Fran Jurga`s Hoofcare + Lameness: welfare

Showing posts with label welfare. Show all posts

Monday, October 27, 2014

British Non-Farrier Found Guilty of Over-Trimming, Gluing Hoof Boots; Charged as Animal Welfare Act Violations

The following information is being printed verbatim, except where noted in italics and where spelling has been Americanized. This is a document created by the Farriers Registration Council in the United Kingdom. Hoofcare Publishing requested a copy of this document today and was kindly sent this for publication.

On 2 October 2014, Mr Ben Street of Hixon, Stafford (England) was found guilty at Stafford Magistrates’ Court of causing unnecessary suffering to a horse, and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure good practice in protecting a horse from pain, suffering, and/or disease by gluing and sealing hoof boots.

Click this link to read the rest of this article

Friday, February 28, 2014

Tennessee Congresswoman Blackburn Files Alternative Legislation in Congress to Amend Horse Protection Act, Inspect Walking Horses at Shows

Tennessee Walking horses enjoy great popularity at shows in the mid-Southern United States, where they have become famous for showcasing the "Big Lick" gait. The horse's natural talent and action are exaggerated by heavy pad stacks and pastern chains. The American Horse Protection Act was passed to outlaw the cruel practice of "soring" or deliberately causing pain to the hooves and pasterns to accentuate the gait. Critics feel that only a total ban on pads and chains will stop the cruelty.

The Hoof Blog has learned that Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R) has filed House Bill 4098 in the US House of Representatives; the legislation aims to reform the jurisdiction over and inspection of the way that Tennessee Walking horses are shod for show. This new legislation is an alternative to much stricter legislation already before Congress, known as the PAST Act, which was filed by Kentucky Representative Ed Whitfield in April 2013.

Click this link to read the rest of this article

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Walking Horses, Soring and HSUS: Convicted Horse Abuser Says Horses "Have To Be Sored"

Footage courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States

Warning: this video contains descriptive details that may upset you. Is he telling the truth? What was edited out? What does his body language suggest? The man being interviewed is former trainer Barney Davis. He uses a lot of lingo; "walk" refers to the unique Walking horse show gait; "band" refers to the hose-clamp style band around the hoof. "DQP" is a "designated qualified person", or non-USDA inspector performing inspections under USDA regulations.

The following text is from press material received from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) today:

The Humane Society of the United States conducted an on-camera interview with Barney Davis, a former Tennessee horse trainer who pleaded guilty to various violations of the Horse Protection Act last November.

Davis served most of his one-year sentence in prison and was also ordered by the court to cooperate in the production of an educational video describing pervasiveness of the abusive practice of horse “soring.”

The practice causes intentional pain to the feet or legs of horses through the application of caustic chemicals to burn their skin, or by inserting foreign objects to the sensitive areas of their hooves. In reaction to the pain, horses lift their front legs high off the ground, producing the exaggerated “Big Lick” gait rewarded in the show ring.

At his sentencing hearing in February, Davis admitted to routinely soring horses during their training, and explained that this illegal activity is so rampant as to be commonplace throughout the Tennessee walking horse industry.

In The HSUS’ exclusive interview, Davis described common horse soring methods and their effects. He flatly stated that trainers must make their horses suffer to be competitive at “Big Lick” events, including the biggest of them all, the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration currently underway in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

And he demonstrated how inspectors can better detect sored horses.

“The only way to win at the Celebration is to sore,” Davis said. “I’ve shown at the Celebration three, maybe four, times. I trained them myself and they were sore. I’m not going to lie.”

“Barney Davis’ testimonial underscores that soring is now a regrettable, and illegal, norm throughout the Tennessee walking horse industry. And industry self-policing is failing the horses miserably,” said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The HSUS. “The Humane Society of the United States urges the leaders in this industry to abandon their denial and finally institute real, meaningful reforms that will rid the Celebration and other performance horse shows in the industry of this despicable horse abuse.”

