Alternative Farrier Schools Ready to Open in USA

So, you want to be a farrier! Great, but could you summarize your philosophical view of hoofcare for me before I recommend a school?

Matching potential farriers to farrier schools became a lot harder--or maybe easier--recently when two new schools announcedp plans to open this summer.

The Academy of Hoof Technology in Lexington, Kentucky will be a branch of a successful school already operating in Germany. Run by Alexander Wurthmann, the school teaches "alternative" farriery, and advocates barefoot trimming, plastic shoes, and hoof boots.

Meanwhile, in Plymouth, New Hampshire, the Bridge Gap Farrier School will be launched at a facility that will include a "founder farm" recovery center for laminitic horses. The school also will run seminars for horse owners. Robert Bowker, VMD, PhD and foam-support enthusiast Tommy Lee Osha will be part of the instruction team.

We hope to have more information about both schools' actual offerings soon.

Hoofcare & Lameness Named Finalist for AHP Award

Hoofcare & Lameness is honored to learn that our journal is a finalist for an award from the American Horse Publications. Publisher Fran Jurga will be on hand for the festivities in Seattle, Washington on June 11. We have no idea what the award is; last year, Hoofcare & Lameness was honored for front cover design and photography. Stay tuned!

2005 Grand National: Video of Entire Race on Web

Hoofblog: Hoofcare & Lameness Journal




How fit and athletic can a horse be?

Or, some people ask, why would you do this to a horse?

If you can spare about ten minutes, visit the BBC web site and watch a video of the entire 2005 Grand National from Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England. Then make up your own mind.

I have to admit that I had never watched it from start to finish before. I had only seen highlights and to watch it in its entirety is mindboggling. They just keep running! The world's most famous steeplechase is over three miles and takes about nine minutes.

Interesting new radiograph/photo technique from Metron Software

Metron's "rad in photo" technique displays a radiograph of a horse's distal limb superimposed on a photograph of the same limb and foot.

This photo was sent to us by our friend John Craig at Metron Software in California.

It illustrates a new capability of their PX 3.0 software.

The system automatically composites the lateral radiograph with the corresponding lateral photograph so that you can see the bones 'within' the hoof capsule. It's really interesting to see this and to show to other to help understand where P3 lies within the hoof, assuming that the photo and radiograph were dead-on accurate. Great for educational use.

Mickey Mouse's Big Empty Blacksmith Shop; Disney World Farrier Gary Wade Has Been Killed

Farrier Gary Wade of Disney World in Florida spoke at a special conference on hoofcare for heavy (draft) horses at Tufts University vet school recently.

Gary Allen Wade, 57, of Orlando, Florida, died of injuries suffered in a car crash on March 16, 2005. Possibly America’s most visible farrier, Gary Wade served as horseshoer at Walt Disney World in Florida for 32 years and shod the park’s 30+ draft horses as a daily public demonstration.

A fourth-generation farrier and graduate of Cornell University’s farrier program, Wade insisted that Disney’s horses be loosely tied to the rail at the open air farrier shop, rather than be restrained as many heavy horses are for shoeing. He believed horses should not fear the farrier, and taught the Disney horses that he was their friend…all the while answering questions from the public amid camera flashes.

An excellent speaker and advocate for the horse, Wade was selected one of the world’s leading heavy horse farriers for the 2004 Tufts University College of Veterinary Medicine Hoofcare Millennium conference.

Gary Wade (right, above) always wore a Disney cap and a smile; he took off the cap but not the smile as he was feted at the Tufts University Hoofcare for the New Millennium Conference on Heavy Horse Hoofcare in March 2004. Seated next to Gary is Roger Clark of Suffolk, England, another honoree. Photo by Carl Kirker-Head, Tufts University

Maggots Approved by FDA for Human Use

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved maggots as a medical "device" to clean out wounds, according to the Associated Press and Boston Globe.

A recent study at the University of California compared the work of maggots to the work of human surgeons. Wounds debrided by maggots removed 80% of dead tissue; surgeons removed only 48 percent.

Maggots continue to be used in horses' feet for help with osteomyelitis, canker, and abscesses.

To learn more: Hoofcare 78 "Maggot Debridement Therapy"

Revolution in....hoofcare? (new book announcement)

"Revolution in Horsemanship" by RM Miller DVM and Rick Lamb is a great survey (almost scholarly, not quite) of natural horsemanship's impact on the horse world in the past 15 or so years.

I particularly recommend the chapter called "The Hoof Care Debate", which examines the popularity of shoeless horses and covers people like Strasser and Jackson (and even all the way back to Bracy Clark and Xenophon) on the barefoot side, plus Gene Ovnicek, Ric Redden, Rob Sigafoos, etc. Our magazine supplied photographs and some of the text (many of you will recognize the comments on horseshoe manufacturing during the Civil War).

