All Creatures Great and Small: James Herriot Begins Career with a Hoof to the Head

The return of James Herriot's heart-warming "All Creatures Great and Small" stories to American television for the next six Sundays might be just what we need to get through the winter. 

The Barbaro Effect: How One Horse Changed the Face of Laminitis Awareness--and Google Search Statistics--Forever

A racehorse named Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby in 2006. He fractured his right hind leg in the Preakness, two weeks later, and suffered from laminitis during his complex recovery from surgery to repair the limb that summer. The world watched him struggle to recover. Eight months after his injury, he was euthanized. Laminitis was given as the reason for ending his life. The world--not just the horse world--was stunned that his life couldn't be saved. What was this disease, they wanted to know? Barbaro showed them what it was, in the most tragic possible way. His name became synonymous with laminitis awareness and research. And Google has proof of that.

Barbaro died on January 29, 2007. Where were you, eight years ago today? More importantly, where was your awareness and knowledge of the disease of laminitis? And where are you--and your laminitis awareness and knowledge--now?

Hoof Explorer: Discover and Interact with the Horse's Foot in Three Beautiful Dimensions, Online

Hoof Explorer is a new interactive 3-D anatomy education tool that is in four languages and has almost infinite capacity for displaying the anatomy of the distal limb.

It's official: 2013 is the year of 3-D hoof anatomy on the web. 

Goof-proof Hoofcare: “StayOns” Instant Hoof Poultice Wraps Simplify the Way You Wrap a Foot

This article is sponsored by Hamilton Biovet.

Here’s a product that is worth its weight in baby diapers.

If there was ever a contest that farriers, vet techs and veterinarians should run, it would be to see who has the fastest two hands in the world for making a duct tape bootie to attach over a hoof wrapped in a disposable baby diaper.

How many times have you wrapped a hoof in duct tape, only to have the horse walk right out of it as he stepped off the mats? It happens, even to the pros. Now you can use StayOns prepared quilted “instant poultice” wraps, available in multiple formulas from Hamilton Biovet in Massachusetts.

Some day, that may sound like an absurd idea, but we all know that there are people out there today who have perfected foot wrapping to an artform. We also know that there are people out there who get more poultice on themselves than on the hoof.

Every tack room in America seems to have some baby diapers stuffed in a cabinet, and they’re not for babies. We all have rolls of duct tape stashed around our barns, horse trailers and cars.

Poulticing is a messy job, but there’s always been a bit of a universal acceptance that foot wrapping was a skill that must be mastered.

But Hamilton Biovet launched a new product to the farrier market this summer that may take the “dread” out of “dreaded hoof abscess”. The product, called “StayOns”, is a quilted hoof wrap that contains “instant poultice”; you wet it, lay it over the hoof, and keep it on with a clever little foldable bootie.

That’s it: no duct tape, no diapers, no struggling, no mess, no cleanup chores. And it stays on because, unlike a diaper, it really is shaped to the horse’s foot. And the poultice mixture is pre-measured and pre-loaded; you just have to wet it and secure it over the hoof and secure it with a boot to hold it in place.

So just when you think there is nothing new under the sun, here’s a good old-fashioned clay and Epsom salt poultice. Or a bran and Epsom salt poultice. Or a plain Epsom salt poultice. Take your pick; the quilted booties come in three recipes.

The quilted pouches cover the enter foot, including the heel bulbs, where so many abscesses like to erupt, and all the way to the hairline, the other favorite eruption spot.

The best part of the StayOns may be when you take them off. There’s much less mess to clean! You can just hose it off.

There’s no question that traditional poulticing is a work-intensive endeavor, especially when it comes to the legs of sport and racehorses. You can make a mess twice, since the next morning, there’s a lot of post-poultice cleanup to be done, as well. (©Fran Jurga photo)

One of the things I especially like about this method of poulticing the foot is that the horse has to stand around for a shorter amount of time and that he has his feet handled for a much shorter time.

This is efficient time use for the groom or owner, but it is even better for the horse, especially if there’s a problem in more than one foot, such as road founder after a horse has gotten loose or stinging soles at the tracks.

Wrapping a horse’s foot is tough; wrapping a horse’s lifted foot when the weightbearing foot is painful is even tougher.