Earlier this year, The HSUS paid a $10,000 reward for information that led to the arrest and conviction of Davis, who has competed for the title of World Grand Champion, the industry’s highest prize.

As awareness spreads about the abusive treatment of Tennessee walking horses in the top levels of show competition, The HSUS is continuing its commitment to help bring violators to justice through the offering of this reward to crack down on abuse of these animals.

Anyone with information on this cruel practice should call 855-NO-SORING or email equineprotection@humanesociety.org. The HSUS will protect the identity of all callers.

--end of text provide by The HSUS

The Walking Horse National Celebration is currently going on in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Please don't think that this is a single-breed issue or that it does not involve you or affect your work with horses. How the humane organizations, law enforcement and the government perceive and act on allegations of abuse are important to all of us. Your breed or discipline or livelihood could be affected somewhere down the line even if you have never seen a Walking horse and wouldn't dream of abusing any animal.

Chances are, what happens in Shelbyville this week won't stay in Shelbyville.

Click this link for full information on ordering Professor Denoix's Equine Distal Limb.

© 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.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Veterinary and Farrier Federations Join Forces to Promote Best Practices for Equine Welfare Across Europe

The Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations (FEEVA) and the European Federation of Farriers Associations (EFFA) have joined forces to promote best practices in farriery across Europe.

The initiative, according to a press release issued today, is the result of recognition by both organizations that "equine welfare is best served with the use of only properly trained farriers, working closely with veterinary surgeons as and when needed."

Professor Slater of the
Royal Veterinary College (UK)

The main aims of the new partnership include:

Improving the welfare of the horse by encouraging the highest standards of hoof trimming and shoeing by means of a certified farrier;
Encouraging close working between farriers and veterinary surgeons on the therapeutic treatment of horses’ hooves; and
Encouraging the education of the horse-owning public to make use of certified farriers who guarantee the art and science of farriery.

The President of FEEVA, Professor Josh Slater of Great Britain was quoted as saying: “We look forward to working together at European level and encouraging member associations to do the same at national level, with the primary intention of enhancing equine health through first-class farriery.”

FEEVA and EFFA have 17 and 15 member nations, respectively. EFFA was formed in Paris in 1997 while FEEVA was created in Strasbourg in 1998.

EFFA sanctions the Europe-wide qualification of "Certified Euro-Farrier" as announced by Hoofcare and Lameness in 2008. Some individual nations have designations of qualifications as well.

Certified Euro Farrier statistics for Europe at the end of 2011 were: Austria 58; Czech Republic 8; Denmark 115; Finland 78; Germany 108; Netherlands 261; Spain (Catalonia) 8; Sweden 17; Switzerland 87; and United Kingdom 29, for a total of 769 qualified Euro Farriers across the continent.

In late 2011, EFFA also approved the Irish Farrier Education and Qualification Program for Euro Farrier designation.

In most EFFA member countries, farriery is regulated; only France and the Czech Republic have advanced farriery to a protected professional level. Only one member nation, Hungary, has no regulation of the practice of farriery.

Photo of Professor Slater is from the Hoofcare + Lameness Journal archives.

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

FEI Grant Funds World Horse Welfare's Cambodian Farrier Education

British farrier Tom Burch (far left, kneeling)

With the Olympics looming on the calendar, the FEI is prominent in the news. But today's story is not about dressage star Totilas or Kiwi eventers or even showjumpers in Rome. The FEI is entering the international horse welfare arena with a farrier education project.

World Horse Welfare (WHW) reports that the organization will be working in partnership with the Cambodia Pony Welfare Organisation after being awarded a grant from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to help train farriers and harness-makers in Cambodia.

The grant is part of the FEI’s Solidarity development program launched in 2010 to engage and support the organizations national equestrian horse-sport federations by creating, supporting and expanding projects and programs from “grass roots” to elite level throughout the global FEI family.

