ESP 1.0 Event: First Equine Soundness Professionals seminar details for March 16 in Florida

Veterinarians and farriers have a chance to be part of history on Saturday, March 16 when the new Equine Soundness Professionals ("ESP") organization hosts its first open seminar in Wellington, Florida. Advance registration is required to attend.

Palm Beach Equine Clinic Welcomes Dr. Stephen O’Grady for Consultation Services this Winter

Palm Beach Equine Clinic (PBEC) in Wellington, Florida shared the news last week that equine podiatry consultant Stephen E. O’Grady, DVM, MRCVS, will join its forces this winter.

Polyflex Horseshoes Hosts Informational Farrier Session with VEPG Chair Mark Silverman at Palm Beach Farrier Supply

On Saturday, January 31, Polyflex Horseshoes hosted an informational session for farriers with Mark Silverman, MS, DVM, owner of Sport Horse Veterinary Services in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He is also a partner in Southern California Equine Podiatry with farrier Ernest Woodward.

Mark Silverman is chair of the new Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group (VEPG), Inc., an initiative by a group of veterinarians who would like to see a veterinary specialization established for equine podiatry. The group is just beginning on this effort and is probably years from establishing a recognized and credentialed program.

Rockin' Gooseneck Shoe: Dr Ric Redden Helps a Foundered Belgian Mare in Florida

(edited from a longer article received as a press release)

On May 23, 2008, a Belgian mare named Princess was saved from going to slaughter. She went home from the kill auction with Victoria McCullough of the Triumph Project, a horse rescue program in Loxahatchee, Florida. The Triumph Project rehabilitates and rehomes slaughter-bound horses purchased at auctions, particularly the one in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

It did not take long for Victoria to find the problem with Princess, who had a severe rotation in her front hooves as a result of the disease of laminitis.

Months later, Victoria asked the question "Have we done all we can?" She put out calls for experts who might be able to help Princess. She told Dr. Mike Gerard, "I need an answer, I can deal with whatever it is, but I need to know an answer." Dr. Gerard's answer was three words: "Dr. Ric Redden".

Dr. Redden owns the International Equine Podiatry Center (IEPC) in Versailles, Kentucky, and is a leading laminitis consulting veterinarian and pathmaker in new treatments for laminitis in horses.

That was last Wednesday. Within eight hours of her telephone call, Dr. Redden arrived at Victoria's farm to help Princess.

Quotes about the procedure from the Triumph Project's press release:

"Dr. Redden evaluated Princess and her x-rays, then went to work designing a set of shoes called Aluminum Rock and Road Rail Shoes with a Gooseneck. These shoes will allow the pressure to be taken off of the tendon with the mechanical movement of the shoe.

"The shoe was fabricated by cutting a rail shoe in half, fabricating the gooseneck out of plate aluminum, then riveting and welding the three parts together. When the shoe was applied to the hoof it touched the foot at the heels and the hoof wall, alleviating the pressure on the toe and quarters.

"The shoe was attached to the foot using e-head nails in a sole nailing procedure. The gooseneck was attached using Phillips head screws. Adhere (urethane-based adhesive) and hoof putty were applied to the gap in the quarters. This shoeing application allows the navicular bone free from pressure so that the lamina can heal. This should have a positive effect on the now negative angle of the navicular bone. When the procedure was complete radiographs were taken of the hoof. Princess will be re-shod in approximately six weeks.

"Kelly McGee, a local (farrier) was called and immediately arrived at Victoria's farm to assist Dr. Redden; some of the local equine-specialist veterinarians also attended. According to Brad Gaver of Pure Thoughts Inc., who is also a farrier, "It was a a privilege to be able to observe and learn from such an out-of-the-box and free-thinking individual who wants to share his knowledge for the benefit of all horses."

What's next for Princess? Jennifer Swan, director of the non-profit, says that Princess is doing well, a week after the initial shoeing. "She is a little more comfortable every day," she said on January 28th . "Dr Redden had digital xrays done on Saturday and sent up to him so he can make a mold and design the next shoe. His plan is to design a shoe that does not need to be nailed in."

