based on information from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP)

Philanthropists John K. and Marianne Castle are the 2008 recipients of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ George Stubbs Award, an honor that recognizes contributions made to equine veterinary medicine by individuals other than veterinarians. The AAEP will present the award on December 9 during the association’s 54th Annual Convention in San Diego, California.
Laminitis had a devastating effect on the Castle family when their beloved Appaloosa, Spot, began to suffer recurrent bouts of laminitis and crippling chronic founder. Mr. and Mrs. Castle worked with a team of respected AAEP members, led by Dr. James Orsini, and then-farrier Rob Sigafoos at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center to test innovative treatment techniques while maintaining Spot’s quality of life. Their total dedication to the quality of life of their horse led the treatment team at the New Bolton Center to new levels of inspired care.
In 2007, Mr. and Mrs. Castle announced a gift of $1 million to support the establishment of the Laminitis Institute, an international laminitis research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
Mr. and Mrs. Castle are well-known to many readers of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal and have forged a lasting bond with the farrier/vet community around the world through their sponsorship of the International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, held bi-annually in West Palm Beach, Florida. They play an active role in the scientific, practical and social aspects of the popular conference.
In honor of their contributions to equine medicine, the third edition of the Dr. Tom Divers and Dr. Jim Orsini book, Equine Emergencies: Treatment and Procedures, is dedicated to the Castles.
Mr. and Mrs. Castle will travel from their home in New York to receive the AAEP award and, no doubt, share their enthusiasm for the ongoing campaign to resolve the mystery of the disease that affected their beloved horse and continues to challenge researchers, practitioners, farrier, trainers and owners.
About the award: The Stubbs Award is named for George Stubbs (1724 – 1806), the artist and teacher who played a vital role in veterinary education. His reference book, Anatomy of the Horse, published more than 200 years ago, is still universally recognized as an authoritative equine anatomical depiction.

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.