Working ponies in Cambodia are part of a two-level education program for the Asian nation.

It is the first time that World Horse Welfare has worked in partnership with another welfare organization in this way, and the first WHW project in this part of South East Asia. The first module has now been completed: representatives from World Horse Welfare, farrier Tom Burch and saddler Stuart Russell, shared their knowledge and skills with local Cambodian farriers and harness-makers.

The training course is taking place in the country’s capital of Phnom Penh, where ten students will be taught the sort of advanced farrier techniques that will allow them to work with horses used in international sport and then train local farriers. A further four students will study saddlery and harness making techniques with the intention that they pass on their newly-learned skills to other service providers and horse owners in Cambodia.

Head of Program Development at World Horse Welfare, Karen O’Malley said: “Although the Cambodia Pony Welfare Organisation is carrying out farriery training, it was felt that with this funding we could complement the work of the organization and further advance the skills and knowledge of the trained service providers.

Tom Burch RSS was the long-time farrier for the London Police. He retired in 2009 and has been traveling the world, giving back to his profession and the horse world by educating farriers in developing countries under the aegis of the World Horse Welfare organization. Photo kindly loaned by www.spitalfieldslife.com

O'Malley continued: “It should be an exciting project as we haven’t been involved in something quite like this before. During our initial farriery research visit in January we found that the local horse owners and existing farriers are lacking in basic handling skills and knowledge regarding the anatomy of the horse. However, it seems that they are desperate to learn new skills and very much welcome what we have to offer.”

Another objective is to create good quality farriers and harness-makers in order that future Cambodian horses can be used to compete in equestrian sport with the end goal of taking part in the 2013 Asian Games. Jacqueline Braissant, Director of FEI Solidarity said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to offer the grant to World Horse Welfare and we are confident that the new skills gained will make a positive impact and contribution to the future sustainability of the area. The hope is to really engage local horse owners in Cambodia and create a solid foundation for equestrian sport which can be built on in the future. These are exciting times -- over the coming weeks, we will be announcing a series of FEI Solidarity grants to support wide-ranging projects around the world. ”

Saddler Stuart Russell concentrates on harness and saddles used in Cambodia.

Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare Roly Owers said: “We have decided to take our international work in a different direction in order to make our training programs more sustainable in the countries we are operating in. Therefore, the focus is more on creating in-house service providers so that local people can transfer their skills onto to other local people.

"We are also turning our attention to providing cost-effective solutions. This means that our international team will be sourcing locally-made tools to make them more affordable as and when the people in a particular country need them.”

To learn more:
A photojournalist visits with Tom Burch on the job in London

World Horse Welfare Launches Inaugural Farriery Education Program in Saudi Arabia

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Hoofcare University: Biomechanics of Racehorses' Lower Limbs and Track Surface Interface Video Lectures with the University of Guelph's Dr Jeff Thomason

Dr Jeff Thomason

Go get a cup of coffee or a sandwich or start popping the corn. Hoofcare + Lameness is happy to share a new video series with you from the University of Guelph's Jeff Thomason BA, MSc, PhD, professor of biomedical sciences at Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College.

Dr Thomason is widely known for his research, which currently looks both at the biomechanics of the horse's foot and distal limb as well as the mechanical properties of the track itself, and how they influence the function of the foot.

Recently, Dr. Thomas was part of a group of authors that created an extensive "white paper" reference document for the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit on this type of dual research, which will ultimately benefit the safe travel of horses over optimal racing surfaces.

Plan to spend the next 15 (or so) minutes absorbing Dr. Thomason's lecture points, which have been broken down into bite-size videos.

Introduction:

How do you examine limb mechanics?

How do banked surfaces affect impact?

Can optimizing track surface reduce catastrophic injury:

Who will benefit from the racing surfaces 'white paper'?

What is the best track surface for racing?

How does climate affect track surfaces?

How does maintenance affect track surfaces?