It's odd, but the chapter on hoofcare is much more fleshed out than the chapters on health, nutrition, and alternative therapies. The section on horse whisperers of the past is fantastic, they really did some good research. They also gave some recognition to people whose role in natural horsemanship is often overlooked. It would have been easy to do this book as a chapter on John Lyons, a chapter on Monty Roberts, a chapter on Ray Hunt, etc. but it is not that at all. It is very thoughtfully put together.

A few years ago, there never would have been an entire chapter of a book like this on the ethics/philosophy of how hooves should be trimmed and/or shod. It is amazing what has come to pass in such a short time.

There are some long winter nights coming, this book would make you a wiser, more thoughtful horse person by spring. (Not a quick read, over 350 pages)

Specifics: soft cover, but high quality; black and white inside, fully indexed, glossary, bibliography, resources. Cost is $25 plus $6 post in USA, $15 post ROW.

Chapter titles: Natural Horsemanship, The Horse in Nature and Domestication, The Revolution Begins, The Revolution Continues, Why Now?, Why It Works and Why It's Better, Revolutions in Riding, The Cowboy Enigma: Rodeos and Ranches, Wild Horses: The Ultimate Test, It's Not Just About the Horses, Early Natural Horsemen, Whisperers, Tamers, and Professors, Revolutions in Bridling and Saddling, Other Training Concepts, Foal Training, The Hoof Care Debate, The Revolution in Equine Health Care, Equine Nutrition, Alternative Therapies, The Real Importance of Revolution.

Too bad it's a bit late for Christmas, this would have made a super gift!

--Fran Jurga

The Sound Hoof: Manifesto of Natural Hoofcare Published by Michigan State researcher/farrier

Book Announcement

Hoofcare and Lameness is pleased to announce the publication of THE SOUND HOOF: Horse Health from the Ground Up by Lisa Simons Lancaster PhD, foreword by Fran Jurga. $27 per book plus $5 post in USA, $12 air post r.o.w. Worldwide launch 1 October 2004. Soft cover. 126 pages, illustrations/photos, references, reading list, indexed. Focuses on current therapy and philosophies, both traditional mainstream and “natural” shoeing and barefoot care of horses. Author is a leading research team member in hoof physiology lab (Michigan State University), veterinary student, and a farrier.

Chapters:

1. Holistic Hoofcare (Holistic practitioner, chronic condition issue, farrier’s role in holistic hoofcare, horseman’s role in holistic hoofcare)
2. Hoof and Lower Leg Anatomy (terminology, anatomical structure)
3. Reading the Hoof (evaluating soundness, understand balance, three-dimensional balance; great detailed discussion on Dave Duckett's balance system)
4. Hoof Care Research and Theory (The nature of research, hoof deformation research, history of hoof deformation research, breakover, 4-pt trim and natural balance)
5. To shoe or not to shoe (Balance, conformation, advantages of barefoot, disadvantages of barefoot, things to discuss with your farrier, dealing with pain)
6. Laminitis and navicular (laminitis, what is laminitis, causes and mechanisms, metabolically based theories, how is laminitis diagnosed, horse do you know if your horse has laminitis, what to do if you suspect laminitis, prevention and treatment, navicular syndrome, clinical signs, diagnosing navicular, speculative mechanism and risk factors, relationship between inner and outer structures, prevention and treatment of heel pain, foam padding for heel pain, holistic approach)
7. Sound management (support team, selecting a farrier, how to keep a farrier, doing your own trimming, safety, record keeping, scheduling, your horse’s health is in your hands)
8. Action gallery (holistically-managed--mostly barefoot—sound horses in competition and recreation
9. Forms, appendices, references, resources, index.

(Note this book has been endorsed by Henry Heymering with a resoundingly positive back cover review, and you know how hard that is to come by! He says, among other good things, “Much of the research on hooves from ancient to current times is explained with unmatched clarity. The more people read this book, the more sound horses there will be.”)

PUBLICATION DATE: 1 October 2004, shipping NOW.

Note: Many of you read Lisa’s insightful article about her role assisting Dr Robert Bowker in hoof research projects at the Michigan State University’s “Equine Hoof Laboratory” in Hoofcare #78.

Kuwaiti Hooves Needs Help!

We've received a request from an associate in Kuwait that an experienced hoof expert is needed there to work on horses. If you are interested and available, please contact Hoofcare & Lameness for more details.

Michigan State Honors H&L's Bowker and Lancaster, Contributing Editor and Author, Respectively

Dr. Robert Bowker and Michigan State student Lisa Lancaster have both received awards from Michigan State University. (Fran Jurga photo)

Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently conferred honors on two leading contributors to Hoofcare & Lameness.

First, Robert Bowker DVM PhD, associate professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation at MSU, received the Carl J Norden Distinguished Teacher Award.

Then, third-year veterinary student Lisa Simons Lancaster, MSc, PhD received the university's award for best oral presentation by a veterinary student for her lecture "Laminar Density Variation in the Equine Foot".

Lisa is a researcher in Bowker's Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State. She collaborated with Bowker on the research, which was featured in Hoofcare & Lameness Issue #78.

Lisa is also the author of The Sound Hoof, a new book sold by Hoofcare Publishing.