Equine Lameness Education: Sue Dyson Will Be Milne State-of-the-Art Lecturer for 2013 AAEP Convention

Via AAEP News Room

World-renowned equine orthopaedics expert Dr. Sue Dyson will deliver the Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture during the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 2013 Annual Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, December 7 – 11.

Her lecture, “Equine Lameness: Clinical Judgment Meets Advanced Diagnostic Imaging”, will focus on three key areas: the recognition of lameness; new knowledge about the limitations of diagnostic analgesia; and the value of MRI in diagnosing foot-related lameness.

Sue Dyson at work at England's Animal Health Trust Centre for Equine Studies

Continuing Education Events for Your 2010 Calendar

Pull out your calendar and start filling in some dates for what's ahead in 2010! There are probably many more events in the planning stages, but these are on our calendar of symposia and seminars so far. What's on yours?

March 5-6 UC Davis North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Conference in collaboration with Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center and Rood & Riddle Equine hospital at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton, California. Click here for details.

March 13 Vermont Farriers Association seminar with Dr Tracy Turner in Bristol, VT. Email Diane Saunders:dlsqtrhs@gmavt.net

March 20 Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire, England presents Laminitis Awareness 2010. Feed company Dodson & Horrell and three British vet schools team up to present the latest laminitis research. Speakers: Professor Derek Knottenbelt, Dr John Keen, Dr Cathy McGowan, Dr Teresa Hollands and Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow. Click here to download program brochure.

March 22 Laminitis: Risk and Treatment evening lecture at the South Shore Equine Clinic 6:00 pm 151 Palmer Rd Plympton, Massachusetts. Please RSVP 781-585-2611 or email southshoreequineclinic@yahoo.com

March 25 Liverpool University and World Horse Welfare in Lancashire, England present Laminitis Awareness 2010. Feed company Dodson & Horrell and three British vet schools team up to present the latest laminitis research. Speakers: Professor Derek Knottenbelt, Dr John Keen, Dr Cathy McGowan, Dr Teresa Hollands and Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow. Click here to download program brochure.

March 27-28 Harry Patton Horseshoeing Supply hosts a 90th (!) birthday party for toolmaker Jay Sharp, with Shayne Carter seminar and farrier competition in Salinas, California. Call 888 442 9150 or visit www.harrypatton.com.

April 8–11 Equine Affaire at Ohio State Fairgrounds, Columbus, Ohio.

April 10 Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Easter Bush, Scotland presents Laminitis Awareness 2010. Feed company Dodson & Horrell and three British vet schools team up to present the latest laminitis research. Speakers: Professor Derek Knottenbelt, Dr John Keen, Dr Cathy McGowan, Dr Teresa Hollands and Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow. Click here to download program brochure.

April 13 Lameness Diagnosis Panel with Dr. Norris Adams, Dr. Rich Forfa, Farrier Paul Goodness, Dr. Scott Pleasant, and Dr. Nat White at 7:00 pm in the library of the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Seating is limited. Please contact Amy Troppmann at 703-771-6843 or send email to atroppmann@vt.edu for reservations or information.

April 15-16 Equine Sports Massage Association Conference 2010: Diagnosis And Management Of Equine Locomotor Injuries with Professor Jean Marie Denoix DVM, PhD, Agrege at University of Bristol Veterinary College, Langford, England. http://www.equinesportsmassagetherapy.co.uk

April 20-25 Kentucky Cup test events in dressage and showjumping for 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, plus Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY. Visit WEG web site for a roster of week-long events.

April 26-27 Kentucky Equine Summit, Lexington Hilton Hotel, Lexington, KY. Sponsored by University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program in cooperation with the University of Kentucky's Equine Initiative. Visit www.kyequinesummit.com for more information.

May 1 The Kentucky Derby!

May 1-2 Equinology's Equine Lameness and Gait Assessment Course with Dr. Barb Crabbe at the McPhail Equine Performance Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Visit
www.equinology.com.

May 3-6 Equinology's Equine Biomechanics and Current Research Course with Dr. Hilary Clayton at the McPhail Equine Performance Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Visit www.equinology.com.

May 12-15 Animal Care Expo 2010 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, in Nashville, TN. Call 615 889 1000.

May 15 Carolina Laminitis Conference in Columbia, South Carolina. Speakers to include Katy Watts of Safergrass.org and Dr. Don Walsh of the Animal Health Foundation. To benefit the Animal Health Foundation and fund laminitis research. Watch for more information at www.ahf-laminitis.org.

June 21-26 International Wild Equid Conference hosted by the University of Queensland's Australian Brumby Research Unit at the remote Kings Creek Station, Northern Territory, Australia. Absolute Aboriginal adventurists encounter extreme equid academics in the Outback. Experience both wild horses and observe international equine hoof research, firsthand. The opportunity of a lifetime; full details can be downloaded at the bottom of this post. Visit www.wildhorseresearch.com.

August 3 Hoofcare@Saratoga Racing Season Kickoff Event Saratoga Springs, New York (date depends on opening day of the Saratoga race meet). Sponsors needed! Watch this blog!

August 10, 17, and 24 6th Annual Hoofcare@Saratoga Event Series and Speakers in Saratoga Springs, New York; Evening events at The Parting Glass on Lake Avenue, unless announced otherwise; all are welcome, for a casual, fun experience in the summer racing capital! (Dates subject to change one week forward or back, based on racing calendar.) Sponsors needed! Watch this blog!

September 17-19 Laminitis West Seminar at Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, CA, hosted by Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic. Details should be announced at http://www.steinbeckequine.com.

September 22-24 Promoting Peak Performance in Equine Athletes World Equestrian Games Sport Horse Veterinary Conference, Marriott Griffin Gate Resort, Lexington KY, hosted by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, AAEP and USEF. Includes speakers Drs. Kent Allen, Wayne McIlwraith, Jean-Marie Denoix, and many more. Foot-related speakers: Drs. Jeff Thomason, Simon Collins, Scott Pleasant and Scott Morrison. www.alltechfeigames.com/

September 23-25 2nd Invitation to Excellence Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners Symposium at the Mystic Marriott in Mystic, Connecticut. Includes special programs on lameness and farriery. Visit http://www.neaep.net/.

September 25 - October 10 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games ("Kentucky 2010"); probably the biggest and most ambititious horse event ever held on Earth. World championships in eight disciplines, trade shows, exhibitions, celebrations, seminars, education, parties, people from every nation, and horses, horses, horses. Bring family, friends, cameras; don't miss this. Volunteers needed, too. Go to http://www.alltechfeigames.com.

October (tentative, date tba) Luwex Hufsymposium in Krueth, Germany. Visit www.luwex.de.

November 6-- Danny Ward's 34th Farrier Gathering at his school in Martinsville, Virginia. Certainly the biggest little event in the United States, and everyone knows your name, or will by lunchtime. There's nothing quite like this: lectures, demonstrations, auction, food, music (bluegrass, of course), trade show (no charge to exhibit), dancing, and even some trimming and shoeing of horses. Email dannyward@embarqmail.com or call 276 638 7908.

November 7-12 8th International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology in Cape Town, South Africa. For more information, visit http://www.iceep.org/.

November 13-14 Cornell Farrier Conference at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. Click here for Cornell info.

December 4 - 8 56th American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit http://www.aaep.org/convention.htm.

Watch for more details about additional events! 

© 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.

Favorite Photo: A Hand-Forged Reflection

4 March 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

This is my favorite photo, so far, from the 2010 American Farrier's Association Convention, which was held last week in Portland, Oregon.

The gentleman reflected in the mirror looks somber, but I can assure you, he is probably just either a) stunned by the artistry of the mirror (as was I) or b) humbled by the fact that, when this photo was taken, he had less than 24 hours left in his term as president of the American Farrier's Association. With luck, he'd make it after all. The man in the mirror is Dick Fanguy, who survived a heart attack and several personal tragedies during his year as AFA president, and probably did need a moment to reflect.

And what a mirror to catch anyone's gaze! It was made, leaf by leaf and twig by twig, by our friend Mike Chisham of Petaluma, California. The mirror design was inspired by the late Edward Martin's iconic "Nessie" Loch Ness monster, which you can see clinging to the mid-left of the mirror frame. Mike donated the mirror to the American Farrier's Association's annual fundraising auction, held on Friday night during the convention. The annual auction is a showplace for the talented members of the association, who donate their most beautiful creative work.

Thanks to April Raine for the loan of her great photo. If you double-click on the photo, you should be able to see the mirror frame (and Dick) in greater detail.

PS Happy Birthday, Dick!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

Farrier News: AFA Convention Elections, Awards, Contest Results

28 February 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

The 39th American Farrier's Association Convention was held in Portland, Oregon. This image is another classic from the creative eyes and hands of British farrier Gary Huston.

The sun has set on the 39th convention of the American Farrier's Association Convention, held this week in Portland, Oregon. The combination of a lovely, friendly, snowless and warm (by 2010 east coast standards) city with a shiny new convention center and transport system made the convention easy to navigate and enjoy.

As usual, farriers came most of the 50 states and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Having the convention in the northwestern corner of the USA brings a chance to renew acquaintances with old friends and subscribers from that region, as well as western Canada and even intrepid travelers from Alaska and Hawaii.

Many thanks to everyone who commented on their addiction to this blog!

More coverage from the education and commerce sides of the convention will follow, but here are some bulletins from the final day of the convention. I was flying home but New York's Steve Kraus took some notes. These are just notes and should not be considered official. The AFA will publish the official record of the convention and all the elections, awards, and contests in their magazine.

But in the meantime, the winners are deserving of some congratulations and the curious minds at home may want to know who won what.

Elections: AFA vice president: Buck McClendon. Steve couldn't remember all the Board of Director elections results except that he was re-elected to represent the northeastern USA. He did recall that Margie Lee-Gustafson was elected to the Board to represent the California region.

AFA Achievement Awards: Jim Linzy Award-Chris Gregory; Educator Award-Dusty Franklin; Edward Martin Award-Margie Lee-Gustafson; Journalism Award-Danvers Child; Walt Taylor Award-Doug Workma.

AFA Competition: Delta Specialty Forging-Gene Leiser (USA); Journeyman-Billy Crothers (United Kingdom); NACC-Billy Crothers (United Kingdom); National High Point-Gene Leiser (USA); Two-Person Draft Horse Shoes - Gene Leiser and Alan Karson (USA); Vern Hornquist Class-Mike Miller (USA); Overall High Point-Stephen Beane (England).

2010 American Farriers Team will be Mike Augustine, Ben Mangen, Dusty Franklin, and Brian Osbourne, with Bob Slansky as alternate.

Again, please wait for the American Farrier's Association's official results as things do sometimes change. These results are very unofficial, as is the spelling and order of listing.

Many thanks to the AFA for a wonderful week in a wonderful city!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

USEF Reduces Medications Levels: Only One NSAID Allowed in Competition Horses After This Year

16 January 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Horses showing in USEF-sanctioned horse shows will be subject to new drugs and medications policies beginning at the end of 2010 as more than 30 years of permissive use of pain medication is being restricted under a more conservative rule. Even with half the medication formerly allowed, US horse shows still have a very liberal policy compared to most countries.

Big news from Louisville, Kentucky tonight: At the annual convention of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the governing body of most equestrian sports in the United States, a significant rule change is being agreed upon which will reduce the number of medications that a horse can have in its system when competing.

Various committees within USEF have been working toward a compromise on this issue throughout the convention, which began on Wednesday. Current USEF rules allow two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to be used simultaneously; that policy has been in place for more than 30 years.

The change was not without its opponents; the US Hunter Jumper Association's Open Hunter Task Force had filed for a rule change (GR410.1) that would have allowed two medications if written notification was given, but then withdrew its proposal on December 9.

Some breed and sport representatives felt that limiting medication is a penalty to older horses or to lower-level shows that do not have the best footing. Perhaps some horses will now show in fewer shows, or be entered in fewer classes. Some arguments were made that the current low value of horses makes it a hardship to sideline horses that could be competing if medicated. It remains to be seen if the new rule will affect horse show revenue; it is not expected to take effect until December 2010.

In most European countries, no medications are allowed; no medications are allowed in competitions sanctioned by the Federation Equestre International (FEI), the world governing body of horse sports. A recent vote to change the FEI medication policy caused an international uproar.

There is a lot to this story, and more will emerge in the days and weeks to come as the official final wording of the rule and dates are made public. One thing is known, and that is that the push to make the change came from veterinarians, who are often accused of promoting drug use in show horses.

Dr. Kent Allen, longtime chair of the Drugs and Medications Committee for USEF, commented on the obvious rise in joint injection that may be the result of a limit on medication. In a document available on the USEF website he offered this insight: "First, it is important to understand that a joint injection properly performed in experienced veterinary hands is the single most effective anti-inflammatory treatment we have for (an) equine joint.

"Secondly, there are numerous medications to inject into joints. Often it is hyaluronic acid in combination with a variety of cortisones, or bioregenerative therapies such as IRAP. Some of these medications are extremely safe and all of them will significantly reduce joint inflammation.

"On the question of 'are joint injections going to be overused', the answer is that is already happening today! In some cases joint injections are being used as treatments in 4, 6 or 8 joints without a diagnosis of joint inflammation ever being established. This is dangerous not only from the standpoint of increasing the number of joint injections in the horse and potential side effects but you may or may not be treating the real problem. Accurate diagnosis, including lameness examination, nerve blocks, joint blocks and diagnostic imaging is the most effective method of determining what the problem is and if the horse needs joint injections. This also has the benefit of reducing the cost to owners as well as the risk to the horse."

USEF approved the use of Surpass, a topical anti-inflammatory recently; there's no prediction so far if there will be a trend to more specific treatments rather than generalized medication for pain, stiffness or soreness.

While rumors of a compromise were circulating today, equestrian journalist Nancy Jaffer broke the news tonight in her column for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey that the new medication policy would be adopted. More insight into the process of the rule change can be found in Nancy's article.

The new rule will affect most breed shows, including Arabians, Saddlebreds and Morgans, plus USEF-sanctioned hunter-jumper, dressage, driving, endurance and eventing competitions and individual breeds and sports who are under USEF's umbrella. It will not affect Quarter horse, Paint, Tennessee Walking horse or Appaloosa shows, as well as many other breeds, or the sports of reining, cutting and barrel racing, unless they are held at a USEF event or as part of a USEF-member breed show.

The medication policy change is endorsed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Veterinary Medical Association and by the Humane Society of the United States.

USEF assembled an impressive bank of articles and information on medications in sport and performance horses for the delegates to the convention. Since medication policy is sure to be a topic of conversation throughout the coming months, you might want to save some of those documents for reference.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

Wish You Were Here: Greetings from the American Farrier's Association Convention

The American Farrier's Association's Annual Convention opened this morning here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I am happy to be lost among the hundreds of farriers here--young and old, from near and far--who are enjoying the trade show, lectures, competitions and, most of all, each other.

Dutch researcher Meike van Heel PhD spoke this morning on biomechanics, and tomorrow finds the University of Georgia's Dr. Andy Parks taking the stage with a new lecture on hoof support. California's Gene Armstrong overcame a technical catastrophe in his lecture today titled something like "Who do you work for? You work for the horse!" and an interesting husband-and-wife combo of Judy and Mike Spitzer discussed training and shoeing the show hunter.

When the doors to the big trade show opened this afternoon, you might have wondered, "What recession?" as farriers gobbled up the new products, including the new-look GE tools, a wedge Vibram hoof pad, free samples of Magic Cushion hoof packing, Double L's new vet line of "DeLuxe" hoof knives from Italy, hot-colored plastic Happy Hoofwear shoes from Florida (Crocs for horses?), and beautiful HC Biovision plastinated hoof tissue models at the Hoofcare and Lameness booth. Delta-Mustad erected their version of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz (you could get lost in there!), FPD brought in antique trucks converted to farrier rigs, TracMe shoes offered thoughtful advice on hoof problems, and Stonewell Bodies displayed priceless William Russell shoe cases on loan from horseshoe museum curator Lee Liles.

Dozens of students from Kentucky Horseshoeing School roam the halls, along with a cadre of young farriers (some competing for international honors) from the Japan Farriers Association. I've met farriers from Sweden, Germany, Italy and Great Britain and seen many old friends.

I'm sure something political is going on somewhere, but most of the people here seem oblivious. It's much more fun to tell jokes, slap backs, shake hands very firmly, recite cowboy poetry, and play their guitars, banjos, and mandolins til midnight, as they did on stage last night in a star-studded all-horseshoer "jam" session of folk, blues and country music.

In between all that, the talk is of horses and hooves and how the heck are you, anyway? As always, most look you right in the eye and offer a hand in friendship.

The hotel and the city don't quite now what has hit them, but I'm sure they are enjoying it too.


© 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.

AAEP Convention Report: Hoof Dudes, Unite

There must have been something in the water. Or maybe it was in the tequila. But the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention, held in San Diego, California, last week was an escapist's dream. Five days of lectures, a huge trade show, a beautiful city, great food and drink, but most of all, a collection of interesting people from all stripes and ranks within the horse health and husbandry worlds made last week one of the most memorable conferences I've attended.

They streamed in and out of the Hoofcare and Lameness booth: veterinarians, farriers, vet techs, practice managers, hoof trimmers, educators, researchers, therapists, chiropractors, authors, journalists, photographers, artists, spouses, ex-spouses, significant others, old friends, new acquaintances and even a Dachshund from Arizona. Seldom was heard a discouraging word.

I hadn't expected the convention to be so upbeat. I flew in from the land of gloom and doom, where falling real estate values and collapsing stock prices have convinced everyone that the End is Near. I wasn't expecting people to be generous and supportive and so very friendly. What a wonderful surprise!

I would like to thank everyone who visited the booth, everyone who worked so hard to present their finest information and images from the stage, and especially the AAEP for hosting this event in the right city for this year. Warm and sunny and relaxed was the perfect recipe.

Special thanks go to our friends at Vettec for sponsoring our California-themed "Hoof Dude" unofficial convention guide. It had tips and schedules designed just for people who were interested in hoof-related information.

The AAEP again hosted a sub-conference for farriers. I can't estimate how many farriers were there because, as was the case in San Antonio, a lot of the people in the lecture hall were vets, which is encouraging. I did see a lot of farriers in the trade show, and met some from California that I might otherwise never have known.

Special thanks to everyone who came up and opened a conversation with the kind words, "I read your blog every day!" and especially to the one who said, "I check your blog before I eat breakfast."

I have more friends out there than I could ever know about, since I really have no way of tracking who reads this blog, or how many read it. I can only keep count of the "unique visitors" who actually go to the blog's web site (vs those uncounted legions who read it by RSS, email, and on various feeds like the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance) and I'm thrilled to report that the uniques passed 150,000 (cumulative) while I was in San Diego. I'm stunned. (Thank you to Big Brown, Barbaro, and Molly the Pony--three lame horses who have fascinated the public and brought thousands and thousands of people to this blog to learn more about how and why the three horses had such problems.)

The AAEP convention is the end of the conference year. It is the single biggest and most expensive event on the Hoofcare and Lameness calendar each year, and it is often difficult to pull it off when it is a few days after Thanksgiving, or when the trade show budget is being scraped as clean as a cookie batter bowl.

In December 2009, the AAEP travels to Las Vegas for the first time, where it will share the big bright city with the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Hoofcare and Lameness already has a booth reserved.

My red-eye flight home landed in Massachusetts just a few hours before the worst ice storm in recent history hit the region. I feel a bit of survivor guilt, since the storm was mostly rain here on the coast, although the power did go out and is still out just a few miles from here. People are in the dark in their cold houses tonight as I write this.

It seems impossible that I could have been standing under a palm tree just a few days ago. I hope I can share with you some of the rays of sunshine that spill from my notebook, even if it is hard to type with gloves on.

Please keep the cold New Englanders in your thoughts, especially those who can't and won't leave their animals to get to a warm, safe place. It's not warm here. There are no palm trees. But it's home.

© 2008 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.

AAEP Convention Report: Digital Extension Device Details from Hans Castelijns

German veterinarian Eva Krüdewagen learns to use the hoof lifter at a clinic in Germany. Dr. Hans Castelijns kneels at right. Photo by Loic Entwistle.

And now for something completely different: German farrier/veterinarian Hans Castelijns gave several lectures at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego, California. In a special session on lameness in the foot in Monday, he presented a tool that has, as yet, not hit the radar of American-style lameness diagnosis.

Castelijns is a referral vet/farrier and runs a rehabilitation farm in the Tuscany region of Italy, when he's not harvesting his olive groves or traveling the world as a lecturer and thought-provocateur.

His tool is a multi-level aluminum-encased disk that the horse stands on; the top surface is covered with a non-slip pad. A long lever arm extends from the center of the disk. It cranks the disk up to displace medial or lateral, toe or heel, regions of the foot, to test for discomfort, or perhaps more precisely, to gauge the horse's range of comfort. The horse protests when too much torque is placed on the foot, indicating ligament pain or general intolerance to uneven weightbearing.

Closeup view of the digital extension device: the center plate swivels quite elegantly so the operator can move around the horse while the horse stands still and does not have to have its foot repeatedly placed on and off the device. The opposite leg is still held up by a helper. (Loic Entwistle image)

Swiss farrier Bernard Duvernay demonstrated the device at the wonderful Luwex HufSymposium in Germany in 2006.

The lever arm has an angle gauge and a level at the end, so the operator can say, "Before we trimmed him, he had a medial intolerance at x degrees. With this new trim, he showed no intolerance at all."

The tool is a massive sophistication of the basic lever test for navicular pain; veterinarians formerly stood horses on a board and lifted it, higher and higher to extend the coffin joint and stress the navicular zone, including the deep digital flextor tendon and the navicular ligaments, while an assistant lifted the opposite foot (see photo below). Horses with navicular pain shivered their upper leg muscles, jumped right off the board or buckled backward. The test was often dangerous for all involved; sometimes diagnostic tests would try to lift the foot from the side to elevate the lateral side of the foot, so that pain in the collateral ligaments might be identified.

French veterinarians with a customized board for navicular zone reaction testing; one end has been covered with a non-slip pad, while the operator end has a handle for pulling up. Notice that the board is long enough to keep the diasnostician somewhat clear of the horse in case it rears up or jumps off. (Photo courtesy of Tildren educational series in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal.)

While digital extension tests with a board may not be very accurate in pinpointing the source of pain, they can be helpful, particularly in the field, and they are useful for before and after illustrations of horses reactions pre- and post-shoeing or trimming or surgery. Castilijns has developed a protocol for the use of the more sophisticated tool and also has pinpointed areas that he feels are sensitive to specific elevations.

Castilijns's paper is published in the official Proceedings of the AAEP Convention. An older paper on the device is published in the English language section of his excellent web site. Click here to read the older paper.

The device is sold commercially in Europe.


© 2008 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.

AAEP San DieGO Preview: Discover Plastinated Equine Anatomy at the Hoofcare and Lameness Booth

Posted by Fran Jurga | 15 November 2008 | © www.hoofcare.blogspot.com
This post contains an embedded multimedia file and may open slowly. It's worth the wait!

At the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego, attendees will be able to meet German veterinarian and anatomist Christoph von Horst in the Hoofcare and Lameness booth. This will be the first time that equine plastination anatomical models will be shown in North America! The majority of the equine plastination models are of hoof tissue, but you will also see in this slide show a tissue slice from a horse's head.

Plastination is a preservation technique. You may have seen or heard about the blockbuster museum exhibit that has been traveling the world, called Body World. Dr. Von Horst is an anatomy specialist who uses the same procedure not to shock the public or create controversy, but to preserve delicate slices of tissue for intense study of equine anatomy.

Serendipitously, he has created hauntingly beautiful images and models that cross the line into art. His images of the hoof's laminae were selected for display this summer at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, New York. Was it art or was it veterinary science? It looked like a spectacular sunrise coming up not over the curvature of the earth but the curve of the coffin bone!

Dr. Von Horst will be bringing some samples of his work in the form of both two- and three-dimensional models for sale. Many of his tissue extractions are cased in lucite for long-term preservation and study. I do not know what he is planning to bring but I know it will be a beautiful display--and turn our booth into a museum! You will be able to purchase examples that are for sale.

Be sure to visit www.plastinate.com to learn more about Dr. Von Horst and his work.

I know that many of Hoofcare and Lameness's subscribers and friends will be joining us in San Diego for the AAEP convention, beginning December 7th. There is a half day of lameness lectures each day, and a full day of farrier lectures on Wednesday, December 10th. Add those educational opportunities to the prospect of browsing through the largest trade show on earth dedicated to horse health products and services (you really can't see the whole show in one day) and you can see why this event is the one we have been waiting for through all of 2008.

Having Dr. von Horst visiting with hoof and anatomy afficianados in our booth each day will be a huge bonus. Over the next three weeks, this blog will be featuring many of the speakers and exhibitors and new products that will be making the trip to San Diego. Just a few of the speakers familiar to Hoofcare and Lameness readers are vet/farrier Dr. Hans Castilijns from Italy, farriers Dave Duckett FWCF and John Suttle, and hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay. (And that is just the tip of a wonderful iceberg!) We all look forward to seeing you and sharing this great experience with you.

Please download and study the AAEP Convention web site's schedule of the veterinary and farrier programs. Click here to preview the trade show, which will be open all day, Sunday through Wednesday.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. All images in this post loaned by HC Biovision and www.plastinate.com. No use without permission.

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.

American Farrier's Association to Provide Farriers for 2010 Games

(Note: this is an official press release received today from the World Equestrian Games 2010 Foundation, confirming news reports previously published on this blog. It is published in its entirety without edits or interpretation and contains no graphic symbols or images.)

LEXINGTON, KY- The World Games 2010 Foundation today announced that the American Farrier's Association has been named the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

As the Official Certified Farriers, the American Farrier's Association will provide a farriery on the venue grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park from September 11 until October 10, 2010. Two farriers will be on site per day for the two weeks prior to the Games, and up to six farriers will be on site daily during the 16 days of competition, depending on the event schedule. Athletes will be charged on an individual basis for farrier services according to their needs.

"We are so pleased to have this partnership with the American Farrier's Association," said Competition Director Kate Jackson. "We know that the equine athletes competing in these world championships will be in professional and skilled hands."

"Naming the American Farrier's Association as the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games constitutes a true honor for our organization. While this event showcases competition, it's genuinely built upon cooperation, and our association is pleased to be a part of this international effort that will bring us together in Lexington," said Andrew Elsbree, CJF, President, American Farrier's Association. "We look forward to 2010 and the opportunity for our AFA Certified Farriers to offer participants the finest in hoofcare services."

Headquartered in the Kentucky Horse Park's National Horse Center, the American Farrier's Association (AFA) focuses on improving equine welfare through excellence in the practice of hoofcare and farriery. As North America's premier farrier organization, the AFA centers upon five basic tenets: certification, education, communication, research, and innovation. Working through the AFA's education and certification programs, AFA farriers provide exceptional, professional services for horses and the people who use and enjoy them.

"Many of the horses competing in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be there, in part, due to the ongoing, exceptional work of AFA Certified Farriers," said Elsbree. "We are honored to have the opportunity to continue providing excellent care throughout the Games."

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park September 25-October 10, 2010, are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and are held every four years. The Games have never before been held outside of Europe, nor have all eight disciplines ever previously been held together at a single site- both firsts that will be achieved at the Kentucky Horse Park. The 2010 Games are expected to have a statewide economic impact of $150 million. It is anticipated that more than 600,000 spectators will attend the 16-day competition.

Lo! And Behold! Re-energized American Farrier’s Association Offers News, Launches Convention Web Site

It’s not easy being a journalist in the hoof business. What should be the #1 source of information, the office of the national farriers’ association, is usually busy trying to keep its internal affairs out of the news. When the American Farrier’s Association (AFA) offers news on a hand-forged platter, it's a red letter day.

The remarkable news is that the AFA is being pro-active in announcing that the latest of the AFA's executive directors, Jon Bonci, has made his exit. Vice President Dick Fanguy explains that Bonci has returned to a job in the media business in his native New York. Dick stressed that the resignation was bad timing with the AFA’s convention coming up in February, but that the move was not based on politics or interpersonal relations.

Bonci took over following the exit of acting director Michael Nolan a year ago. Nolan, in turn, was brought in to manage a fractured association following the resignation of Bryan Quinsey only a few weeks after a hard-fought election in the wake of a damaging scandal over a top-secret task force with an agenda to push for licensing of farriers in the United States.

The good news is that former employee Rachael Highton has returned to the AFA and will serve as office manager in the Lexington national headquarters. Rachael has worked on administration of previous conventions for the AFA.

In February, the AFA re-invents itself with a smaller region-based national board, replacing a congress of large and small local association representatives, and a new slate of officers. Andrew Elsbree of New York is the incoming president.

The AFA has also launched a standalone website promoting the upcoming convention, to be held the last week of February at the Kentucky Horse Park and Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington.

News from the site is that the roster of sponsoring companies for the AFA’s big competition has evolved, with Vector horse nails taking over sponsorship of the “live” shoeing class and Delta taking over the specialty forging class. (Will they still have the big "Capewell Cup" trophy, I wonder?) Also, the AFA voted to offer free convention registrations to Australian farriers impacted by the equine influenza outbreak there.

Overall, farriers and industry types from all corners are optimistic about a return to Lexington, Kentucky for a national convention. See you there!

American Farrier Associations Elections Near

Maybe it's my proximity to New Hampshire and all the US Presidential election publicity here, but I've taken a keen interest in the American Farrier's Associations elections this year and have compiled some of the minutiae about the candidates.

A new system of government goes in place in February when New York farrier Andrew Elsbree takes office as president over a smaller board of regional directors instead of representatives of individual chapter associations of farriers.

Two former AFA presidents, Bruce Daniels of New Jersey and Walt Taylor of New Mexico, are candidates for the new board. In fact, most of the candidates are former officers, committee chairs, or chapter presidents.

Commercial interests are heavy in the elections; two candidates are technical reps for manufacturers and another has his own line of tools. At least three of the candidates are (or at least have been) commercial clinicians for a horseshoe distributor. What's oddly missing is the competition constituency, although Jason Harmeson was recently on the American Farriers Team and several candidates mentioned their competition experience as helpful to their professional development.

Of the 28 candidates, 21 hold the AFA's journeyman certification and only one is not certified.

AFA elections are always interesting. In the candidate statements, each candidate provided a photo. Three posed with horses. Two posed with their dogs. Seven sent in photos of themselves in a work setting or anvil-side pose. Two donned neckties. Nine chose to be photographed wearing ball caps; two preferred stetsons. One was excluded from the montage of candidates on the front cover of the election guide. The only two bearded candidates are from New England.

One thing they all have in common: they are all men. And they all want the job.

American Farrier's Association Forges into a New Era

Greetings from the 36th Annual American Farrier's Association in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A sizeable group of farriers, estimated at 600 or so, has gathered here for educational and business enrichment under the southwestern skies. A heart-warming number of veteran AFA members and old friends are in the crowd, and the trade show is packed with (as usual) with a lot of new products and new companies, as well as the stalwarts of the industry.

The big news so far in the convention has been the vote in the Board of Directors meeting to re-organize the AFA's governance system. The decision making team is currently made up of a slate of officers elected by dues-paying members. They in turn answer to a large board of directors representing 60 or so chapter associations, which are made up of farriers who may or may not be dues-paying AFA members.

On Tuesday this week, the Board voted to replace itself with a team of regional representatives elected by dues-paying AFA members. The chapters will no longer each send a representative to vote on AFA affairs, and the new board members and officers will act as a governing body. I believe that the new system will be put in place by 2008.

In other news, AFA President Dave Ferguson continues to lead the association. Support from the office staff is headed by the new education director, John Bonci.

The education program at the convention was much stronger than I think many attendees expected. The lectures were very well attended. Lecturers included Gene Ovnicek, Bob Racich DVM, Steve Teichman, Mark Caldwell FWCF, Noel Muller DVM, and many more.

The most controversial issue at the convention seems to be the takeover of the AFA competitions by the group known as World Championship Blacksmiths. This group plans to run a regional series of farriers competitions and would host a national championship at the AFA convention. The sides drawn up on this issue are unusual. Many people who are not competition supporters think it is a great idea for the AFA to separate itself from the "sport" aspect of the convention and concentrate on education. Others worry that the AFA is giving away a potential profit center. Still others base their opinions on personalities involved. I believe that the Board endorsed the WCB management plan in spirit but sent it to committee for more study, so this may be an ongoing story.

The Albuquerque Tribune has a nice article about the convention at this url:
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/mar/02/convention-horseshoers-forges-albuquerque/

And a clip of video from the competition at this url:
http://www.abqtrib.com/videos/2007/mar/02/44/

The AFA next heads to Lexington, Kentucky for its 2008 convention in February of next year.

Thanks to everyone who visited the Hoofcare & Lameness booth to renew their subscriptions, order books, or just to say hello. I enjoyed seeing everyone very much. It was also very gratifying to hear people mention that they check this blog often and enjoy reading it. That's great news!