Many horse owners can go years between an abscess, puncture wound or foot problem that requires poulticing. They may forget how to do it, or not remember how much poultice to pack in the foot. Stayons take the guesswork out of the equation, since the poultice is pre-measured. They can see the poultice in the transparent quilts.

Everyone has a signature way of wrapping a foot up with duct tape. But would anyone be sorry to learn a new and cleaner way to do it? (© Fran Jurga photo)

There are hundreds of videos on YouTube that will show you how to soak and/or poultice a horse’s foot or leg. It’s an artform that we take for granted. Each groom or owner has his or her own way of doing it, and when they get good at it, they want to share how they figured it out.

The heyday of foot wrapping may have passed as people discover products that make it not just easier for caretakers, but safer for horses. A goof-proof product like StayOns insures that a horse’s foot gets treated and stays treated, until you take it off.

The StayOns hoof poultice wraps allow users to poultice the entire foot and heel bulbs as well as the bottom of the foot. The mess of the poultice stays in the moist quilted sacks. (Hamliton BioVet photo)

Reminders about hoof poulticing:

• Horse owners should always ask a veterinarian for advice before poulticing a foot for a condition that includes broken or irritated skin.
• A foot poultice may not be advised for some foot infections.
• Seek the advice of a veterinarian before applying poultice--or any medicated products--to young horses and pregnant or lactating mares.
• Never apply poultice to inflamed or irritated heel bulbs.
• Keep poultice stored in a safe, dry place that is out of the reach of dogs, cats and children.

About STAYONS and Hamilton Biovet: This product is made by the Better Bandage Company. Hamilton Biovet is the prime vendor for horse and farm owners, with exclusive rights in the farrier and farrier supply market in the USA. The poultice products may be ordered online from the Hamilton Biovet website. The cost is $13.99 for each pack of two wraps plus shipping. The coordinated fold-up booties are $14.99 each plus shipping. (These costs are current for September 1, 2013 and are subject to change without notice.) Check out the quilted leg poultice wraps, too! Email the company for more details.  "Like" Hamilton Biovet's Facebook page, too.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Hoof Blog (Hoofcare Publishing) received compensation for placement of this post. Hoofcare Publishing has no material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned, other than products and services of Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital to Acquire Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service

via press release

The shareholders of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky and Dr. Bill and Diana Barnes of Saratoga Springs New York are pleased to announce that Rood and Riddle will purchase Saratoga Equine Veterinary Service in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Medicinal Leeches: The Much-Maligned Traditional Healing Aid is Making a Comeback for Equine Lameness Therapy

In this photo from German rehabilitation therapist Martina Mäter of Kathmann Vital GbR in Vechta, you see three colorful medicinal leeches hard at work. Lower-limb lameness is a common callup for leeches in the horse world; they may soon be in wider use in the United States. (Photo © Martina Mater, used with permission)

You're in a veterinary lecture on laminitis at a major conference on equine lameness. Set your watch to see how soon one of the speakers makes a wisecrack along the lines of "Yeah, sure, and we used to use leeches to treat laminitis, too." Cue: nervous laugh from the audience. Rolling of eyes. Wrinkling of noses. "Gross!" Shudders.

Were Ancient Horses' Fetlocks Less Susceptible to Breakdown Injury?

  

As Saturday's 2013 Grand National approaches, the possibility of some news from the University of Liverpool's vet school has been high. Each year, injured racehorses find expert care at the nearby vet hospital, and the vet school is proud of its long association with the race and its role in helping prevent and treat injuries in racehorses.

Hoofcare History: Unravelling the Tangled Past, One Horseshoe at a Time

You'll need a half hour to watch this video. Then you might need the rest of your life to read, research and do your part in documenting the unwritten history of horseshoeing. Thanks to the University of Pennsylvania for videotaping this talk of Pat Reilly, farrier at the University's New Bolton Center.

Horseshoeing history is full of gaps, as Pat Reilly mentions again and again in this talk. It resembles nothing less than a wheel of Swiss cheese. It is full of holes. In fact, it contains more holes than cheese.

Remember that the next time you buy some cheese. Or buy into anyone else's interpretation of the history of horseshoeing.

