Oklahoma Legislation Defines Equine Dentistry as Husbandry, not Veterinary Medicine; Passes House, on to State Senate

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

I think you'd better watch these little video news clips from Oklahoma, and read some news from that state.

That's one way to look at this issue. I'm not sure why equine dentists would need access to cough medications and Ketamine, but there may be something in the bill that could be a loophole. And if people in Oklahoma want to lose weight quickly using a horse drug, shouldn't they try Lasix?

Across the state, a different television station has a completely different, and equally slanted, way of presenting the story to viewers:


Finally, let's hear from the vets themselves. Here's a promotional video from the state's veterinary association, with a demonstration of equine dentistry by Dr. Mark Bianchi. I wonder how many veterinarians in Oklahoma have his level of training in equine dentistry.



It's always important to tell both sides of the story. It's easy to do when the media does it for you so graphically.

Here are the basic facts: In the state of Oklahoma, HB 3202 passed by a vote of 71 to 25 in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Authored by Representative Don Armes and Senator Mike Schulz, the bill clarifies that acts of animal husbandry are not prohibited by the Veterinary Practice Act. It also requires that of the five veterinarian members of the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (Board), one must be an equine practitioner and one must be a large animal practitioner.

HB 3202 also sets up a mandatory certification process for equine teeth floaters under the Board.

The bill must now go before the Senate Agriculture committee and the full Senate before reaching the Governor’s desk.

Earlier, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau passed a resolution stating "Equine dentists, chiropractors and farriers are trained professionals who provide essential services to the horse industry. They should be recognized as such and allowed to continue to practice."

According to a detailed article in The Oklahoman newspaper, which I recommend you all read, the state would require that equine dentists prove they have been through 80 hours of training. They would pay a $200 per year certification fee, and disputes or complaints would be handled by the state's agricultural board, not the veterinary board.

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to read a letter from Dr. Tina Neel, to state legislators; she is one of the veterinarians who is leading opposition to the bill.

Click here to see the legislative progress and download amendments to the bill.

It's amazing to see the resources and energy that have gone into this fight in Oklahoma. The background, of course, includes that teeth floating by non-veterinarians was made a felony, and a popular floater was arrested. He just happened to be a well-known rodeo cowboy as well. So the story made the headlines. Horse owners couldn't believe that it was a felony to run a rasp over a horse's teeth. Since then they've received a major education in the complexity of equine dentistry.

This fight has certainly been a microcosm of many political issues. I have not seen the small type in the bill, but I know that, in some way, the farriers in Oklahoma are probably affected by this proposed legislation as well. And I know full well that other states and other veterinary boards are watching what is going on in Oklahoma, as are groups like the Institute for Justice which often comes to the aid of professions and trades being regulated by legislation.

What will happen in the state senate? Will the abortion ads scare the citizenry into calling their senators and defeating the bill? Or will the don't-tell-me-what-I-can-do mentality win the day? More importantly, what will it mean, a year from now, or five years from now, to the horses and the owners in Oklahoma? There's plenty of chew on here.

© 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.

Oklahoma Uprising? Rodeo Star Arrest for Illegal Equine Dentistry Sends Horse Owners to State Capitol

by Fran Jurga | 8 April 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog


They say "Don't mess with Texas," but I think there's a PS implied in there: "Or Oklahoma, neither."

I don't usually have much news from Oklahoma but between last year's disease outbreak there, horseshoeing school owner Reggie Kester's recent death, and philanthropist Madeleine Pickens's withdrawal of her multi-million dollar donation to the Oklahoma State vet school because they use live animals to teach surgery, I am singing the Broadway theme song.

Add in the growing popularity of Oklahoma veterinarian Dr. Michael Steward's clog treatment for laminitis, the recent banning of cloned Quarter horses from the state's racetracks and the stiffening of the state's veterinary practice act to classify non-veterinary tooth floating as a felony and I feel like I may as well move there just to report on the news.

But I won't be packing a tooth rasp.

And isn't it tornado season?

In a nutshell, to bring you up to date: Oklahoma's state legislature in 2008 voted to re-classify dentistry work by a non-veterinarian as a felony. It was formerly a misdemeanor. But would they actually arrest someone for illegal tooth floating?

And, if so, which of the state's twenty-odd horse dentists would be targeted?

We found out last month. National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc star Bobby Griswold apparently picks up some money on the side by doing teeth; his downfall came when he sedated a horse and did dental work for an undercover investigator for the Oklahoma State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

That's the first part of the story and it reads like a tv script: the first person arrested in Oklahoma for violating the beefed-up law just happened to be a celebrity. A celebrity who may be turning into a folk hero if you read the barrel racing and rodeo magazines and web sites.

I think there is interesting information in Bobby Griswold's biography: his town was hit by an F5 tornado in 1999, then five years later, in 2004, another tornado hit his new property in a new town. And now, five years again later, he's caught up in a whirlwind, of a different sort. And tornado season is just beginning.

The rest of this story is that, according to an article in today's edition of the Oklahoman, about 50 horse owners "stormed" the state Capitol yesterday and a state legislator filed an amendment to the veterinary statutes.

To quote the newspaper:
"This amendment would allow equine dentistry and other animal procedures, such as shoeing hooves and transferring embryos in cattle, to be done without a veterinary license. Those practices now fall under the supervision of the state Board of Veterinary Examiners. The amendment would put them under the state Agriculture, Food and Forestry Department."

That's the first time I have seen a reference to shoeing in this matter, and it certainly got my attention. Then I re-read it and, being the editor I am, realized that it technically meant shoeing hooves of cattle, which may or may not have been the intent of the writer.

The rally was organized by the Institute for Justice, an organization that has been actively challenging veterinary practice acts in states like Maryland, where a massage therapist stood up for her rights to rub horses.

Somehow, I don't think this is the end to this story. Stay tuned!

Please read information from many different sources before you make up your mind on this complex issue...and please be sure to stay abreast of developments and changes in legislation status affecting the care and health of animals--and who can do what to them, and where and how--in any state where you work on, show, breed, ride, buy or sell horses.

Click here for information from the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association (not the state regulatory board, but the association of veterinarians) about equine dentistry and regulations in the state.
Click here for an article in the Journal-Record about the new legislation and the Institute for Justice's involvement.
Click here for the Oklahoman's account of the horse owners' rally and new legislation.
Click here for the Oklahoman's account of Bobby Griswold's arrest for violating the Veterinary Practice Act, complete with mug shot.
Click here for Bobby Griswold's defense fund home page.


© 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.

New York Court Rules That Racetrack Horse Dentists Need Not Be Veterinarians

by Fran Jurga | 17 January 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

UPDATE: Click here for a new link to new information on this story, thanks to a more in-depth article in Sunday's Saratogian newspaper by Paul Post.

The Daily Racing Form reported this morning that an appellate court in New York has upheld a 2007 ruling by the Nassau County Supreme Court that horse dentists should be considered providers of routine care of horses similar to blacksmith and groom duties and that a veterinary license should not be required.

Click here to read the brief announcement in the Daily Racing Form, as provided by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

The lawsuit lists the state wagering board as the plaintiff; the Board had appealed the earlier Supreme Court decision, which stemmed from the banning of a dentist from a racetrack.

Presumably, this decision applies to the the state board's jurisdiction at racetracks. It's not clear if this decision affects how the state's veterinary medicine practice act might be interpreted off the premises of the state's racetracks.


© 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.