse Prize for 2014

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The front feet of the Irish Sport Horse Coolys Luxury, who was selected as the Best Shod Horse at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in England last weekend. Farrier Jim Hayter received the prize along with owner David Corney and rider Tom Crisp. The judges must have thought Jim handled this horse's asymmetry challenges well. "I cannot keep the foot too long as I don't want to risk him pulling shoes off," Jim commented.

Keeping up with the tradition of chasing down British eventers and farriers to find out what it takes to be judged the Best Shod Horse at an international three-day event, the Hoof Blog has a few photos of this year's winner at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in England.

Video Selfie: Laminitis Researcher Jim Belknap Previews His BEVA "Feet and Farriery" Lecture

As the calendar gets ready to turn to September, it's time for the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress in Birmingham, England. The conference runs from September 10-13, with a full day "Foot and Farriery" program on September 13.

Equine Laminitis Update: Belknap's Summary of Basic Facts

A laminitis word cloud made from the words in this article. A lot of words and a lot of ideas circulate the world when it comes to preventing, treating and /or understanding laminitis. But what do we really know?

Laminitis: what does that word mean to you? Do you think you know all about it, or does hearing the very word have you shaking your head over all we just don't know.

The recent--and some would say long overdue--expansion in laminitis research has spawned a generation of geeks who can speak the lingo and conject about the future. Their ideas are exciting--but what do we really know about laminitis, and how much more do we know that a year ago, or ten years ago? 

Is it possible to find a cure for something you don't understand?

Dr. James Belknap, a leading laminitis researcher, recently wrote this succinct summary of what laminitis is, based on the few facts he and his researcher allies know to be the foundation of the disease. 


It's not far off to say that what he describes here is the laminitis base camp. Research expeditions head out from here. Sherpas lead the way, but it is one step at a time and sometimes bad weather forces an expedition back to the base just when the summit is in sight. Everyone wants to stand at the summit, on top of the world. Getting there has not been easy, but here's what the tents at base camp are built upon.

Laminitis is not a disease of the foot as much as a disease of the horse--yet the foot has a delicate structure--what Dr. Belknap calls "target tissue"--that is incredibly sensitive to changes from the many triggers. And the target tissue gets bullseyed more often than we'd like.

From Dr. Belknap:

Equine laminitis can be a devastating result of many different disease processes in the horse, including, most commonly, sepsis and endocrinopathies. The two primary types of endocrinopathic laminitis are equine metabolic syndrome (seen most often in the obese horse), and Cushing’s syndrome in older horses (characterized by high levels of circulating steroids produced by a pituitary tumor). Interestingly, the “target” tissue in the horse for sepsis, equine metabolic syndrome, and Cushing’s syndrome is the digital laminae.

Most likely the main reason the digital laminae are the primary target is because no other soft tissue structure in species injury/dysfunction will result in the entire collapse of the musculoskeletal system of the animal. The laminar basal epithelial cells are exposed to incredible forces (supporting the entire weight of the horse).

Dr. James Belknap is a leading researcher in the pathophysiology of laminitis. He is a professor at
 The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine's Galbreath Equine Center.

1. Laminitis related to septic conditions

Septic conditions in the horse that can lead to laminitis include gastrointestinal disease (surgical lesions, diarrhea/enteritis from infectious agents, or carbohydrate overload), retained placenta in the post-foaling broodmare leading to a uterine infection, pleuropneumonia, and any other infection in which enough tissue is compromised to result in systemic effects.

In most of these cases, toxins absorbed from Gram-negative bacteria are thought to be responsible for the systemic problems such as laminitis. However, bacterial infections from other types of organisms can also result in laminitis. Most progress has been made in studying sepsis-related laminitis, as most experimental models for laminitis mimic this condition.

Systemic inflammation leading to inflammatory injury to the laminar tissue has been reported in sepsis-related laminitis in horses. In the laminae, this injury is characterized by adhesion and migration of circulating white blood cells out of the blood vessels into the laminar tissue. This is accompanied by massive increases in expression of inflammatory proteins such as cytokines (a 10-fold to > 2,000 fold increase in expression) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX -2, the enzyme which is targeted by non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs such as phenylbutazone or flunixin).