The Coast Guard employed plenty of
farriers during World War II when US
beaches were patrolled on horseback;
they were looking for German
U-boats. (© US Coast Guard image) 

Part of the problem, of course, is that once you start reading it, you realize that it was written by outsiders looking in. Veterinarians who had a theory to prove, or a position to defend. Intellectuals who considered themselves horsemen, and wrote opinionated tomes on hoof theory that, when read today, invariably get lumped together with legitimate volumes of valuable hoof knowledge.

How many people stop to actually read the old books? Most are satisfied with the drawings and plates, and never read the text. Much of the "wisdom" we quote today was not written by farriers at all, but by commercial promoters or agricultural societies bent on improving horse husbandry by advancing farriery...sometimes without ever consulting a farrier.

Pat Reilly lumps together the history of farriers and the history of horseshoeing and while it seems that the two are flip sides of the same coin, they are both huge and separate subjects. The history of farriers is a metaphor for the history of human labor, and can demonstrate all the industrial phases of mechanization of labor, the social and political side of Labor, and the role and status of the specialized laborer within the military of various nations.

Possibly the first non-military
farrier schools in America
were the "Indian
Schools" like this one in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania. These
Sioux boys were shipped east to
learn to be horseshoers.

The history of horseshoeing, on the other hand, is one and the same as the history of horses and their domestication, and the farrier's status in the horse world mirrors the waxing and waning and ultimate re-invention of the horse's role in western life.

People have poked at building a better horseshoe with the same interest as the cliche of building a better mousetrap: if it could just be done, life would be easier, and the animal would benefit from a kinder device.

But here we are, more than 2000 years from those ancient first horseshoes dug up in Europe, and we're still at it, trying to get to the root of hoof problems in horses.

No archeologist has ever jumped for joy at discovering an ancient mousetrap. But the evolution of the horseshoe is a way of documenting progress across centuries.

We can't see where we're going if we can't see where we have been.

I know a lot of people are interested in farrier history, but yet there are not enough of them. Of you. Of me. If you have read this far, you must be interested.

It's not enough to be interested, you have to have a plan.

Old farrier books are great, but you
need to research the credentials of 
the authors. Figuring out why a book 
was written can be an education 
in itself.

I would caution people not to be like me and charge headlong into trying to learn everything about everything. The holes in the cheese will swallow you up. The files and boxes and notes will pile up in your life and mock you when you look across the room. "You'll never get to the bottom of this," is their taunt. "No one ever has."

So you want to learn about farrier history? Have at it. Pick a hole in the past--any hole, on any continent, in any period of history, in any language--and start researching. Stay in that hole until you fill it in, then move on to another one. But when you fill it in, stop and share it with the rest of us.

Why doesn't anyone know
or care who Jack Mac
Allan was? Where did
his shoes go? Michigan
State doesn't even know
it ever had a farrier
school,or that its Scottish-
import farrier was the
first US shoeing champion. 

There are plenty of holes to go around.

Farriery has no headquarters. It has no library building with ivy-covered walls. The answers we need are not in books, however. The farrier books are just soldiers at the gate.

The answers are buried in the books of military, social and labor history. They're in the patent office records. They are in the town and state historical museums where old blacksmith shops and horse nail and shoe manufacturers' records are watched over by amateur historians who don't even understand what was manufactured in their own towns.

The answers are buried in footnotes and appendices and boxes of clutter marked "unreferenced manuscripts"--boxes that no one has ever asked to open.

I've always wanted to start a Horseshoeing History Society, but feared it would disband before it even started, out of the sheer weight of the mission, or be dismissed by academic historians who purport that there is no way to validate the lost "history" that farriery lacks, just as we are finding it so difficult to come to grips with the oxymoron of "evidence-based farriery".

Why did the World's Fair in
St. Louis have this building
with a horseshoe theme?

But if each of us identified a specific hole and spent time trying to research it and fill it in, we might move forward. It sounds like Pat Reilly has; the fact that he singlehandedly resurrected the  Podological Museum for the University of Pennsylvania is reason to celebrate.

 If academic historians knew about the gaping cheese holes, they might send graduate students our way. And perhaps, one day, farriery might be freed from the curse of cyclically repeating--or prolonging--its past.

If you're with me, claim your hole in the cheese wheel and climb in. Surround yourself. Nourish yourself by studying the solid cheese that does exist. Then jump off the cliff. Pick a date on the calendar and pledge to report back on what you find. You might come back defeated, you might come back haunted by ghosts, you might come back cynical and confused.

