Just as the August "supermoon" was getting ready to rise on Sunday night, Fox Hill Farm sent out a chilling tweet. It said simply: "Bal a Bali fighting laminitis".
Showing posts with label Rood and Riddle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rood and Riddle. Show all posts
Monday, August 11, 2014
No Vacation for Laminitis: Brazilian Champion Bal a Bali Fights Disease in Florida
Just as the August "supermoon" was getting ready to rise on Sunday night, Fox Hill Farm sent out a chilling tweet. It said simply: "Bal a Bali fighting laminitis".
Monday, July 14, 2014
Morrison: Utilize Support during Stall Time to Prevent Capsular Distortion in the Thoroughbred Racehorse's Foot
The following advice is provided by Scott E. Morrison, DVM of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky:
Foot problems can commonly cause horses to be scratched from a race, lose training days, overload other structures and have shortened careers.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
New Zealand Farrier Stuart Muir Joins Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital Podiatry Center in Kentucky
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| New Zealand farrier Stuart Muir is now in the USA working at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital Podiatry Center in Lexington, Kentucky (image by Fran Jurga © Hoofcare Publishing) |
Muir has been working at the clinic for about six months, but this weekend he took the stage at his first farrier-vet seminar with podiatry center director Scott Morrison DVM. The team traveled to New York to share their expertise at the Equine Clinic at Oakencroft near Albany. The clinic hosts a vet-farrier podiatry seminar each October and invited Morrison back for the second year in a row.
Muir is a native of Christchurch, on the south island of New Zealand, and a 14-year veteran of the farrier profession. In New Zealand, he shod sport and race horses; he is a rider and had taken up Western riding before he and his wife made the decision to move.
How do you prepare for a high-profile job like staff farrier at Rood and Riddle? Muir is a certified farrier through the New Zealand national system and said that, like so many others, he acquired the skills needed for his position at Rood and Riddle by independently pursuing ways to further his education. He traveled to Australia to attend farrier education events with icons like Chris Pollitt and Grant Moon, as well as events at home in New Zealand, but in 2010 won a grant from the Equine Research Fund of New Zealand that financed a trip to the United States.
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| At the Equine Clinic at Oakencroft, farrier Stuart Muir worked on a pair of front shoes that illustrated two different ways to achieve asymmetric collateral ligament support for the front hooves of a barrel racing horse. And then he nailed them on. (image by Fran Jurga © Hoofcare Publishing) |
As part of that trip, Stuart spent a week doing an externship at Rood and Riddle, which was followed by a second externship in 2011. When fellow New Zealand farrier Rodney King left Rood and Riddle to return home, Stuart was looking into what it would take to fill the vacancy.
Stuart and American Jeff Henderson are currently the two farriers who work fulltime for Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital. The Podiatry Center employs five veterinarians, including Dr. Morrison, and numerous technicians with equine podiatry support expertise.
--written by Fran Jurga
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To learn more:
Gateway page to the New Zealand government definition of a "farrier" and explanation of the national farriery training and certification program there.
New Zealand government horse careers interview on farriery as a career with Stuart Muir
© 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.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr. Scott Hopper: Voices from the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
Video courtesy of NewsChannel 5;
Background: The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is going on this week in Shelbyville, Tennessee. US Department of Agriculture veterinarians are on hand to inspect horses for evidence of "soring", the illegal practice of artificially enhancing a horse's gait. Also on hand are representatives of local organizations who are conducting their own inspections to see if they agree with the USDA results.
Dr. Stephen Mullins, president of the local inspection group SHOW, says that USDA inspectors issued five times as many citations in the first six days of this year’s Celebration as in all 11 days of last year’s, according to the Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean.
This week, a press conference was held to publicly inspect two of the horses rejected by the USDA. This is shown in the video.
On August 30, the Walking Horse Report conducted an interview with Scott Hopper, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS from Rood + Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The Walking Horse Report has kindly agreed to allow the interview to be printed on The Hoof Blog.
Dr. Hopper was at The Celebration on the first Thursday through Sunday nights of the Celebration and will be in attendance all three championship nights.
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| Dr Hopper of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington, KY |
Q - During your inspection of the horses after they were disqualified by USDA VMOs, did you find horses that should have been allowed to show?
A – I looked at approximately 30 horses the first four nights of the Celebration and yes many of these horses should have been allowed to show. The biggest area of concern I had was with the palpation of horses and those deemed sore by USDA VMOs. Approximately 70% of those cases, I disagreed with the VMOs and found nothing wrong with those horses. My initial exam was similar to those performed by the DQPs and VMOs and I could not elicit any response. I went one step further and performed a more aggressive deep palpation of the horse’s lower limb and again I could not elicit a response. These horses should have been allowed to show.