Research attempts to sort out not only what happens, but when it happens,
to cause the horse's hoof to experience the freefall of chronic laminitis,
Plastinated hoof tissue courtesy of HC Biovision/Dr Christoph von Horst

2. Laminitis related to Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Equine Cushing Syndrome

These events most likely cause injury to the laminar basal epithelial cells, leading to disruption of their critical cellular events, including adhesion to the underlying matrix. The matrix itself may also be injured by the release of matrix-degrading enzymes by leukocytes, epithelial cells, and other cell types in the laminae.

Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), which includes pasture-associated laminitis, is now the most common type of laminitis reported by veterinarians. Although the animals affected are commonly obese, animals in “show shape” that are not overtly obese also succumb to EMS-related laminitis.

A consistent factor in the horse or pony with EMS is insulin resistance, with the animals usually exhibiting increased circulating insulin concentrations. It has been suspected that laminar injury in EMS was from an inflammatory event as discovered in sepsis-related laminitis. However, recently presented data indicate that the high circulating insulin concentration itself can induce laminitis, with limited evidence of inflammation in the laminae.

The other type of endocrinopathic laminitis, Equine Cushing Syndrome (ECS), may have a pathophysiologic mechanism similar to that of EMS, as ECS horses similarly have high levels of circulating insulin. However, it is possible that the glucocorticoids (GCs) may be playing a role in disruption of the cell biology of the laminar keratinocytes in ECS.

3. Laminitis related to weightbearing (“supporting limb laminitis”)

The pathophysiology of supporting limb laminitis, the type suffered by Barbaro, is the type of laminitis about which we presently have the least knowledge. With this type, excessive weight bearing (usually due to a painful injury on the opposite limb) results in laminar failure. The recent interest supporting limb laminitis has resulted in several studies being funded by equine foundations.

Hopefully, these studies will further elucidate the pathologic mechanisms (and thus therapeutic targets) for this equally devastating form of laminitis. Thus, laminitis is likely the end product of a diverse array of disease processes that lead to disruption and failure of a highly evolved cell type that is exquisitely sensitive to injury—the laminar basal epithelial cell.

James Belknap, DVM, PhD, DACVS is Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences from The Ohio State University Galbreath Equine Center and a leading researcher in the pathophysiology of laminitis. He shared this succinct summary of the current knowledge based on the types of laminitis via the Equine Disease Quarterly of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center.

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© 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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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Totilas: Heart Bar Shoes for the Dressage Champion

I've written so many stories about the triple-World Champion dressage stallion Totilas. I've taken so many photographs of him. But you know, I've never really seen his feet. The horse always has bell boots on. They take them off at the edge of the arena, and they put them right back on.

In case you haven't heard of him, Totilas and his rider, Edward Gal, swept the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games last fall. They took home all three gold medals for The Netherlands. 

A few weeks later, when Totilas was sold by his Dutch owners to German stallion magnate Paul Schockemohle, I wondered if he might very well have bought the horse without ever seeing his hooves. But something tells me that the hooves weren't why he paid so many millions for Totilas.

This is what we saw of Totilas's feet at the World Equestrian Games. There were bell boots of many colors.

I always had the feeling, though, that my time would come. I didn't think or wish that the horse would go lame; his Dutch horseshoer is my friend. I thought maybe there would be an auction of one of his shoes or a celebrity horseshoeing stunt and I'd be there to photograph it. Instead, the horse was sold.

Soon after Totilas was off to Germany, I found this unlabeled Swedish video on YouTube with comments from Dutch farrier Rob Renirie about shoeing Totilas. For true fans, this video will be a revelation, as it actually shows the bottom of one of his unshod feet, something not shown before, to my knowledge.

This video was made a year ago, but I only discovered it after the horse was sold.

A few weeks ago, England's Horse and Hound Magazine did an interview with Matthias Rath, the lucky German rider who has taken over the reins of the great horse. Totilas looked very sporty in the photo shoot by our friend, Dutch photographer Arnd Bronkhorst; he sported stealth-style black leg wraps with matching black bell boots. A new image!