Then again, it just might change your life.

No one--and no profession--moves forward without coming to grips with the past. Remember this, too: It's entirely possible that farriery needs to turn its back on the past, to hold a funeral and declare itself once and for all defunct, so that the real future can begin. If that is so, the past might tell us where to go from here.

Click to order now for immediate shipping; it will look great on your wall!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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 mailto:blog@hoofcare.com.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Cornell Vet School Adds iPads for Portable Radiograph Display

Cornell's Dr. Cheetham shows a client his horse's radiograph right in the farrier shop!

Cornell University Hospital for Animals is excited to share that they have initiated the use of iPads in both the small and large animal hospitals to provide a convenient way to show clients high resolution medical images.

The new Retina display is very good on the iPad 3--possibly better than most of the computer monitors around the vet school's hospitals!

Also, with 64GB storage, these iPads will become a mobile reference library for each hospital section.

Cornell technology also allows a clinician to monitor a horse's heart rate with an iPhone.  The iPhone ECG uses AliveCor's technology and displays highly accurate readings without attaching any leads to the animal. The results are uploaded to the "cloud" where the data can be converted to a PDF, printed, emailed and shared with the owner, vet and trainers.

The 22 iPads were made possible by a grateful client's charitable annuity, which specified that the gift be used for educational purposes. Cornell is excited to use this technology towards the advancement of education and service!

Thanks to Cornell Veterinary Medical Equine Performance Clinic.

You can have a lot of fun with an iPad...image by (T)imothep 

Call 978 281 3222 or email books@hoofcare.com to order your copy. Supply is limited!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read this blog's headlines on the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Jack Hanna at Ohio State's Equine Lameness Lab: Running Amok Through Gait Analysis

Watch a segment of Jack Hanna's "Into the Wild" television show filmed in a lameness lab

Television wildlife promoter Jack Hanna visited The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center's Galbreath Equine Center in Columbus, Ohio in February; he was filming a segment for his television show "Into the Wild."

Hanna and crew were hosted by our friend Alicia Bertone, DVM, PhD, DACVS professor of Equine Orthopedic Surgery and The Trueman Chair in Equine Clinical Medicine and Surgery at Ohio State.

Dr. Bertone tried to explain different diagnostic methods for osteoarthritis in horses as well as how a horse progresses through her new clinical trial for horses with osteoarthritis--when Jack wasn't mugging for the camera. It's nothing short of fun to watch Jack stumble through the familiar treadmills and force plates and surgery room hoists, all the while taking Dr Bertone not very seriously. Luckily, we know she has a great sense of humor and was well-chosen to host someone like Jack.

If you live in the United States and watch television, you know Jack Hanna. But since so many Hoof Blog readers are not US residents, it might be helpful to explain who this character is. Some might say that he is best known for taking his role as director of the down-at-the-heels and unknown Columbus Zoo back in the 1980s and turning "Jack Hanna"--and that zoo--into household names through his back-to-back appearances on every news and talk show on television. He actually does have a show of his own, however.

But most of us see him over breakfast on "Good Morning America" or late at night on David Letterman's show. He brings the creepiest or cutest animals he can find and turns them loose on Dave's desk.

Jack Hanna still lives in Ohio; that location meant that he became the de facto spokesman to the press during the terrible tragedy of a home zoo gone mad when wild animals escaped from a Zanesville, Ohio farm.

One reason he's so effective on-camera is because he plays dumb. Sure, it's dumb like a fox, but it works to get--and keep--the audience on his side. He's been able to become the most visible icon of American wildlife not in spite of but perhaps because of his lack of a DVM or a PhD. With the possible exception of the Zanesville aftermath, Jack Hanna doesn't usually lecture or talk down to his audiences. He falls over his own words often, makes more than his share of off-the-wall comments, and acts downright goofy sometimes, especially when David Letterman is around.

The AVMA and AAZPA may or may not approve of what Jack Hanna says or does, but they can't argue that he fuels the public's interest in wild animals, and has probably done more than any individual to increase the sales of family tickets to zoos and nature parks around the country.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

The horse world could use someone to do for us what Jack has done for zoos. Maybe this little video is a start. 