Q – In your opinion, is the scar rule being interpreted as the “Understanding the Scar Rule” pamphlet distributed as the training manual to VMOs and the industry HIOs?
A – No it is not. The scar rule is a very subjective rule and is not being applied consistently.
Q – On those horses disqualified for scar rule violations, would you in your professional opinion, deem those horses sore?
A – A scar rule violation could be called and the horse show zero signs of soring, nor would it necessarily mean this horse had been sored in the past.
Q – Given that to be a scar rule violation the horse must show bilateral (both feet) scarring, did you see horses called out that only had unilateral (one foot) tissue change?
A – Yes, many of the horses I looked at did not have any evidence of a scar rule violation in one foot and would be questionable on the second foot
Q – Of those horses that you inspected and those you saw enter inspection, in your opinion is soring required to participate?
A – I don’t believe that horses need to be sored to perform at a high level at the Celebration. Of the horses I examined I saw no signs of abuse. If any owner or trainer believes that this is still necessary then they should be banned from the profession, because there is no place for it anymore.
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| The Walking Horse National Celebration attracts thousands of spectators. Photo by Stephanie Graves. |
Q – Would you be a proponent of more objective testing rather than the existing subjective inspections?
A – The industry needs to do everything it can to end soring. Yes, technology should be used to implement science-based, objective testing. The current inspections are very subjective, inconsistently applied and result in many unfair disqualifications. Sound horses are the only horses that should be allowed to show; but more importantly sound training methods should be the methods used in both the barns and at the show.
Q – Would you be willing to work with reformers in the industry to help restore the proud tradition of the Tennessee Walking Horse?
A – I have worked on many walking horses at Rood & Riddle, performing surgeries and lameness exams, and I know firsthand what a wonderful breed of horse the Tennessee Walking Horse is and can be. I have volunteered to serve in a capacity to help and would be willing to help with industry reformers that have a goal of ending soring and maintaining the welfare of the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Q – Is there a problem with soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry?
A – There are cheaters in every sport that think they can beat the system but I have no doubt that the inspections at The Celebration are doing everything they can to catch these individuals and put an end to soring. I did not see a problem with soring during my four nights inspecting horses at The Celebration.
Q – Who contacted you about inspecting horses at The Celebration?
A – Representatives from the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization contacted me through a mutual friend Dr. John Bennett. They asked me to come and examine horses to get my objective opinion on what I saw in horses that were disqualified from participation.
Q – Is it possible with improper palpation of horses to have movement indicative of soring when in fact the improper palpation is the reason for the movement of the horses foot?
A – It is definitely possible to make any horse move if that is the goal. Improper palpation techniques can be used to induce movement which does not mean that the horse is sore.
Q – Are those techniques being used in inspection?
A – I cannot speak to that directly as I am not directly involved during those initial inspections, however I would say several horses disqualified for sensitivity to palpation immediately came to me and I could not get the horses to show any sign of sensitivity to palpation, even when I aggressively palpated those horses. Palpating the limbs of lame horses is what I do for a living, if a horse was sore I would know it.
Original article appeared on the Walking Horse Report web site.
The Hoof Blog hopes to also have an interview with Dr. Tracy Turner, who is at the Celebration acting as a consultant to the USDA.
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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.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Camelot's Epsom Derby Victory Footnote: American Farrier Jeff Henderson
Trainer: Irish
Foaled in: Great Britain
Bred by: Bahrain's prince
Owners: Irish/British
Jockey: Irish
Exercise rider: Japanese
Exercise rider: Japanese
Sire: French-trained
Grandsire: Legendary Australian sire
Farrier: American
Horseshoes: Dutch
Farrier: American
Horseshoes: Dutch
The most exciting horse in the world today is not Australia's Black Caviar. It's not American Triple Crown candidate I'll Have Another. It's not even superstar British sprinter Frankel. Move over, Zenyatta and Totilas, there's a new horse in the headlines.
It's a horse with a list of international connections that you'll need the fingers on both your hands to count.
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| British Triple Crown contender Camelot has a footnote of international interest. The colt has unusual face markings and white untrimmed whiskers on his muzzle. (Photo by Monkeywing) |
But when you look at his feet, forget the Irish and English stereotypes. Forget tweed caps and dark, smoky smiddies. Think stars and stripes, wide open spaces, and the Great State of Texas.
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Rood + Riddle Equine Hospital Podiatry
Center's Jeff Henderson CJF
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Camelot--just like 2011 Breeders Cup Turf champion St Nicholas Abbey who won the Coronation Cup at Epsom today right after the Derby--has a special hoofcare consultant from the USA. By way of Texas.
Jeff Henderson, a transplanted Texan who continues to flourish as a Kentucky transplant, travels to Ireland to provide specialist services to the Ballydoyle training center of trainer Aidan O'Brien.