Right about the same time, this blog started to get queries about heart bar shoes. There is nothing unusual about that. We get queries at all hours of the day and night. It is laminitis season, so questions about heart bar shoes seem logical in April. But these questions were on the order of: "Why would a dressage horse wear heart bar shoes?" Another asked me point-blank if a heart bar shoe meant only one thing: laminitis.

This image is mirrored from the Horse and Hound web site, where you can see the full gallery (and at a larger size) of Arnd Bronkhorst's photos of Totilas and Matthias Rath. Image by Arnd Bronkhorst © Horse and Hound. See lots more images of Totilas on Arnd's website: www.arnd.nl

A quick google told me what was going on. The rumor on  the Internet was that Totilas was wearing heart bar shoes. Except it wasn't a rumor. On the Horse and Hound web site, a new set of Arnd's photos was posted from the same shoot that had been in the magazine, but this series showed the bottom of the horse's feet (in bell boots, of course). And he is undeniably wearing heart bar shoes on both front feet.

Note: When I first posted this story, I did not know that the photos were taken by Arnd Bronkhorst, although I should have guessed! You can see (and purchase) pages and pages of photos of Totilas, of Rob Renirie, and of whatever else in the entire horse world you'd like to see on Arnd's searchable database of extraordinary horse photography. You'll also see where some of Hoofcare and Lameness's favorite and award-winning magazine covers originate! Arnd's website is one of the very best things on the Internet, in my estimation.

I still wasn't sure I should write anything about this great horseshoe expose. I talked it over with a friend; I could tell she wasn't impressed. I emailed Rob Renirie and Matthias Rath. But I knew that if I didn't write about what heart bar shoes were all about, the rumor mill wouldn't have an anchor. Now I just have to hope that people find this information.

This heart bar shoe made by Jim Blurton Tools in Great Britain is somewhat similar to the shoe that Totilas wears. It has sculpted heels, which provide support under the heel bulbs but are designed to have less steel at the back of the foot so the horse is less likely to step on it. A heart bar shoe for a lame horse might be oval in the heel area (called an egg-heart bar) or it might be straight across the heels, creating a firm platform and base of support both for the horse's weight and for the farrier to be able to forge the steel into the tongue. A machine-made shoe allows the luxury of pre-sculpted heels; horse owners complain a lot when horses pull off expensive shoes. (See Jim Blurton Bar Shoes page for more information.)

Then on Wednesday, I received notice that Totilas had to cancel a public appearance, and that he was suffering from an abscess in one of his left front heels. That transparency impressed me as much as the news saddened me. The message was that he needed a few days off but that he'd still begin competition the first week in May.

What's wrong with Totilas? Maybe nothing. A heart bar shoe is recommended for something as minimal as to help increase sole growth on a flat-footed horse or to relieve pressure on the hoof wall when the hair line at the coronet is uneven, so it can grow more uniformly. It might be a rest shoe. Or it might be a full support shoe for a lameness issue, but it's doubtful that his backers would still be training him.

The key to a heart bar shoe is how much, if any, pressure is applied to the heart bar. Pressure is key for laminitis therapy; support is key for sport horses in need of wall or sole rehabilitation.

As far as disorders that respond to heart bar shoes are concerned, there is a long list of conditions that might improve with a heart bar shoe if it is fit properly. It is one of several shoes that a vet and farrier will try out to see how the horse tolerates it. Some horses barely tolerate frog contact, let alone any pressure. Other horses thrive on it.

This is a heart bar shoe handmade for a horse with laminitis. Every heart bar is different because of the shape of a horse's heels and foot, and the width and length of frog. I believe that the horse's toes had been resected (hoof wall cut away). With laminitis, the only sound place to nail may toward the heel area. David Gulley/Mark Caldwell photo.

So what about these shoes for laminitis? First of all, if Totilas had laminitis, there would likely be a pad and some type of support material filling his foot, and he wouldn't have been schooling in front of a photographer a month ago.