Click on the ad to learn more about this beautiful guide to the equine foot anatomy

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

FEI Veterinarian ID Card System Begins June 1, 2012; All Treating, Team and Private Equine Practitioners at Events Must Comply

The following information is posted to assist the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), the worldwide governing body for horse sport. It applies to veterinarians from all countries who plan to work on horses at events in all FEI sports:

The FEI has announced the introduction of an ID card and online exam for veterinarians working at FEI events. The exam focuses on the FEI Veterinary and Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations.

The new system, which comes into effect on 1 June 2012, requires Competitors’ Private Veterinarians, Team Veterinarians and Treating Veterinarians appointed by Organizing Committees to pass the online exam based on the relevant FEI regulations affecting vets who support horses competing at FEI events.

Veterinarians work far behind the scenes at FEI events, as well as during the event itself, for national teams and sometimes for individual owners. Now they will all be required to meet the FEI's standards and carry appropriate credentials reflecting that. (USDA photo)

Veterinarians wishing to work at FEI events must apply for access to the exam through their National Federations and fulfill the FEI eligibility requirements. Successful candidates should then download their “FEI Permitted Treating Veterinarian” ID card and obtain accreditation from Organizing Committees for stable and treatment areas.

Existing FEI Official Veterinarians (including Veterinary Delegates, Testing Veterinarians and Head Treatment Vets) are currently exempt from the examination requirement, providing they download their “FEI Official Veterinarian” ID cards before 31 December 2012.

The FEI Official Veterinarian ID card will allow these veterinarians to work either as FEI Official Veterinarians or as Permitted Treating Veterinarians at an event. The ID cards must be produced if requested by Stewards and other FEI Officials. The cards have an advanced “QR” (quick-response) bar code, which allows easy public access to professional profiles on the FEI’s dedicated new database.

The exam and ID card are free of charge and relevant documents are available online for reference to encourage understanding of the key FEI Veterinary Regulations, Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations and General Regulations.

Graeme Cook, FEI Veterinary Director

“The FEI is continuing to harness the latest technology in its Clean Sport campaign,” explained Graeme Cooke, FEI Veterinary Director. “This initiative follows the launch of several online tools to help everyone associated with horse sport manage their responsibilities under the FEI Equine Anti-Doping Rules.”

Further comments from Graeme Cook:

“The introduction of this exam and ID card for veterinarians working at FEI events has been well received during the initial testing phase and is designed to strengthen our very clear approach to anti-doping and biosecurity at FEI Events.

“The new exam will ensure a consistent level of understanding and interpretation of our current regulations, wider knowledge of Clean Sport and help us to maintain the longstanding FEI Welfare Code.

 “The simple process has been designed with busy practicing vets in mind, for instance candidates can save their progress and complete the exam later should they be interrupted.

“The introduction of ID cards with QR codes also allows FEI Officials to efficiently check the identity of veterinarians at our events using iPhone, BlackBerry or Android smartphones.”

Got credentials? This is a media credential confirmation package for the 2008 Olympics.

Editor's Note:  There are two types of veterinarians working at FEI events: Permitted Treating Veterinarians and FEI Official Veterinarians.

The FEI Veterinary and Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations, along with various other resources are available at the FEI Clean Sport website; additionally the General Regulations are available here.

Olympic credentials photo for media by PJMorse. FEI veterinary ID art via FEI Focus. Thanks!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

AVMA: Horseshoeing Is No Longer an Excluded Profession in the New Model Veterinary Practice Act (But Farriery Is)

What's in a name?

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board approved revisions to the new 2011 Model Veterinary Practice Act (MVPA) in November 2011, and those changes became official on January 7, 2012 when the AVMA's governing body, the House of Delegates, approved the document.

The Model Veterinary Practice Act is just that: an approved sample ("model") document that is promoted by the AVMA as reflecting the verbiage  and policies it would like to see adopted in each of the 50 states as the ideal state veterinary practice act.

That said, each state can and probably will make some changes; the states usually end up with documents that vary on some level related to how veterinary practice is conducted or regulated.

Each time the MVPA is changed, the AVMA opens a comment period for members and the public to have their say. That period has now passed.

