Dynamic Foot Balance: Toe First vs Heel First Landing

Posted by Fran Jurga | 19 November 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

Or, "the qualitative effect of addition and subtraction of a wedge heel on dynamic landing pattern at the trot (up)...."

I saw this photo in Horse and Hound and had a good laugh. There was no caption, no explanation of whose leg and shoe that was. Intrigued, I ripped out the photo and let it flutter around on my dashboard for a few days while I drove to a conference. I laughed every time I saw it.

Finally, today, I found out the rest of the story. It's a about a woman named Claire...who can't stride out at all.

Claire Lomas is a ****event rider who was badly injured in a fall. She injured her spine (in addition to just about everything else) and, as she so understatedly says, "can't walk, at the mo".

But her friends still can. One of the riders at Weston Park horse trials last month hatched a plan to turn the trot-up and vet inspection into a mini-fundraiser to help Claire with her medical bills. Everyone chipped in to egg him (yes, him) on and his plan became more and more outrageous. As did his hair and his outfit...and, finally, his shoes.

When the time came, the fellow literally did have to trot his horse, which meant he had to run in five-inch Lucite high heels. Luckily Martha from Equestrian Services Thorney was on hand to capture it with her camera.

This guy's still raking it in and the photo of his best-shod foot is traveling around the world, thanks to Horse and Hound and the Hoof Blog. A donation from the Hoof Blog was made today through Martha to the Claire Lomas Fund so that we could make you laugh this morning.

Read more about Claire and her plans to walk again at www.get-claire-walking.co.uk.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. If you would like to use the photo, I am sure that Martha at EST would arrange a donation to Claire's fund for you, too.

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.

Bill Moyer Named AAEP Vice President

William ("Bill") Moyer, DVM will be the 2009 vice president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Dr. Moyer, of College Station, Texas, will join the Executive Committee next year and then serve as AAEP president in 2011.

Moyer is currently professor of sports medicine and head of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He began his career at Texas A&M in 1993 following more than two decades on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. While at Penn, Moyer held numerous positions, including director of the Equine Outpatient Clinic and professor of sports medicine.

Recognized for his expertise in equine lameness, Moyer has authored or co-authored several books, including the bestselling A Guide to Equine Joint Injection and Regional Anesthesia and the now out-0f-print A Guide to Equine Hoof Wall Repair, co-authored with farrier Rob Sigafoos. His research also has appeared in numerous refereed journals and he has been an invited speaker at continuing education meetings worldwide.

Dr. Moyer is a 1970 graduate of the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Research and commentary by Dr Moyer has been a mainstay of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal since its first issue in 1985, when he agreed to serve on the editorial board. Dr. Moyer's Guide to Equine Joint Injection and Regional Anesthesia is the bestselling book technical book ever sold by Hoofcare Publishing; the revised and expanded 2007 edition is now in its second printing.

Dr. Moyer always credits the late New Bolton Center Jack Anderson as an influential mentor in the development of his study of foot-related lameness in horses. Anderson's anvil is enshrined as a monument on the lawn at New Bolton.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This post originally appeared on 17 September 2007 at www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

Favorite Photo: They Don't Build Them Like This One Anymore...

Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.

Here's the fabulous Gould and Sons Forge in Merrow, England in 1913, just before the outbreak of World War I. I'm not sure what's more impressive, the horseshoe-shaped doorway to the forge or the topiary cottage next door! Does it have an arch as well?


Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection.

Fast forward 15 years: Here you see the same forge in 1927. Where did the horses go? The doorway is still there but they've added gas pumps--and look at that car! Note that the cottage seems even more buried under foliage. And the fellows aren't wearing aprons.

Like so many others, I have a "thing" for these old forges with arched "horseshoe" portals and would love to know which ones are still standing. I know the one near Waterford, Ireland (now a tearoom) is still there--are there others? What became of this one in Merrow, England?

Please email fran@hoofcare.com if you have any information about old forges or farrier-related architecture. Thank you!

Bryan Fraley Will Speak on Laminitis Therapy at North American Veterinary Conference on January 17

Bryan T. Fraley DVM will present a full day's program on laminitis and foot therapy at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, January 17. Dr. Fraley is a foot-specialist veterinarian at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where he is works with Scott Morrison DVM on laminitis and other hoof problems. Morrison recently made headlines for his consulting role in treating racehorse Barbaro's laminitic left hind foot at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center.

Fraley's topics will be: Acute Sinker Syndrome Diagnosis and Therapeutic Options, Management of Severe Foot Infections, Treatment Options for Acute and Chronic Laminitis, Brief Review of Some Interesting Podiatry Cases, and How to Apply Foot Casts with Axial Support for Sinker Syndrome and Cast Shoes for a Multitude of Foot Conditions.

The conference, which continues through the weekend, will be held at the Gaylord Palms resort and conference center in Orlando. It is one of the largest meetings of veterinarians in the world.