I checked in with James Gilchrist of Wellington, Florida, who probably shoes more Grand Prix dressage horses than anyone in the USA. He concurred that there are many reasons why a horse would be shod with heart bar shoes during the off season. He immediately quoted Rob Renirie, however, in stating that, when the time comes for competition, the best shoeing is also the simplest, most uncomplicated shoeing.

James Gilchrist (right) spoke on sport horse farriery at the 3rd International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, along with fellow sport-horse specialist Aaron Gygax, left, of Switzerland, in 2005.

James Gilchrist didn't seem surprised that a grand prix world champion horse being used for breeding and not competing would be wearing heart bar shoes in March.

That said, James and I both see dressage horses competing at all levels with heart bar shoes on. Some vets and farriers say that they like bar shoes, particularly in deep footing or if the horse has had suspensory problems, because the horse will "float" more and not sink into the footing. If a horse sinks too deep, he has to work harder to breakover, and the strenuous upper level movements can lead to early fatigue. The shoes should match the footing, but the footing shouldn't be too deep and strain the horses anyway.

Another aspect of heart bar shoes is that they come in, or can be made in, all weights and thicknesses of materials. You can pop on a set of beautiful Imprint plastic glue-on heart bar shoes right out of a box. Laminitis calls for a lot of seating out. They can be made from fullered steel, British style, or aluminum, American show horse style. As big as a Shire's hoof, as tiny as a Shetland's.

But for all the talk about heart bar shoes, what you don't hear about is that they are one of the most difficult shoes for farriers to learn to make and/or fit. And they must be truly fit to the foot and to the frog. Many farriers don't like them either because they have had bad experiences with them or they never bothered to learn to use them correctly or they prefer other methods that they feel will achieve the same results.

Possibly as many horses have gone lame because of heart bar shoes as have gone sound. The farriers who know how to fit them have a very valuable skill. But a skilled farrier can still meet a horse who won't tolerate the shoe; the skilled farrier recognizes that, as well.

Back in the 1980s, the late Burney Chapman of Lubbock, Texas gave the world the Great Heart Bar Shoe Revival. And it's still going on, as this week's news from Germany attests. (Photo © Hoofcare Publishing)

Heart bar shoes were dug up from the old shoeing textbooks and re-introduced to the horse world in the early 1980s by a farrier from Lubbock, Texas named Burney Chapman. 

Burney isn't with us anymore. He died of brain cancer eleven years ago, when he was just 57 years old. But if his shoe is helping Totilas, our friends in Germany should turn toward Lubbock, Texas and tip their hats to the man who made it possible. Totilas should take a little bow.

Somewhere, Burney Chapman is smiling.

It all comes down to this: if Totilas is sound under his new rider the first week of May when he comes back into competition after almost eight months off, we'll all be smiling. I am sure I speak for the universe when I say that no one wants that horse to be lame. He was born to be in motion.

To learn more: Hoofcare@WEG: Rob Renirie's Dutch Gold Shoeing Keeps It Simple

Call the office to order your copy or email books@hoofcare.com for details.

 © 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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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Experts Hail Discovery of Rare Reindeer Shoe as Key to Mystery of Christmas Eve Flight

Mystery solved: It's all in the hooves, after all. A winged reindeer shoe found in a British garden has finally solved the dilemma of how reindeer can fly.

Historians, aerodynamics engineers and mammalian biomechanics experts are hailing the discovery of a tiny reindeer shoe in a British garden as the key to unlocking centuries of mystery and downright skepticism over the idea that a team of reindeer could fly around the world on Christmas Eve.

The unusual shoe, which sports wings on its heels, is believed to provide the power of flight needed by the reindeer team each Christmas.

"We knew these reindeer aren't winged, like Pegasus the winged horse from Greek mythology," said one historian. "For years, we were looking at how the antlers might empower them to fly. But it was a dead end."

Scientists expressed remorse that a group of genetics researchers studying the reindeer genome would almost certainly be in danger of losing funding since the discovery of the reindeer shoe. "The pressure was on them," said one university insider who wished to remain anonymous. "They had to find the genetic mutation that allowed only a small number of reindeer to fly. Since they had no DNA from a flying reindeer, the task was monumental. What gene could give the power of flight? The discovery that it was a nail-on shoe that gave these reindeer their flight--and that some  farrier somewhere designed this magical shoe--well, it looks bad for the future of reindeer research, that's all I can say. Several PhD theses are down the drain."