The AVMA reported that it received "985 comments on individual sections of the model act.  About 70% of the comments were submitted by non-members, and 10% came from organizations as opposed to individuals.  The sections attracting the most comments are Section 2 (definitions, especially “complementary, alternative and integrative therapies” and “practice of veterinary medicine”), Section 6  (exemptions to the act), the preamble (general comments) and Section 3 (board of veterinary medicine)."

While horseshoeing had been previously excluded from practicing veterinary medicine, this year's edits (Section 6. Number 8) showed a line drawn through the word "horseshoeing". It was changed to "farriery".

The old document read

The document-in-progress showed the change:

The exemption now reads "Any person lawfully engaged in the art or profession of farriery."

No explanation is given for the change, and while other words are defined, "farriery" is not.

Although other professions, such as pharmacists and researchers, are also listed as exempt, farriers are one of only a few professions predicated by "lawfully engaged". And it is the only one described as an "art or profession".

Since farriery and other hoof-related professions are not regulated in the United States except on racetracks, the language begs the question of how it would be determined whether or not an individual was lawfully engaged in providing farriery care to an animal.

And what, exactly, farriery is.

The word change in the horseshoeing--or farriery--section is probably a minor matter in the big picture of things, but it should be duly noted. "Horseshoeing" is the word traditionally used in all US government documents; farriery is seldom mentioned. The word seems to have been dusted off, perhaps around the time of the formation of the American Farrier's Association and it has enjoyed a renaissance, particularly in the past 30 years or so.

That said, it remains poorly defined and some hoof-oriented professionals simply don't like the word, while others prefer it. You can call yourself whatever you please--except a veterinarian, unless you are one.

The general public, however, is behind the curve; people are usually convinced that a farrier either makes fur coats or carries people back and forth across rivers in a boat. They think "farrier" is a great word for "Words with Friends" on their iPhones.

Repeated calls and emails to the AVMA and its task force administrators were not acknowledged or returned except for one interchange with a media relations representative who referred me to the librarian. I did enjoy my conversation with Diane Fagen, AVMA librarian, who set out to find out if a farrier was defined anywhere by the association.

Being a good librarian, she cheerfully suggested we look up farrier in the ultimate reference, the Oxford English Dictionary. I warned her not to, and that attorneys roll their eyes at OED definitions, but she did anyway.

"Oh my," Ms Fagen murmured, reading aloud a lengthy definition of the term "farrier" that seems woefully outdated, though historically accurate. "It means horse doctor," she concluded.

"I can see why you called," she acknowledged. But no, she didn't have any information on why the word had been changed.

But that's how change happens, sometimes: it just does.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Farrier Travis Burns Promoted at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Travis Burns

Farrier Travis Burns recently received a promotion to faculty level at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Travis is now "lecturer and college farrier" at the Blacksburg, Virginia campus.

From the Hoof Prints newsletter of the veterinary college's Equine Field Service: "Travis Burns, hospital farrier, was recently promoted to faculty status in recognition of his important contributions to the college’s clinical, instructional, and outreach programs, particulary in podiatry. It is great to see our faculty and staff rewarded for their efforts."

Travis joined the university in the winter of 2010 and has been helping Professor R. Scott Pleasant, DVM, MS, Diplomate, ACVS create what is shaping up to be an innovative and energized equine podiatry unit at the vet school.

Travis's background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from North Carolina State University, a stint at farrier school, and completion of the unique professional internship program at the Forging Ahead multi-farrier sport horse practice in Round Hill, Virginia. While with Forging Ahead, Travis had exposure to podiatry cases when assisting Paul Goodness in his work as consulting farrier at the Marion du Pont Scott Equine Medical Center, which is affiliated with the university. 

Obviously, Travis liked what he saw; he seized the opportunity to specialize in podiatry. He and Dr. Pleasant will hopefully inspire others to be creative about career specializations and the initiative to develop forward-thinking programs where once none existed.

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© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. 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).  

 "Like" the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Urban Search and Rescue Dogs: Barefoot or Booted, They Did Their Job and Lived to See Their Story Told

Watch me first.

The search and rescue dogs of 911 have been well-studied; not surprisingly, their feet were a central focus point of statistics, and some discussion has emerged on whether rescue dogs in urban settings are better off shod in booties or barefoot. I hope you'll enjoy this detour into the world of dog paws.