To learn more:

Download the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit White Paper on Racing Surfaces, authored by Drs Mick Peterson, Lars Roepstorff, Jeff Thomason, Christie Mahaffey and Wayne McIlwraith.

Be sure to visit and subscribe to the University of Guelph's YouTube channel with complete "Report on Research" video series

The surest sign of an outstanding lecture is when you go back into the lecture hall half an hour later and the lecturer is still brainstorming with attendees and other speakers. Here's Dr Thomason two years ago at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center farrier seminar. With him: Dr Bryan Fraley of Kentucky and farrier Jaye Perry of Georgia. (Hoofcare and Lameness fuzzy file photo)

Learn about web-based courses in equine anatomy taught by Dr Thomason

Read Mechanical Behavior and Quantitative Morphology of the Equine Laminar Junction by Dr. Thomason and researchers Heather McClinchy, Babak Faramarzi, and Jan Jofriet as published in Anatomical Record in 2005. (Free web paper)

Dr Lisa Lancaster, Michigan State University's Dr Robert Bowker and Hoofcare + Lameness teamed up to produce this award-winning anatomy chart. Order yours today!

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Visit the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Friday, December 09, 2011

Laminitis Treatment and Horse Welfare: Princess Anne and Pippa Funnell Respond to a Question of Ethics

One of the main principles of animal welfare is to provide freedom from discomfort. What justification is there for the prolonged veterinary management of chronic painful conditions such as laminitis or very severe sporting injuries?

At the recent annual conference of World Horse Welfare in London, a distinguished panel bravely took questions from the audience. When a woman rose and asked the question above, forum chair Andrew Parker Bowles carefully repeated the question and then turned to Princess Anne, President of the British-based charity, for an answer.

The royal opinion was that the question is far too complex for a simple answer. I was hoping that she would suggest this subject for a more in-depth discussion at a future conference.

Eventing star Pippa Funnell added a classic anecdote at the end of this brief video.

This subject of whether prolonging the life of a foundered horse is a stretch of welfare considerations comes up sometimes. I've brought it up myself, particularly in terms of breeding foundered horses, particularly badly foundered mares who have produced valuable offspring in the past, or who are from fashionable bloodlines. With the advances available in artificial insemination and embryo transfer, a mare doesn't really need to be able to stand or walk. People who call here looking for a laminitis referral have remarked to me that they don't expect a cure, they just want a mare to recover enough to come into heat and get pregnant.

Some of the same callers bragged about mares that did go full-term (AI and ET are not allowed for Thoroughbred foals if they are to be registered with The Jockey Club), and the foals learned to kneel down to nurse off their recumbent mothers.

At a vet school hospital, I once saw a mare that had been a patient for two years. When I remarked on her condition, they assured me she had been like that the entire time: stiff, sore, stretched, skeletal...in spite of the best care money could buy, multiple surgeries and an owner who just wanted her to recover enough to be able to get her in foal and harvest an embryo. I bet she's still there.

Laminitis may not directly kill a horse, but it can be a common cause of euthanasia. But euthanasia is performed on laminitis cases for many reasons. Some horses are euthanized before any treatment is initiated, simply because the owner chooses not to invest in treatment and/or rehabilitation or, as is so often the case, simply can't afford the expense involved. This is often the fate of geldings, no matter how much money they have earned for their owners.

A few years ago, I followed a legal case in Australia that involved an owner who refused to allow her horse to be euthanized, in spite of intervention by RSPCA authorities and her veterinarian's recommendation.

I don't know what the scenes in War Horse are like that show the horses suffering or if Spielberg attempted to recreate the horrific scene in the book when Joey contracts tetanus. I do recall that the attempts to save another media star horse, Barbaro, were questioned at the time.

And it doesn't stop there: what about the ethics of selling a horse with a known sensitivity to laminitis. Should it be considered a violation of welfare ethics to sell a horse without disclosing its full medical history, even if the problem was mild and transient?