Flight engineers still believe the antlers may assist in navigation, but insisted that they always held out for a novel form of  power for thrust and elevation. "The winged hoof is a brilliant adaptation," they agreed. "And the use of a removable shoe means that the rest of the year, Donner and Blitzen and the rest of the team can live normal lives. No one would suspect a thing."

The historians noted that rumors of the existence of reindeer shoes have cropped up over the years and around the world. "Apparently, like horses, reindeer can lose their shoes. This must make Santa quite cross when it happens, but it is easy to see how a lead deer's heel wings are endangered by the front hooves of the deer behind.

"We have noticed, however," continued one historian, "that wherever a reindeer shoe has been reported to be found, skeptical children and even adults who doubted the existence of Santa or the ability of reindeer to fly soon become believers again."

Credit for the current shoe's discovery goes to James Morris of Yorkshire, England. Since Morris is conveniently skilled as a metal sculptor and artist, his Sculpsteel studio has forged fac simile reindeer shoes which he sells to anyone needing to convince others how flying reindeer get around on Christmas Eve...and why all but one of them go back to being normal reindeer the next day.

All but one? True: Morris says he doesn't have an explanation or a design for Rudolph's nose...but he's working on it.

Morris noted that the actual reindeer shoe he found would be left for Santa, known as Father Christmas in England, this year on Christmas Eve with the annual plate of cookies and glass of milk. "Just in case he needs a spare," Morris nodded. "It might come in handy, and it's done its job here. The entire village believes in Father Christmas again!"

James Morris's reindeer shoes come ready to hang as Christmas decorations and conversation-starters. The toe clips are also ideal for hanging Christmas stockings, so a set could be ordered for a family. Available in black wax or rust finish, the cost per shoe is 15 pounds (about $US 23). Visit Sculpsteel to see James' work, then email him: enquiries@sculpsteel.co.uk. But never doubt him...or Santa!

© 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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Video: Laminitis in Standardbreds at Ohio State's Vet Hospital

by Fran Jurga | 2 June 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Part 1 features Ohio State clinician/researcher Dr. James Belknap

Part 2 features farrier Trey Green

The US Trotting Association's magazine Hoof Beats has a feature on laminitis this month and the magazine sent a video crew to the veterinary hospital at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbus, Ohio to film a supporting video to accompany the article.

I hope you will check out the article, and also watch these two short videos. The first features Ohio State's Dr. James Belknap, a respected leader in the study of the mechanism of the disease and of medications' effects. The article in Hoof Beats was written by Dr. Belknap. He obviously works in a hands-0n role at Ohio State, as well, and you'll see him giving some of his opinions about the clinical aspects of the disease.

On the second clip, you'll see Dr. Belknap work on the foot of the patient, and then Ohio State farrier Trey Green goes to work and finds the case ideal for the applicaion of a heart-bar shoe.

I wonder where and how the horse is now.

Many thanks to the USTA for posting the video.

© 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.

LAMINITIS: Proceedings Book and Disk Full of Valuable Research, Therapy, and Medicine for Reference

A montage of thermography images graces the cover of the laminitis proceedings book. The images represent 48 hours of the onset of laminitis; the colors register the relative heat of the foot. If you double-click on this image, you should be able to see it at a much larger size. Image © Dr. Chris Pollitt and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission.

Hoofcare and Lameness is happy to announce that a few more extra copies of the proceedings book and cd-rom from the 4th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, held in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2007, have been added to our listings of books and new media for your library. These are probably the last copies that will ever be sold.

The Proceedings were published by Hoofcare and Lameness summarized in a 7 x 10", 122-page full-color illustrated book describing presentations and lectures with special essays written for the book by Drs James Orsini, Rustin Moore, and Chris Pollitt.

The book is sold alone, or as part of a two part book and cd-rom package.

The cd-rom contains 76 papers, plus many images and a few PowerPoint excerpts, as provided by the faculty and edited and formated by Hoofcare and Lameness. The accompanying book contains a summary of each speaker's presentation, and color photographs.