While many human rescuers are showing respiratory health problems a decade later, their canine colleagues have had minimal setbacks, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine 9/11 Medical Surveillance study.

With nearly $500,000 of financial support from the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation (CHF), the study monitored the long-term health impacts on 95 search-and-rescue dogs deployed to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Staten Island landfills. Researchers also compared their health to a control group of non-deployed search-and-rescue dogs.

“The most striking thing is that many of the humans that responded have developed reactive airway diseases, such as asthma, sinusitis or other chronic infections in their nasal sinuses. The dogs on the other hand have fared extremely well,” explained Dr. Cynthia Otto, DVM, PhD, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine associate professor of critical care who was the principal investigator. “They’re not developing any problems with their lungs or sinuses. That is a real surprise.”

One of the surprising bits of news from Ground Zero was that the dogs had optional access to protective boots to prevent them from cutting their paws on sharp debris. Dog boot technology and sales exploded after the publicity about the dog boots used at Ground Zero. FEMA News Agency photo.

In her report, Otto mention Kaiser, now a 12-year-old German shepherd, who was one of only four dogs in the study that required stitches while working at Ground Zero.“On our second day there, Kaiser sliced a pad on the pile,” said Tony Zintsmaster, Kaiser’s trainer and a charter member of Indiana Task Force One. “Once he was stitched up and felt better, Kaiser went back to work. He was quite amazing. He was able to adapt to the situation and showed great agility. He seemed happiest when he was on the pile working.”

Zintsmaster, along with other handlers who participated in the study, submitted annual X-rays, blood samples and surveys on his dog's health and behavior to researchers.

Unlike horse hooves, dog paws are covered with vulnerable, soft pad tissue that adapts by forming callus...or not. Stefsanatomy photo.

The University of Pennsylvania/American Kennel Club study also found that the average lifespan of deployed dogs was 12.5 years, while non-deployed search-and-rescue dogs lived an average 11.8 years. Today, at least 13 deployed search-and-rescue dogs that were part of the 911 study are still alive.

Cut and sore paws are one of the most common types of first aid given to dogs. (Natalie Greco photo)

During the winter months in Boston, several dogs are routinely reported to have been electrocuted while walking on city streets. Winter snow, ice, and salt used to treat streets and sidewalks can contribute to wires shorting out. Humans might not feel shocks through grates, but horses and dogs will--to the point of being killed. Dog boots sound like a good idea for city dogs.

Dog boots come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They even come with anti-odor silver-coated anti-bacterial sole inserts, toe caps, and heel re-inforcers. There are summer shoes and winter shoes. There are even boots for dogs that swim a lot, or dogs that paw the sides of swimming pools. Dog leg protector, shoulder braces and support boots are available as well for working and athletic dogs.

We always hear about the teams in the Iditarod race in Alaska wearing boots. According to the activist web site, www.helpsleddogs.org, Iditarod Trail Committee rules require a musher to have "eight booties for each dog in the sled or in use" at all times. However, there are no standards regarding the materials of which the booties are made, nor do the rules require mushers to actually put the booties on the dogs.

When do the mushers decide it is time for a dog dogs to wear them, and when do they go barefoot? And do they clip the dogs' nails or let them grow for better traction? How long is too long? Is there an ideal length?

While most of us may think of dog booties for search and rescue work over rubble, such as an earthquake scene, the main market for dog boots seems to be sport dogs, such as this Iditarod team charging across Alaska in 2018. (File photo, courtesy of Wikimedia)

According to Patricia Ashley, DVM, the rate of a dog's pad callus growth is a critical element in dog paw problems. "In some cases, the pads accumulate too much callus or the callus forms unevenly," she writes. "Heavily callused pads lose their flexibility and the ability to absorb shock." Obesity is a common cause of uneven callus formation on dog paw pads.

Splay-toed, webbed feet of a sled dog at Denali National Park in Alaska. Photo by Jessica Spengle

According to Melanie Donofro, DVM, an experienced sled dog race veterinarian who writes on the web site for the 1000-mile Yukon Quest sleddog race, paws are the first thing attended by race vets. "At every mandatory checkpoint, the veterinarians spend considerable time checking each toe and joint for any soreness; toenails for damage that may need to be addressed; pads on the soles of the feet for any blisters; areas where the booties may have rubbed under the dewclaw and caused soreness; and finally, the webbing between the feet for swelling, redness, or cracks that can occur on a wet trail."