Where do you draw the line? And who draws it--the person who knows the disease process or the person who knows the horse?

Note: British racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott was onstage and part of this panel, but he was not involved in this discussion.

TO LEARN MORE

Ethical Considerations in Treating the Horse with Laminitis by Fiesler and Mann; as presented at the Second International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot

Final Call: A Sad End for a Horse with Laminitis by Donald Walsh DVM and the Animal Health Foundation

Call 978 281 3222 to email books@hoofcare.com; it's the ultimate gift!

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read this blog's headlines in your Facebook news feed when you "like" the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Monday, September 05, 2011

World Horse Welfare Launches Inaugural Farriery Education Program in Saudi Arabia

The King Abdul Aziz Arabian Horse Centre, where the first World Horse Welfare farrier training program in Saudi Arabia will take place (photo courtesy of the charity)

The British-based charity World Horse Welfare has been called upon to share its expertise in farriery and hoof care for the first time in Saudi Arabia.

Two British farrier representatives, Tom Burch and Mark Watson, have been invited to share their knowledge and skills with existing farriers, veterinarians and horse trainers in the Middle Eastern country next month. The farriery trainers have been asked by the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture to carry out an intensive course called Introduction to Basic Farrier Practices to a group of 12 students.

During the course, the students will increase their knowledge in subjects such as basic horse anatomy, shoeing faults, conformation, horse handling and body language, as well as foot balance and trimming.

HRH The Princess Royal meets World Horse Welfare Dan

HRH Princess Anne is President of World Horse Welfare. In July, she visited one of the charity's farms where British horses are rehabilitated and offered for adoption.
(World Horse Welfare photo)

The aim of the course, which takes place in the city of Riyadh on October 17-18, 2011, is to teach the group the basic theory behind the importance of correct foot shape and shoeing to therefore help horse owners care for their animals.

Burch and Watson will act as key speakers and trainers, conducting lectures, performing demonstrations, and providing opportunities for the students to work closely with their horses.

It is hoped that the program will be extended into other areas in the future as the partnership between World Horse Welfare and horse owners in Saudi Arabia will continue until December 2017.

London farrier Tom Burch with the Metropolitan Police

Farrier Trainer Tom Burch said “We are really pleased to have been asked to assist with the program. It is rewarding to know that we have been approached for our expert advice and skills and that we will be able to make a positive difference to the horses and their owners.

“There are also plans for the partnership to continue for many more years, providing us with an opportunity to get out into the communities and help the local people and their working horses in the future.”

Ian Kelly, Director of International Training at World Horse Welfare said, “This is the first time that an international horse charity has been invited to Saudi Arabia so we are extremely honored to be taking part in the program.”

Note: this article was received as a press release from World Horse Welfare, a charity that Hoofcare & Lameness has supported for many years. Tom Burch RSS has a long connection with London's Metropolitan Police horses as farrier and has been involved in charitable farrier training programs all over the world for many years. Tom was my tour guide of the military and police horses of London one day years ago--a day I will never forget! Farrier Sergeant Mark Watson AWCF trains British Army farriers at the Melton Mowbray Animal Defense Center.

This type of program is proof that everyone, regardless of his or her profession, has some way to give back to society and to the world's horses. There are many programs around the world that would welcome the help of professionals experienced with horses.

Best wishes to Tom and Mark for their involvement with World Horse Welfare.

TO LEARN MORE

World Horse Welfare Farrier Program in Mexico

World Horse Welfare Farrier Training in Senegal

World Horse Welfare Farrier Training in Honduras

Stay in touch: Bookmark The Hoof Blog, grab the RSS feed, sign up for email headlines, and/or "like" the Hoofcare and Lameness Facebook page, where the headlines from the blog become part of your news feed.

