"Laminitis: Film at 11" was the message in Tucson, Arizona this weekend as the media framed the play-by-play of treatment to a rescued laminitic Thoroughbred by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Vern Dryden. Videos are posted at the end of this article. This slideshow is compiled of images taken by Kim Reis. The slide show in its entirety and the individual photos as well are © Heart of Tucson. Media facilitated by Greg Ambrose (thanks). Click on the "play" icon to start the show.
Somewhere in the desert outside of Tucson, Arizona, a horse is wondering "Where'd everyone go?" this morning. Film crews, spectators, new shoes, tourniquets and a big buzz have electrified life at the barn the past few days as a rescued, rundown racehorse received state-of-the-art treatment for his chronic laminitis.
A lost and sickly Thoroughbred taken in by the Heart of Tucson rescue and therapy group has turned out to be a quite royally bred son of the famed Three Chimneys Farm stallion Dynaformer, who also sired such great racehorses as Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and Melbourne Cup winner Americain. His name in the Jockey Club record books is Dyna King.
But laminitis doesn't care who you are.
 |
| Vernon Dryden, DVM, CJF |
The treatment, performed at state-of-the-art Bandalero Ranch near Tucson, included frog-support equipped Sigafoos glue-on shoes and dental impression material with a hospital plate--a standard treatment these days.
But this treatment had something else. In addition to Dryden's world-class expertise in treating laminitis, analyzing the radiographs and preparing the foot for his special shoes, the horse felt both his front limbs get wrapped. A catheter was inserted and Dryden pumped millions of stem cells into the horse's lower limbs.
Rood and Riddle's regenerative medicine program's stem cell project uses specially-harvested umbilical stem cells collected from blood in the afterbirth of foals.
Dyna King's story caught the imagination--and support--of local television station KGUN9-TV in Tucson. A production crew followed Dryden on the job and the horse's treatment has been featured on Tucson television news over the weekend.
KGUN9 and Heart of Tucson kindly shared the videos and slide show so they can be posted here for Hoof Blog readers around the world.
Intro TV News video:
Interview with Dr Vern Dryden; video © Heart of Tucson:
If you'd like to donate to help Dyna King, click here for the Heart of Tucson donation page. Note: Dr. Dryden's treatment and services were donated, but the costs of caring for Dyna King will be high.
To learn more:
 |
| Call 978 281 3222 to order your copy; always in stock! |
© 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.
Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal
Read this blog's headlines on the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page
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.
