UC Davis farrier Shane Westman awarded Royal Veterinary College graduate diploma; focuses research on glue-on solar hoof cast for Type III P3 fracture

Shane Westman at work in his forge at the University of California Davis Large Animal Clinic.

The movement to bring more data-driven science to the care of horses’ hooves is surging forward, and University of California Davis veterinary hospital farrier Shane Westman is helping lead the way. 

Renate Weller appointed vet school dean at University of Calgary

Renate Weller, an educator and leader in the equine veterinary field in Europe, will become the new Dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Canada this September.

Well-known veterinary educator and researcher Renate Weller, Dr Med Vet, PhD, MScVetEd, FHEA, NTF, DipACVSMR, MRCVS will accept a new challenge in September when she adds Canada to the countries she has called home. Professor Weller will soon be known as Dean Weller as she assumes leadership of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary (UCFVM) in Alberta, Canada.

First US farriers graduate from Royal Veterinary College's Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research

American farrier Grad Dip ELR 2020 graduates and faculty (from left to right): David Werkiser, David Gilliam, Veronica Brewster (RVC Lecturer), Timothy Shannon, Tracy Cooley, David Hallock, Jim Laclaire, Dr Thilo Pfau (RVC Course Director), Craig Bark, Darren Owen, Jude Florio, Pat Reilly and Doug Anderson. (Not pictured: Stephen Teichman)

The Royal Veterinary College has announced the graduation of the first group of American farrier students to compete the Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research (Grad Dip ELR). Launched in 2017, it is the first course of its kind, and offers professional farriers in both the US and the UK the chance to gain the necessary skill-set to produce original research and increase the evidence base behind farriery.

Royal Veterinary College celebrates first graduates in Equine Locomotor Research

Great Britain's Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is proud to announce the successful graduation of all 12 students from its new Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research. Launched in January 2017, the course is primarily intended for farriers and equips them with the skills to help them produce original research in farriery.

Laminitis Prevention Survey Result: Along with weight gain, shoeing cycle and trimming schedule are factors in risk

Although excess weight has long been considered a primary risk factor for laminitis, new research continues to sort through the many risk factors and look for patterns of horsecare or links between the factors themselves, as well as that weight gain is most likely to be associated with laminitis.

A relatively large study, by equine science standards, was conducted in the United Kingdom and gave researchers access to data on more than 1000 horses in "real time" by receiving monthly reports for more than two years from owners about the same horses. The sole purpose of the study was to gather data on laminitis and the horsecare factors that may contribute to it.

Out of 1,070 horses followed in the study, 97 experienced 123 episodes of laminitis over the 29 months the data was collected.

The bottom line conclusion was that weight gain more than doubled the risk of developing laminitis, but other horsecare practices, including hoofcare, should not be ignored.

Where in the world are the top-ranked veterinary colleges?

We're used to hearing about Harvard vs Yale, Michigan vs Ohio State, Army vs Navy, and Alabama vs Auburn, but vet school vs vet school?

Laminitis Survey Results: Do horse owners value science-based advice? Do they use it?

Equine research is fascinating, much-needed, and worthy of support. But are equine research findings being integrated into the care, feeding, and hoofcare of average horses? A survey in Great Britain set out to see if horse owners were applying research-based practices in their stable routines, using laminitis prevention as an example.

Transitions: Hoof research innovator Renate Weller makes career move to corporate veterinary education

Professor Renate Weller (center) of the Royal Veterinary College in the United Kingdom announced this week that she is leaving academia for a career in corporate veterinary education. Weller has been a magnet in the equine industry for her inclusive and inspiring dialogues with students, horse owners, farriers and the public. She is shown here during a demonstration for an equestrian group touring the RVC's Structure and Motion Laboratory where she conducts research. (RVC publicity photo)

Professor Renate Weller, Drvetmed, PhD, MScVetEd, ACVSMR, FHEA, NTF, ECVSMR, MRCVS, has announced her decision to leave her academic teaching role at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London in the United Kingdom.

Laminitis researcher investigates horse owners’ knowledge of disease and how it affects horse care decisions

A new laminitis research study, supported by the equine feed manufacturer SPILLERS®, in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in England, aims to shed light on British horse owners’ understanding of laminitis and whether or how that knowledge may influence horse management practices in Great Britain.