Jeff works with Scott Morrison DVM in the podiatry referral service of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
Henderson has become a frequent flyer commuter to Ireland to shoe for O'Brien; he also took over St. Nicholas Abbey, who had been worked on in the past by Morrison, and also worked on Kentucky Derby starter Daddy Long Legs, among others.
Jeff said that Camelot's hoofcare needs were simple; Camelot is shod with Kerckhaert raceplates--no glue, no patches.
Ballydoyle employs two full-time farriers in addition to Henderson and Morrison's consulting services.
Today's stunning win of the famed Epsom Derby in England means that three-year-old Thoroughbred Camelot has won 2/3 of the British Triple Crown.
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| St Nicholas Abbey on his way to victory in the Coronation Cup. (Photo by Monkeywing) |
It's been 34 years since a horse has won the Triple Crown in the USA. I'll Have Another is 2/3 of the way there this year, and goes for the big honor a week from today at New York's Belmont Park.
Camelot is trained by Aiden O'Brien at Coolmore's Ballydoyle training center in Ireland, where footnotes to victories abound. A special aspect to his victory today is that he was ridden by O'Brien's teenage son, Joseph.
The victories by Camelot and St Nicholas Abbey are especially sweet for Coolmore; both winners are by their late, great stud Montjeu, who became ill and was euthanized this spring at the age of 16 after siring (so far) four winners of the Epsom Derby.
To increase the international connections of Camelot, his lineage goes back to the great Hungarian mare of the 1870s, Kincsem, undefeated in 54 starts, including major events in Austria, Hungary, Germany, France and England, according to the experts at pedigreeconsultants.com.
In basic American breeding terms that US Hoof Blog readers and Thoroughbred racing fans can celebrate, Camelot is from the European continuation of Canada's Northern Dancer's dynasty on the sire side and Kentucky's Mr. Prospector line on his dam's side.
Horse behavior observers may have noticed that Camelot wore the comforting Monty Roberts-designed "barrier blanket" into the starting gate yesterday. His sire, Montjeu, had to be ridden into the paddock by his groom, according to Thoroughbred Daily News.
The horse's name reflects much more than a famous Broadway musical; Camelot was the legendary mythical kingdom of Britain's King Arthur and his knights.
Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal
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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.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Meet Rodney King: Rood and Riddle Has a New Accent on Farriery
Rodney and Natalie King left their home and horses in New Zealand for the exposure to lameness and hoofcare technology at Kentucky's Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital Podiatry Clinic. From the sounds of it, Rodney will be bringing skills and experience that will make his trip mutually beneficial!
So why would anyone leave?
New Zealand is also one of the horsiest places on earth. There’s a racetrack in every town, the three-day event riders are major sports personalities, and a farrier can make a good living there.
But Rodney King thinks there’s more to see and do in his career as a farrier.
Last week, Rodney started his new job as a farrier at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Rood and Riddle has a very successful “podiatry” clinic staffed by a talented team of vets and farriers and technicians…and loaded with cases and clients.
Rodney’s accent should puzzle the Kentuckians!
Rodney knows what he is getting into. He visited Rood and Riddle last year on a New Zealand Equine Research Foundation scholarship and, when a position became open, he applied for it.
Now Rodney and his wife Natalie are living in Lexington, and learning the American way of doing things. At Rood and Riddle, that means lots of aluminum glue-on shoes, lots of laminitis, and lots of long hours. In return, a farrier or vet has the chance of a lifetime to learn about the horse’s foot and be around some of the leading minds in the world of the hoof.
Rodney has already passed his AFA journeyman certification test and, in fact, was told that he had the highest written-portion score of the year.
Dr Scott Morrison, director of the clinic, said today that Rodney “fit right in and went right to work. He knows what the routine is,” he said.
Welcome to America, Rodney!
Monday, May 14, 2007
People News: Get Well, Manfred!
Put your hand over your heart today (Tuesday, May 15) and think of our friend, Manfred Ecker, the original farrier at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's podiatry clinic in Lexington, Kentucky. Manfred was hospitalized a few days ago with a heart problem and will be undergoing a "procedure" at the University of Kentucky's medical center today.I'm sorry to say that I have hundreds of photos of Manfred's exquisitely-crafted shoes and braces and tools, but this is the closest I could come to a photo of Manfred himself. I remember this day very well: a big Belgian pulling horse (foundered, of course) was in the clinic for shoeing. Manfred fired up the beautiful stainless steel forge and before long he was striking for Aaron Gygax (shown here on left), as they went to work creating handmade shoes for the giant horse. On that day, there was no glue, no high-tech fiber and no support material in sight, just two highly skilled farriers doing the job as farriers have for hundreds of years. What impressed me was how easily they switched gears--or centuries--in their work.
We're thinking of you today, Manfred.
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