Note to readers: This video shows only highlights of the procedure and hints at the shoe design and application. Heel nailing and screwing goosenecks into backed-up toes is a procedure only for the most skilled laminitis experts to attempt. Precise radiographs are required. The video does not go into details about diagnostic tests such as venograms that may have been performed before the filming began. This video is posted here only to show how Dr. Redden helped this horse; he might treat another horse very differently. The hope is that checking in with Dr. Redden on a case like this will be valuable to people who need to know about new options for laminitis. This is not a "how-to" video!

Thanks to Dr Redden, Kelly McGhee and the Triumph Project for cooperating in the work on Princess and for sharing this video. Special thanks to Jennifer Swanson of Pure Thoughts Horse & Foal Rescue.

© 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.

Tropical Storm Fay Spawns Twister in Wellington, Florida; Equine Clinic and Sports Complex Damaged

This image from the Los Angeles Times shows damage to the Palm Beach Equine Clinic and Sports Complex in Wellington, Florida yesterday.

According to several reports, a tornado ripped through the showgrounds and especially damaged the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, shown here, where several stalls were destroyed and a stable was literally lifted up and moved across a courtyard.

Read the story from the Palm Beach Post here.

Palm Beach Footing Post Script

Palm Beach International Equestrian Center's International Arena during a recent night class

After posting on Friday about the footing at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, I have a few more comments to add.

I think this is the year of the surface: whether its show arenas, home schooling rings, or racetracks, everyone is talking about (and obsessing over) footing! No matter whom I'm with, the subject invariably comes around to it. And no, I don't know about much new research!

One vet said that he thought he had seen more bruised feet this season at Wellington but seemed genuinely pleased overall with the footing.

Show circuit farrier Jack Miller, who happened to cross my path at the airport this afternoon, concurred with the veterinarians' comments. We sat down to chat for a few minutes. He said that the new footing was much more consistent and enabled the show to go on, even after a downpour of six inches of rain. "The new footing was great," he said, "but a little sluggish. The horses were maybe jumping an extra two inches, because they were sinking in. It stopped them. And it cupped a lot out of the bottom of the feet. But it was a lot better than it has been, and they didn't have to use as many studs. We didn't see too many 'Spruce Meadows Specials' (supersized studs) this time."

Also at the airport today, I ran into another vet, Dr. Liz Maloney from here in Massachusetts, who has been flying back and forth to Palm Beach all winter to compete her horses in the amateur owner division at the WEF. She said that her horses, who are shod by "banana shoes" expert Danny Dunson from Tennessee, handled life on the showgrounds very well, although she didn't always compete in the newly renovated "Hong Kong footing" arenas. She said it was great to not to have to use studs, since she worries so much about the injuries they can cause. "It feels hard when you land, but it's not, really," she said of her impression from the saddle.

Other comments I heard were about the hunter ponies that compete barefoot and wore booties to get from the stable area to the arena and schooling rings, since the pathways were crushed stone. Show hunters want as little knee action on the flat as possible so no shoe or the very lightest aluminum shoe is usually the answer for them.

Everyone seemed pleased that the winter season in Wellington was unaffected by disease (EHV closed the showgrounds last year in the weeks before the show started) or disaster (hurricanes have been a threat the past few years) and that the upper echelons of the hunter/jumper/dressage showing scenes seem (so far) unaffected by financial woes troubling other sectors of the US economy.

Thanks to the Winter Equestrian Festival and Kenneth Braddick of Horse Sport USA for the excellent photos and reports shared with this blog all season. Now it's time to pack up and move on. See you next year!

Jumper Circuit Farriers Endorse Sore No More's "Sauce"

International Farrier Service farriers Joe and Sandy Johnson of Wellington, Florida went on record recently, providing a testimonial to Equilite about their experience with what farriers call "herbal sugardine", also known as "The Sauce", made with Sore No More liniment as a base. The Johnsons were in good company; at the same time, Sore No More was endorsed by Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo. "The Sauce" was developed by racetrack farriers at Belmont Park in New York who asked Equilite to start bottling it for them.