The Royal Veterinary College’s Equine Locomotor Research Course for farriers expands to the USA

Good news! The already-successful graduate diploma research course for farriers at England's Royal Veterinary College (RVC) will be offered in the United States, beginning in January 2018. The deadline for applications is September 4, 2017. 

Royal Veterinary College studies elastic resistance bands for equine rehabilitation and training

Horse wearing the modified saddle pad with abdominal resistance band attached; the clip for the hindquarters band can also be seen.

Core strength training for horses has been a key criteria for developing equine athletes with the necessary condition and muscle develop to sustain advanced gaits and collected movements. Even if a horse has great conformation and appears to have the natural talent to excel, sufficient core body strength is required for sustained collected work.

Professor Renate Weller, noted for horse hoof research and imaging, in line for presidency of British Equine Veterinary Association

Professor Renate Weller of the Royal Veterinary College, London, will be president of the British Equine Veterinary Association in 2018, following results of an election held this year. (BEVA photo)

The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) issued a press release this week with some news about a British veterinarian well-known to everyone exposed to equine hoof research. The Hoof Blog is happy to share this news.

Royal Veterinary College Announces Graduate Equine Locomotor Research Diploma for Farriers

These images from recent locomotor research at the RVC were part of a test on the influence of hoof packing on a shod horse's foot deformation at the walk and trot. (©RVC image)

Hoof Blog comment: Progress happens slowly, and this announcement has been a long time coming--about 225 years, in fact. Sometimes making progress requires going back to the beginning of things and looking it all, all over again. That’s what’s happening in Great Britain this summer, as the Royal Veterinary College prepares to invite farriers to return to the vet school, which (like all vet schools) began when 19th century farriers sought to improve their scientific knowledge, banded together, and expanded their skills. The result was the invention a new field of medicine: veterinary science. 

The United Kingdom's Royal Veterinary College (RVC) announced today that it will launch a new Graduate Diploma in Equine Locomotor Research (Grad Dip ELR). The new program offers farriers the opportunity to gain skills and experience in producing original research to both increase the evidence base behind farriery, and to enhance equine welfare.

Synergy of Modeling, Imaging Technologies Compares Thoroughbred Limb Biomechanics Shod and Unshod

The final version of an Open Access hoof biomechanics research paper previewed
in February is now available for free download by Hoof Blog readers.

In A preliminary case study of the effect of shoe-wearing on the biomechanics of a horse’s foot, published in the Open Access journal PeerJ, an international research team explored the capability of combining still and motion imaging and modeling technologies and systems to evaluate the effect of a stainless steel horseshoe on the function of the same foot of the same horse.

The horseshoe's effects were compared to the same foot of the same horse without a shoe. This early experiment is expected to be followed with additional research that would be applicable to the safety and efficiency of racehorse hooves.

Research: Equine Weight Management Surveys for Farriers, Owners, and Veterinarians

A survey-based research project is being conducted by Melissa Kelson, a student at the Royal Veterinary College in Great Britain, to compare and contrast the evaluation of body condition by owners, farriers, and vets. Ultimately, the project will explore some of the ways the farrier and veterinary communities can best communicate with owners on the matter of weight management.

Whether you are a horse owner, veterinarian, or farrier please take just a few minutes to complete the relevant survey to help develop the best strategies for regulating weight in horses.

FARRIERS/TRIMMERS, click here for your survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N96BKKP

HORSEOWNERS, click here for your survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T2TTMTQ

VETERINARIANS, click here for your survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N7HG9VK

Adventures in Hoof Science: British Farriers Collect Data on Heart Bar and Lateral Extension Shoes at Royal Veterinary College's Structure and Motion Laboratory

Story and photos provided by Carl Bettison, AWCF (Hons)

British farriers spent a day at the Royal Veterinary College's Structure and Motion Laboratory last week; they watched while Jim Blurton shod two horses with bar shoes. Equigait wireless gait analysis technology was paired with high speed video and a force plate to monitor changes with the addition of the shoes. (Gill Harris photo)

A small group of farriers with a keen shared interest in equine biomechanics and a thirst to understand the science behind horseshoeing had a unique opportunity to witness an afternoon’s research conducted in the Royal Veterinary College’s Structure and Motion Laboratory in England last week. The RVC’s Renate Weller DrMedVet, PhD, MRCVS, FHEA led the event, along with her team, which represents a range of scientific disciplines.

