Equine Hoof Vascular Supply Plastination Cast for Equine Education is a 3-D Venogram

2 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

A plastinated "corrosion cast" of the blood supply in a horse's foot is created from the foot of a cadaver. Plastic is injected into the veins and, after removing the hoof capsule and processing away any non-vascular tissue, what is left is virtually a three-dimensional venogram. Hoofcare and Lameness began offering these for sale on a special order basis on December 1, 2009.

This over-exposed and light-enhanced image of a corrosion casting shows the delicate structure of the blood supply inside the hoof capsule.

Hoofcare and Lameness is now officially taking orders for full-hoof vascular casts, preserved by the plastination process of Dr. Christoph von Horst in Germany. Dr. von Horst has agreed to ship these fragile wonders to the USA on a special-order basis.

Some of you may have seen the half-hoof cast that has been on display in the Hoofcare and Lameness booth for the past year. Everyone wanted it, but I couldn't sell it.

The cost for a whole hoof corrosion casting to the USA is $280 plus air shipping from Germany, which is probably about $20 since the cast does not weigh much, but does require a lot of protective packaging.

These models are fragile and little bits have been falling off mine for the past year but it still looks wonderful. Dr. Von Horst warns that this "shedding" of plastic particles is inevitable and unavoidable. It probably doesn't help that my sample travels from trade show to trade show and is handled a lot.

The plastic is quite resilient, but these models should be handled with care. It's hard to imagine a better tool to explain why a venogram is needed, or as an asset to an anatomy class.

If you would like to order a vascular cast or any type of plastination model, please contact Hoofcare and Lameness by calling 978 281 3222 or emailing fran@hoofcare.com. Advanced payment by Visa or Mastercard is required.

© 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.

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.