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read Hoof Blog's headlines in your news feed when you "like" the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Racetrack Horseshoer's Survey Launched by Grayson Jockey Club's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit

The Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee of the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has compiled an online survey to collect data from horseshoers at US racetracks. Information from the survey will be used to assist the committee's efforts to study how horseshoers are licensed by states or racing jurisdictions, and what changes horseshoers feel may be warranted in the system to improve the education of horseshoers and the welfare of the horses in their care.

A sub-committee of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit's Shoeing and Hoof Care committee will use the results of this survey to gain information on topics, ideas and structure for a uniform national racetrack horseshoer test for state licensure. The committee feels that this step, which is similar to the Jockey Club's efforts in unifying Thoroughbred racetrack trainers' tests, will raise the bar of horseshoer qualifications and thereby boost the overall safety of the racehorse.

Hoofcare Publishing and The Hoof Blog have been asked to help disseminate news of the survey into the Thoroughbred racing shoeing community.

The survey is primarily an online questionnaire, and should only take a few minutes to complete.

To preserve the integrity of the survey, only those directly involved with racetrack horseshoeing should fill out the survey. This means: professional horseshoers who earn part or all of their living at the racetrack and are affected by state or track licensing.

An alternative path through the survey is available for trainers, owners, stable employees, racing officials, veterinarians, non-track horseshoers or others who are interested in expressing opinions about the practice of racetrack horseshoeing, but only racetrack shoers should answer the shoeing questions to preserve the survey's validity.

The committee has been collecting information for the past few years on state licensing and tests administered, and has sought the input of racetrack shoers in improving the process of testing new farriers. It is hoped that this survey will be able to reach many more horseshoers at tracks across the country.

A word about the survey: it is an automated program. Once you start to take the survey, you should finish it; you cannot go back and finish it later. The program will also prevent you from answering the survey more than once.

While the survey is anonymous, the Committee would like to hear more opinions from racetrack shoers, and has provided a comment section at the end of the survey for general feedback. Horseshoers are also invited to contact the committee directly to become involved in the efforts of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit and the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee.

Please click on the red survey badge to open the survey:

If viewing on a text-only or mobile device, the direct address of the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/farriersurvey

If you have any questions before you attempt to complete this survey, please contact Cathy O'Meara at comeara@jockeyclub.com. If you know someone who does not have Internet access but who should take the survey, Cathy will be able to help.

The Foundation has not provided a deadline date for completing the survey, but you should not delay in submitting your answers if you want to have an impact on the decision-making process.

Notification of this survey is provided as a public service by Hoofcare Publishing. Comments left on this blog post, by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of this article, once published, will be visible to anyone visiting this blog but will not go directly to the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation, so please make comments on their survey feedback area as well.

Follow the Hoof Blog on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Join the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Friday, November 19, 2010

¿Habla usted del casco? Grayson-Jockey Club DVD on Thoroughbred Hooves Now Available in Spanish

The DVD is one segment of the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee's efforts to study and improve the safety for racehorses through hoof-related education.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee has released a Spanish-language version of its educational DVD, The Hoof: Inside and Out, entitled, El Casco: Por Dentro y Por Fuera.

“Spanish-speaking individuals constitute a significant percentage of our horses’ caregivers, so it is only natural and in the best interests of the industry to provide a Spanish-language version of our hoof care DVD,” said Bill Casner, Thoroughbred owner/breeder and chairman of the Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee. “We hope the Spanish-language version is embraced as enthusiastically as the original, because it will further enhance the care our horses receive on a daily basis.

The Hoof: Inside and Out was released in June 2009. Since then, more than 1,000 copies on DVD have been distributed and the online version has been downloaded more than 2,500 times by individuals in 57 countries.

Both the English- and Spanish-language versions can be downloaded at no charge at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitDisplay.asp?section=39; or a physical copy can be ordered through that website for a $5.00 shipping and handling fee.