Video: Inside the Online Veterinary Anatomy Museum with Mark Evans

The Online Veterinary Anatomy Museum ("OVAM") continues to mature, expand, blossom and amaze, and now British television host (and veterinarian) Mark Evans adds his two cents to the value of this web-based resource of sharable resources with this video feature.

Equine Hoof Research: Digital Cushion Response to Pressure Tested in Horses vs Elephants at Royal Veterinary College

Most of the digital cushion of the horse is housed inside a rigid outer hoof capsule and between the lateral cartilages of the coffin bone. Its function has been proposed by different researchers as having both passive and active roles in weightbearing and shock absorption in the equine foot. (© Christoph von Horst plastinated hoof tissue specimen, color enhanced)

Hoof science turns up in some unexpected places, and it is always a joy to report on it when it does. That was the case earlier this month at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) annual meeting in San Francisco.

Friends at Work: Meet Andrew Crook, Anatomy Technician at the Royal Veterinary College in Great Britain

Meet Andrew Crook, head of the anatomy service of the Royal Veterinary College in Great Britain. He'll explain more about his job to you in this video, which is designed to introduce new students to the anatomy services of the college.

Have you ever considered the variety of specialty professional positions within the broad category of "hoof-related"--meaning that they are available to someone who is interested in applying (or pursuing eternally) their knowledge of the horse's foot?

British Equine Laminitis Research Expands: Why Are Some Horses More at Risk?

New research will look at blood flow to and within the horse's foot to determine why some horses and ponies are pre-disposed to laminitis. The research will be conducted at the Royal Veterinary College in Great Britain. This plastination casting of the blood supply shows the intricate variety of types of blood vessels that serve the foot. A dead horse's foot was injected with plastination material and the foot was treated to remove all evidence of tissue except the plastination. In this model, the blood vessels of the sole were removed to allow a full view inside the foot.  Corrosion casts like this one are sold by Hoofcare Publishing for educational and professional use.

Research announcement:

Great Britain's Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and the WALTHAM® research group are pleased to announce that veterinarian Elizabeth Finding, has joined them and the WALTHAM®-led International Laminitis Consortium to start her PhD on laminitis.

Elizabeth Finding

Finding will continue the essential search into why some horses and ponies have an increased risk of laminitis.

Laminitis is well-recognised as a major global welfare issue; it is a disease causing pain and suffering in those affected. Understanding why some individuals are prone to develop this painful--and potentially fatal--condition has been one of the major goals of the Laminitis Consortium so that targeted preventative measures can be put in place.

Anecdotal information has suggested that there is often an increase in incidence in laminitis following a bout of cold frosty weather. Previous work undertaken at the RVC has suggested that temperature may influence the reactivity of certain blood vessels of the hoof.

As part of her four-year PhD project. Finding will develop novel methods of assessing blood flow so that she can analyze changes associated with diet and season. In addition, she will be comparing innovative markers of blood vessel health between those that are and are not prone to laminitis.

Finding explains: “We hypothesise that ponies prone to laminitis have a dysfunction of the cells lining the blood vessels ("endothelial cells"). This may make them less effective in generating mediators which normally continuously dilate blood vessels and thus protect against the blood vessel constriction. It is thought that abnormal constriction may be initiated by the ingestion of too much rich grass especially under adverse environmental conditions."

The WALTHAM®–initiated International Laminitis Consortium comprises world-leading equine veterinary, nutrition and research experts interested in collaborating on the important topic of laminitis. It includes Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow and Professor Jonathan Elliott of the RVC, Professor Pat Harris of the WALTHAM® Equine Studies Group, and Clare Barfoot of Mars Horsecare UK Ltd.

(End of announcement)

•••••

From Hoofcare and Lameness: Elizabeth Finding is the lead author of a paper published in June 2012 in the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR), "Evaluation of a technique for measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation in healthy ponies".

In that study, Finding and her colleagues tested between-pony and within-pony variations and interobserver and intraobserver agreements of an ultrasound technique for measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) in healthy ponies. Testing and evaluation were favorable for using this technique in future research related to laminitis.

Finding is also the author of "Flow-Mediated Vasodilation in Healthy Ponies", published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

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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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