Included are the special treats of Dr. Pollitt's "48 Hours in Acute Laminitis", as shown on the cover, as well as his previously unpublished sequential CT scans of the blood supply to the foot.

Dr. Moore's essay addresses the significance of laminitis research and education in the aftermath of the Barbaro tragedy and publicity earlier in 2007.

A few other presenters and authors included Steve Adair, James Belknap, Robert Boswell, Thomas Divers, Berndt Driessen, Lisa Fortier, Bryan Fraley, Ray Geor, Aaron Gygax, Amanda House, John Hubbell, Philip Johnson, Fran Jurga, Bruce Lyle, Joseph Mankowski, Catherine McGowan, Scott Morrison, John Peroni, Patrick Reilly, Ron Renirie, Rob Sigafoos, Mark Silverman, Nathan Slovis, Ashley Stokes, Mitch Taylor, Andrew Van Eps, Don Walsh, Kathryn Watts, Mary Beth Whitcomb, Michael Wildenstein and Laura Zarucco.

The cd-rom represents the single largest collection of papers on laminitis and diseases of the foot ever published in one place.

A table of contents for the cd-rom is available on request. Please send an email to Fran Jurga if you would like the contents to be sent to you as an email attachment.

Ordering information: Order book only or book+cd-rom package. Summary book is 7x10, 122 pages, full color. CD-ROM is Mac or Windows compatible and contains all papers in PDF or PowerPoint formats. Papers vary in length and format. All orders must be pre-paid in US dollars, Visa or MasterCard accepted. Book only is $59; Book + cd-rom package is $125 per set. Add $8 postage per book or per set for USA orders; add US$15 per book or per set to other countries.

Click here for faxable order form. Fax to 978 283 8775 or mail with check drawn on USA bank to Hoofcare, 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930. Email orders to Conferencebooks@hoofcare.com. Prices subject to change without notice; supplies are limited.

Conference books and cd-roms were sent to all attendees of the 2007 conference. These extra copies are being offered to libraries and interested individuals who did not attend.

The Proceedings book and cd-rom were sponsored by Intervet and created by Dr. Chris Pollitt and Fran Jurga.

The 5th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot is being planned for November 2009 and will again be held in West Palm Beach, Florida.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. 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. This post originally appeared on September 17, 2008 at http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

Inaugural "Laminitis West" Seminar in California Well-Attended and Deemed a Resounding Success

(edited from a press release)

“The meeting by all measures was a resounding success,” stated James A. Orsini, DVM DACVS, one of three presenters at the inaugural Laminitis West Seminar, held November 1, 2008, at the Monterey Convention Center in Monterey, California. “We had expected approximately 100 attendees and exceeded that number, which tells me that the topic is viewed as being very important to veterinarians, farriers, and students, our future veterinarians, especially in a down economy.”

Dr. Orsini, a veterinarian and surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, is also the Director of the International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, which spawned the Laminitis West Seminar.

Dr. Orsini worked on the Laminitis West Seminar in conjunction with Dr. Tim Eastman and Dr. Nora Grenager of Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic in Salinas, California. Dr. Eastman served as the Laminitis West Seminar Director. Joining Dr. Orsini as presenters were Dr. Thomas J. Divers of Cornell University and farrier Patrick Reilly of the University of Pennsylvania.

“All the attendees I spoke with, veterinarians and farriers alike, were really excited by what they learned and were ready to go home and incorporate it into their practices,” noted Dr. Grenager. “It also certainly does not hurt that Monterey is a beautiful location to hold a meeting, and the Conference Center does a top-notch job. The excellent turnout and enthusiastic attendees were just proof of how much we need a laminitis conference on the West Coast.”

This premiere Laminitis West Seminar hosted 141 attendees including 55 veterinarians, 37 farriers, 21 students, 19 sponsors/exhibitors, and nine staff members. Dr. Orsini pointed out, “One of the very interesting facts and goals of this meeting was to encourage veterinarians and farriers to come to the meeting as a team. When I polled the audience, my estimate was that there were 10 to 12 combinations of veterinarians and farriers that registered together. Not only did they receive a savings in registration, but also – and most importantly – for the long term, this partnership encourages the ‘Team Laminitis’ approach to managing horses with laminitis.”

The 21 students at the Laminitis West Seminar were from the University of California/Davis. Of these students, two were scholarship recipients that competed for the Laminitis West scholarships. The scholarships were supported by a sponsorship from Merial and administered by Dr. Grenager. The scholarships were awarded to these students with the purpose and obligation of the students to return to their University/School and report on the latest information learned at the meeting.

Major sponsors were instrumental in the Seminar’s scope and success. “The support from our sponsors was outstanding and allowed the organizers to put together the highest quality meeting,” said Dr. Orsini. Sponsors included Merial, Sound Technologies, Purina Mills, Nutramax, Soft-Ride, Castle Bay Farm, UPS, Wachovia Dealer Services, Purina Mills, Intervet, Luitpold, Bayer, Platinum Performance, CVS/VET, Victor Medical Company, Pfizer Animal Health and Wedgwood Pharmacy.


Dr. Orsini led off the Seminar with an hour-long overview entitled “Laminitis: The Big Picture!” and later returned to the podium to present “Lessons Learned – The International Equine Laminitis Conferences: I-IV.”

Dr. Divers delivered three presentations: “Preventing Laminitis in Horses with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” “Treating Horses with Laminitis Associated with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” and “Corticosteroids Therapy and Risk of Laminitis – Identifying the High and Lower Risk Patients.”

Mr. Reilly also provided three presentations: “Laminitis: The Farriers Dilemma,” “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part I,” and “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part II.”

“This one-day seminar was an excellent starting point to get us geared up for a larger-scale conference in Monterey in September 2010,” said Dr. Grenager. “Many people were already asking for the date of the next one – which we will announce soon!”

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.

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.

United Kingdom Dominates Farrier Apprentice Competition; Ireland Second

Apprentice Farrier, originally uploaded by Diamanx.

Thanks to Tony Diamanx for making this photo available. I do not know the identity of this farrier.

The British apprentice team of Ben Casserly (age 21) from Uckfield, East Sussex and Ricky Hilton (age 22) from Welshpool, Powys, in Wales, scored a gold medal for their nation at the truly unique Euroskills competition last weekend in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Young farriers from all over the European Union were tested on shoemaking skills using gas forges.

In addition, Ricky Hilton (who is apprentice to former world champion James Blurton of Wales) won the individual gold medal and Ben Casserly (who is apprentice to his father), won the silver.

Ireland's team of Paul O'Reilly and Ruairi Brennan won the silver medal, with Paul winning the individual bronze medal.

Switzerland was third.

The competition tested apprentices who are learning all sorts of trades, from hairdressing and car repair to culinary arts and even cleaning, against one another in national teams.

The world finals will be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2009.

The winning British farrier apprentices, Ben Casserly and Ricky Hilton, were exuberant on the dais, compared to their counterparts from Ireland and Switzerland. (UKSkills photo)

Ricky Hilton, left, and Ben Casserly, right, European champion farrier apprentices. (UKSkills photo)

These photos are mirrored from the UkSkills web site, which followed the exploits of all the British teams from all trades.

James Blurton has written an article with more photos of Ricky Hilton in action on his web site. Click here to read "Probably the Best Apprentice in the World". While you're there, have a look round Jim's site; it is quite well done.

Belknap's Laminitis Paper Wins Scientific Publishing Award

(University news release)

Dr. James Belknap, associate professor of equine surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the annual Equine Veterinary Journal Open Award for 2007 for his work as senior author of a paper published in the Equine Veterinary Journal. The Open Award is funded by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Trust and presented to the senior author in recognition of a paper considered by the judges to be of outstanding excellence.

The paper, "Lamellar pro-inflammatory cytokine expression patterns in laminitis at the developmental stage and at the onset of lameness innate vs. adaptive immune response," focused on inflammation of the laminae, which they recognized as present in early forms of laminitis.

"No matter what type of laminitis, inflammation is playing a large role in the developmental process," Dr. Belknap said. "Researchers used to believe that inflammation was not a major component of the disease, and that the disease was mainly caused by a decrease in blood flow."

Dr. Belknap said discovering that inflammation plays a key role in the developmental stages of the disease has caused a paradigm shift in the way the disease is researched worldwide. This opens up new opportunities for discovery of novel treatments for this disease, which commonly results in crippling lameness of affected horses.

"We still have a long way to go to answer the big questions," he explained. "We still must determine which specific pathologic will eventually allow us to formulate an effective therapeutic regimen for this devastating disease."

Dr. Belknap received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University and has worked at Ohio State for four years as a surgeon; he has a special interest in equine podiatry. He grew up in Kentucky on a farm where he developed an early interest in horses.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. All images and text protected to full extent of law. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online or received via a daily email through an automated delivery service. 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.

This post originally appeared at http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com on September 23, 2008.

Lost: Dr. James Rooney, Equine Pathologist and Biomechanics Author

Dr. James Rooney died yesterday at his home in Chestertown, Maryland. The noted author and outspoken commentator on the biomechanical problems of horses was 81 years old.

More to come...

Laminitis News: Vermont Horse Show Fundraiser Benefits Research in Barbaro's Memory

From left to right: Dr. James Orsini and Gretchen and Roy Jackson at Vermont benefit held to benefit laminitis research in honor of the Jacksons' late, great racehorse Barbaro last week at the Vermont Summer Festival horse show.

On the evening of Thursday, August 7, more than 100 guests enjoyed "An Equine Evening" held in the Grand Prix Pavilion at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, Vermont, to honor Barbaro, the late Thoroughbred racehorse Barbaro, who died because of complications of laminitis in 2007.

Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, suffered catastrophic injuries to his right hind leg during the running at the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown for three-year-olds. He underwent intensive surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center under the care of Dr. Dean Richardson to repair multiple fractures. His struggle for survival captured the nation’s attention.

However, in January of 2007, Barbaro was euthanized after a difficult battle against laminitis.

Proceeds generated through donations and raffle ticket sales during An Equine Evening, co-chaired by Kimet Hand and Betsy Perrott, benefited the University of Pennsylvania's Laminitis Research Fund, the Barbaro Foundation, a program established by Gulfstream Park that oversees an annual scholarship for future veterinarians, and the Spring Hill Horse Rescue in Clarendon, Vermont.

Gretchen and Roy Jackson, owners of Barbaro, were the evening’s honored guests, as was Barbaro’s trainer, Michael Matz, who was unable to attend.

“I just want to thank everyone who came here this evening. You are the ones supporting the Laminitis Fund and the Barbaro Foundation,” Mrs. Jackson addressed the guests. “I feel like I’ve said this so many times; Barbaro opened our hearts to what horses mean to us. We never expected what happened to Barbaro, but are thankful for all the positive things he has brought.

“Barbaro always seemed to enjoy being out there,” she continued. “He ran so easily and showed up so proudly in the paddock and we found so much joy in that. Even after his injury and during the eight months he spent in a stall, he kept his ears pricked, always happy to have visitors. But when the laminitis hit, he became a different horse. He let us know he was ready.”

James Orsini, DVM, ACVS of the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center took to the podium next to address the fundamentals of the laminitis disease and hopes for the future.

“Through Barbaro’s tragedy, laminitis has been turned into a household word and that has helped us gain the means to move forward and better understand the disease, and most importantly, prevent it,” Orsini explained. “We are making progress.”

Orsini outlined multiple revolutions in preventative technology including a variable temperature ice boot designed to reduce inflammation in the hoof, slow the metabolic process required by an affected hoof, and quell the pain laminitis inflicts.

Roy wrapped up the evening’s presentations with more positive news. “To date, the Laminitis Fund has raised approximately 1.5 million dollars,” he said. “We have received letters from every state and 15 foreign countries. Barbaro has inspired more optimism and positive causes than we could have ever imagined.”

As New England’s largest “AA” rated hunter/jumper horse show, the Vermont Summer Festival offers over $750,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event in the state of Vermont. Visit the Vermont Summer Festival website for more information, including full results.

Photo credit: David Mullinix Photography