The 65-minute DVD includes seven segments:
* Introduction and Overview
* Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit
* Physiology — The Equine Limb
* Basic Hoof Care and Trimming
* The Basics of Horse Shoeing
* Types of Shoes
* Farrier’s Role and Communication (with trainers and owners)

The DVD features the insights of a number of hoof experts and industry professionals, including Mitch Taylor, director of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School; prominent Kentucky-based farriers Steve Norman and Colby Tipton; Dr. Scott Morrison of the Podiatry Center at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission; Kentucky Derby winning trainer John T. Ward; champion Thoroughbred owner and breeder Bill Casner; and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation President Ed Bowen.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, convened a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing, and veterinary community for two-day workshops in October 2006, March 2008 and June 2010.

The Summits, which were hosted by Keeneland Association, have been the catalyst for many initiatives that improve the safety and integrity of the sport, including the Equine Injury Database, the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, recommendations concerning traction devices on front shoes, and bloodline durability indices.

Additional information about the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is available on the summit’s website at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Overgrown Hind Hooves Gone Very Bad: Cruelty Case Video Used in Court to Impose Sentence on Horse Owner

I guess this video doesn't need any explanation. The mare was probably confined in a stall, although I don't know that for a fact, and may even have been born with bilateral hind limb flexural deformity.

This video was provided by World Horse Welfare, formerly the International League for the Protection of Horses. As a result of this prosecution, the owner was banned from keeping horses for ten years, and ordered to pay almost £10,000 in costs and compensation. They ordered that six other horses be removed from the owner's care.

When Mr Barnes of World Horse Welfare and the RSPCA Inspector first saw the mare in the video, named Florence, she was barely able to walk. A veterinarian who examined her decided that so much damage had been done that she could not be saved, and she was put to sleep.

The court magistrates watched video footage of Florence after she had been removed from the owner's premises, possibly the same footage shown here. They heard veterinary evidence that the horse’s feet had been in a bad state for most of its life.

After the hearing Ted Barnes said: “I have found this case extremely upsetting. Years of experience haven’t hardened me to this prolonged neglect to Florence. This horse did not deserve to live most of her life with her feet in this condition. This is something I have never seen before, and neither had the veterinary surgeon who dealt with it.“

The video was apparently shot when the mare had been heavily medicated so that she could walk at all and was probably on her way to be euthanized.

This video is horrifying but I was just as horrified a few weeks ago in Kentucky at the International Equestrian Festival. At an excellent seminar on foal deformities by Dr. Ric Redden, he showed case after case of foals and adult horses with problems as bad as this horse that are brought to him to be "fixed".

One can only wonder what happens to the ones that are never brought forward for treatment or that don't respond to treatment. In spite of the literature and expertise available to them, many breeders never admit that a foal needs expert help until it is too late, if they admit it at all. Some, like this owner, simply hide the evidence in a back stall, hoping no one will see and that the horse will miraculously improve.

There are many ethical questions about keeping animals alive: are they in pain? do they enjoy a quality of life that is suitable? The same questions have come up with horses that have received amputation surgery or that have simply survived severe laminitis rather than recovered from it.

Veterinary ethics is just beginning to explore the issues surrounding chronically lame horses and the ethics of who lives and who dies in the first weeks of life, but the emotions and psychology of horse owners may be a more complex aspect of trying to help young horses with hoof and limb problems than learning medical, surgical or mechanical treatments.

© 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 the Hoof Blog on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Join the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Hoofcare & Lameness Presents World Horse Welfare's Laminitis Video Conference (Part 4: Measuring Invisble Body Fat Using Ultrasound to Accurately Determine Body Condition)

Welcome to the fourth in a series of feature presentations designed to help horse owners recognize the signs of laminitis in horses and to work toward preventing endocrine-related laminitis. In this video, laminitis researcher Alex Dugdale, currently at the University of Liverpool's Leverhulme Equine Hospital in Great Britain, talks about the subtleties and shortcomings of traditional body condition scoring.