Dr. Donofro observed that when the dogs arrive at a checkpoint, they start to chew on the velcro of their booties to get them off, possibly because the upper parts of the boots seem foreign to them, but the bottom-protection of the boots must be therapeutic to sore, tender feet.

There are urban search and rescue dogs and there are rural search and rescue dogs. And then there are the highly-specialized avalanche rescue dogs. I hope I never need any of them, but I'm glad they're out there. Stefs Anatomy photo.

When it comes to urban search-and-rescue dogs, the genetics are usually far removed from sled dogs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that most of the certified canines are Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Border Collies and Golden Retrievers.

But, FEMA says, few of its search dogs actually wear boots when working on a rubble pile. Despite the hazards of sharp metal and broken glass, the dogs often need to perform what is called a "soft walk" where they splay their paws for maximum traction. Collars and booties can sometimes add to the risk of searching in tight or obstructed spaces.

While researching this article, a helpful resource was the paper Deployment morbidity among search-and-rescue dogs used after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by Slensky, Drobatz, Downend and Otto, published by the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2004.

Sixty-five percent of the dogs deployed suffered injury or some type of medical problem during deployment, according to a survey of the dogs' handlers after the search was suspended; 35 percent of the dogs had an abrasion injury requiring treatment, 70 percent of which were on the foot pads. Four of nine dogs that wore foot protection had cuts and abrasions.

The survey noted that no dogs deployed to the Pentagon wore foot protection.

From the paper: "Most of the cuts and abrasions were on the feet or footpads of the dogs, and there was a higher incidence (although not significant) of wounds in those dogs that did not have foot protection, indicating that foot protection may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of injuries. Concerns voiced by handlers and FEMA regarding this issue are similar to those reported at the Oklahoma City bombing disaster site. Perhaps a type of foot protection can be developed that will combine needed traction and workability with desirable safety."

Writing in The Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, Cynthia Otto DVM of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine  and co-authors noted that the concrete dust at the World Trade Center was very abrasive, and packed between the dogs' toes. Dust and mud was periodically cleaned from the paws and it was necessary to dry the dogs' paws before they could go back to work.

Otto noted that initially, the dogs did not wear any foot protection. She explained that the dogs train on piles of rubble and that they need traction. She felt that, overall, the incidence of injury to the dogs was low.

And that's not quite the end of the story. Look for the book Retrieved by Dutch dog photographer Charlotte Dumas, who crisscrossed the USA to find and photograph the surviving dogs who worked search and rescue during the days after 911. 

We started out to talk about paws and booties, but like everything about 911, it's about much more than that.

Urban non-working dogs probably wear more boots than any other type of dogs.  A practical reason in cold-climate cities is the possibility of electrocution on sidewalk grates during winter months. But probably most apartment-dwelling owners just want to keep their dogs' feet dry (and their rugs clean). (Norma Thomas photo)

And like everything that seems to be covered under the banner of Hoofcare and Lameness, this is another example to show us that there are parallels in other species, or in other sports and industries, to what is going on in horse hoofcare. Maybe there are lessons to be learned from the dog handlers' choice of whether or not to put boots on their dogs. To be sure, they wanted to do what was best for their dogs, and they took into consideration how the dogs had trained to do the job they were asked to do.

In those days after 911, no one knew where s/he or the dogs would be ten years later. They were uncertain times and it's not likely that anyone had much of an agenda in the decisions they made to keep their dogs as safe as possible.

Ten years later,  dog owners and trainers are still asking the same questions that many horse owners and trainers are asking. How do I decide what is the best footcare program for my horse? How do you balance out the animal's need traction, support, protection, and weight? What are the signs in an animal that it is best suited for a specific form of footcare?

Answers don't come easily, but for those days after 911, what mattered was how you framed the question, and what you had at stake. In the end, they put the boots on when and if the dogs needed them, and those dogs were glad to have them so they could stay on the job.

And what a job they did.

To Learn More:
Honoring the Dogs of 9/11: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association  interview with Dr. Otto from UPenn, Dr Gillette from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Kaiser's owner.

PennVet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

Canine Detection Research Institute at Auburn University

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