For years, a simple visual evaluation of a horse has been used to determine a horse's relative body score, and this in turn was sufficient for a veterinarian to tell an owner if the horse might be at risk for laminitis and should be put on a weight management program and avoid excess grazing at high risk times.

But Dugdale is muddying that field considerably by suggesting that horses can appear to be slim--thus earning a mid-range or acceptable body score--but have large amounts of interior belly fat that may be making them susceptible to insulin resistance and, by extension, the potential complication of laminitis. Fat tissue can act almost like a gland in the way that it programs the body's reaction to nutritional stimuli, and reacts in particular to fluctuations of sugar-type nutrients in grasses and feed.

Simply put, some horses and ponies are just plain fat, while others show areas of fat in specific areas of their bodies that researchers have come to associate with a suspicion of equine metabolic syndrome. Now Dugdale is taking that regional adiposity a step further to include invisible fat.

Dugdale suggests using an ultrasound probe to scan a horse's belly lining to see what sort of fat stores are laid down there. Unfortunately, the scan is not recorded on the video because of lighting problems, so this video is a bit incomplete.

To learn more about laminitis prevention: Watch Part 1 of the series, "The Horse's Foot and How It Goes Wrong" and then go on to Part 2, "Recognizing the Early Signs of Laminitis” and Part 3, Hoof Management and Pain Relief. This series was created by World Horse Welfare, a British charity that organized a series of horse owner conferences on laminitis with the support of Dodson and Horrell, a British feed company that is active in laminitis research.

More information about how to access body condition around the horse's girth is available in this article about laminitis prevention for horse owners on The Jurga Report.

Follow the Hoof Blog on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Join the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hoofcare & Lameness Presents World Horse Welfare's Laminitis Video Conference (Part 3: Management and Pain Relief with Catherine McGowan)

"Managing your laminitic and minimising his pain">Managing Your Laminitic (Horse) and Minimising His Pain" is the third in a series of feature presentations designed to help horse owners recognize the signs of laminitis in horses and to work toward preventing laminitis. In this video, laminitis researcher Catherine McGowan, currently at the University of Liverpool in Great Britain, talks about the tools that a farrier uses to help a horse and relief the physical foot pain caused by laminitis, as well as the pros and cons of medications like Bute for pain control.

The farrier who briefed McGowan is Ian Hughes, farrier at the University of Liverpool equine hospital. He's pretty shy about publicity, in spite of my best efforts.

Learn more about University of Liverpool farrier lecturer Ian Hughes and his role as chief farrier for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong. This nice photo of Ian (left) at work with his Vettec gun is from the portfolio of Hot Shots Photography.

These videos were filmed at a laminitis awareness seminar organized by World Horse Welfare and British feed company Dodson and Horrell earlier this year. More videos from the series will be posted on the Hoof Blog in the next few days.

The conferences, which were held at leading UK veterinary universities, were organized by Dr Teresa Hollands, Senior Nutritionist at Dodson and Horrell. Featured specialists included Professor Derek Knottenbelt, Dr Cathy McGowan and Alex Dugdale from the University of Liverpool, David Catlow from Oakhill Veterinary Centre and Samantha Lewis from World Horse Welfare, among many others.

The videos in this series include “The Horse’s Foot and How it Goes Wrong” (Professor Knottenbelt,) “Managing your Laminitic and Minimizing his Pain” (Dr McGowan,) “Recognizing the Early Signs of Laminitis” (David Catlow,) “Using Ultrasound to show the Difference Between Fat and Muscle” (Alex Dugdale,) and “How to Fat Score a Horse” (Samantha Lewis.)

To learn more: Watch Part 1 of the series, "The Horse's Foot and How It Goes Wrong" and then go on to Part 2, "Recognizing the Early Signs of Laminitis”.

A partial list of Catherine McGowan's research is available on the National Library of Australia's scientific database website.

Follow the Hoof Blog on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal