Too Fat? Too Thin? British Court Faces Conflict Over "Abused" Horse with Cushings Disease

A magistrate in Norwich, England is learning a lot about Cushings disease this week, according to newspaper reports. A pony seized by animal welfare officials had been a family pet for 20 years. Following their veterinarian's advice, the owners kept the pony in a very lean condition score to prevent laminitis as a complication of the Cushings disease that the pony suffered.

The pony had already suffered laminitis.

The owners said they were quite surprised when animal welfare authorities seized the pony, claiming it was emaciated. The pony was sound at the time of seizure.

The pony's veterinarian testified in court that the condition of the pony was not abusively thin, and that the owners were trying to be kind to the pony and avoid a recurrence of laminitis.

According to newspaper reports, the vet representing the animal welfare agency testified that the horse had suffered muscle wastage and fat loss as a result of poor care.

In the USA a few years ago, a well-meaning welfare agency seized two thin ponies in New Jersey. The owner claimed they were being kept intentionally lean to avoid laminitis. The welfare agency, wanting to be kind, plumped up the ponies while they were in custody. The ponies developed laminitis and the owner sued the welfare agency.

In other court cases this year in Britain, horse owners were prosecuted for allowing horses to become too fat, putting them at risk for laminitis.

Politics on All Levels: Smear Campaign in Farrier Election

Mike Miller AWCF of Alabama sent a scan of a post card sent to farriers in the southeastern United States recently. Mike is a candidate for the board of the American Farrier's Association and was the target of a hate-mail campaign designed to cost him votes.

Mike, who is also an M.D., is an unabashed and unapologetic supporter of some type of registration of farriers in the United States.

New Book Announcement: Therapeutic Farriery Available from Hoofcare Books

Therapeutic Farriery: A Manual for Veterinarians and Farriers by Yehuda Avisar has made its way east.

"Yudi" may not have a name that is a household word in vet/farrier circles, but I don't know of many well-known experts who would have the time and perseverance to complete a project like this. He has paid his dues; this Israeli-born veterinarian worked as a farrier at the side of the legendary Charles Heumphreus, longtime resident farrier at the University of California at Davis' vet school, and many of the photos in the book show examples of his work on cases at the school.

This new book is very well-researched and referenced. Many of the photos look dated because they are from the Heumphreus archive, but this is the closest thing we have had to an actual new textbook on farriery in many years. You won't find banana shoes or plastic shoes or inflatable hoof pads or even Natural Balance shoes. There are no justifications for hoof balance theories and hardly a word about wild horses.

If there is such a thing as a subjective science, hoof science is it. Every author is noted for his exclusions and his biases and this book is no different in that respect. And the cases are all illustrative of the dry California hoof, something that has been missing from hoof reference books to date. The author's specific division of hoof problems into subsets is inspiring--he even has separated heel dermatitis from foot mange and defines things like "false quarter". He gives references to people like Don Birdsall, a California farrier who was way ahead of his time in "mapping" the foot and studying coronary contour and dedicates a small section to the oft-overlooked (or misdiagnosed) problem of coronitis. Most interesting to me was a section on frostbite and, conversely, burns in the hoof caused by power tools or resin curing.

One could use this book to reference many concepts in farriery and find both text and clear diagrams to back up a certain technique. It would make an excellent textbook for a college or professional course, and I think that may the author's intent. The book is nicely designed, with references in color to offset them from the text.

The tendency in farrier publishing is for an ever-rising standard of photography and graphics, thanks to the influence of talented visually-oriented people like Chris Pollitt. This book takes a step or two backward, to the text-centric, footnoted reference books of the pre-Internet, pre-PowerPoint age. When you need a reference book, this book can be a treasure on your bookshelf.

Therapeutic Farriery costs $90. You can order it from Hoofcare & Lameness; please include $6 for post in the USA and $13 for post to most other countries. It is hardcover, 292 pages, and is fully indexed and illustrated. Click here for a printable, faxable/mailable order form, or send an email with Visa/Mastercard info and your full name and address to books@hoofcare.com

And how's your book coming?

British Government Seeks to Count, Quantify Hoof Trimming in Lead Up to Regulation of New Paraprofessional Group

A nation with one of the most standardized farrier programs in the world--and an Act of Parliament to back it up--is looking at natural hoof trimmers in preparation for a possible national training and registration program. Equine dental technicians are also on the list of “new paraprofessionals” under scrutiny by LANTRA.

Lantra Equine and Professions Allied to Veterinary Science Industry Partnership Manager, Lisa Jarvis said: “We estimate that around 500 dental technicians and barefoot trimmers work in the UK, but it is an emerging area and very little is known about it.”

Lisa adds: “In order for Lantra to work with the para-professionals and (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Defra to develop frameworks for training and qualifications we urgently need equine dental technicians and barefoot trimmers to take part in this research.”

The agency has invited people currently making a living as natural hoof trimmers to fill out a survey form about their background, training, horse skills, and levels of expertise at trimming.

The survey questions are grouped into eight main themes:
· Current numbers employed in the industry
· Entry route into current job role (i.e. school, college, university)
· Training route used (length of training, type of training, accreditation)
· Predicted numbers entering the industry
· Job roles – tasks, competencies
· Business – number of clients and horses treated
· Membership in organizations
· Interaction with other professionals (e.g. veterinary surgeons, farriers)

Farriers in the UK are regulated under the Farriers Registration Act, a national law enacted by Parliament in the 1970s. The Act specifically outlaws the shoeing of horses by anyone who is not a qualified farrier listed by the Farriers Registration Council.

Barefoot trimmers have been able to work on horses for pay in Britain up to this point because they are not performing farriery, i.e., applying shoes. According to the Farriers Registration Council (FRC), farriery is defined in the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 as ‘any work in connection with the preparation or treatment of the foot of a horse for the immediate reception of a shoe thereon, the fitting by nailing or otherwise of a shoe to the foot or the finishing off of such work to the foot’. In the future, in other countries and in other legal documents, farriery may be re-defined as “trimming and/or shoeing”, or it may continue to migrate into two distinct professional groups.

Click here to view the survey (but don't fill it out unless you live in Britain and are a hoof trimmer).

Friends at Work: New Zealand Heat Wave Takes Its Toll on Farriers

The temperature in New Zealand hit 30.7 Centigrade this week; that's roughly 87 Fahrenheit and considered a heat wave in the sub-tropical country.

The local paper in Bay of Plenty chose the job of a farrier as one of the worst to be doing during the hot spell. (It's summer in the Southern Hemisphere, remember.)

Read more about the New Zealand heat wave and a little bit about Peter Huxtable here.

Santa Anita Will Add Australian Pro-Ride Binder Fibers to Cushion Track Footing on Main Track

(edited from text provided by Santa Anita)

ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 15, 2008)—Santa Anita Park officials announced today that its troubled synthetic "Cushion Track" racing surface in southern California will be reformulated under the auspices of the Australian company Pro-Ride by adding binder fibers to the existing surface mix.

“Tests show that we’ve found a way to reformulate the existing Cushion Track surface,” said Santa Anita President Ron Charles. “With the addition of polymers and fiber, the surface becomes kinder, more consistent and it cushions the impact of the track on the horses. It functions properly in diverse weather conditions and reduces the amount of kickback,” he added.

Pro-Ride will introduce their patented polymer binders into the existing Cushion Track. “We’ve made this choice based upon the results of scientific testing and the reaction of the horsemen to whom we’ve shown the final product,” said Charles. “The addition of the Pro-Ride polymer and fiber effectively transforms the existing Cushion Track into the synthetic surface we wanted from the start.

“We are now in the process of developing a timeline for acquiring the necessary polymer and fiber,” Charles said. “It is estimated that it will take 10 to 12 days to produce the binder. The material will be mixed into the track surface without having to remove or displace the track. It is our intent to schedule the application so as to minimize any disruption to training or racing,” he added.

Santa Anita’s winter/spring meeting runs through April 20.

Colorado State Study Finds Surpass Cream Beneficial to Both Treat Osteoarthritis and Relieve Pain in Horses

(Original text was provided by Colorado State University)

FORT COLLINS - Colorado State University Equine Orthopaedic Research Center scientists have discovered that a topical cream may be the first cream available to both treat osteoarthritis and relieve pain.

The first scientifically controlled study in horses testing the benefit of a topical diclofenac liposomal cream on equine osteoarthritis, sponsored by IDEXX Pharmaceuticals Inc, was headed up by Dr. David Frisbie, a clinical sciences professor with expertise in joint disease, and a team of researchers at the Equine Orthopaedic Research Center. The center is part of the university's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

"These findings offer opportunities for a new approach to treating this debilitating disease that affects both humans and horses," said Frisbie. "Finding a drug that treats the pain in addition to the disease allows us to provide better comfort to equine athletes with osteoarthritis while helping them improve."

The topical cream, called Surpass, contains a 1 percent concentration of diclofenac sodium. The cream is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for direct application to sore joints in horses.

The study tested pain relief and disease modifying potential of the product on 24 horses with a similar level of osteoarthritis at the start of the treatment period. One-third of the horses were treated with Surpass, one-third were given oral phenylbutasone "bute," a drug known to treat osteoarthritis, and one-third were untreated.

The horses were given regular treadmill exercise five days a week for the course of the study. All horses were evaluated with regular lameness examinations, X-rays, MRIs, synovial fluid and serum tests to monitor their progress during of the 10 week study.

The study showed that both Surpass and the drug known to treat osteoarthritis decreased lameness. More significantly, the study showed that only Surpass had positive effects on the joint. MRIs of the horses in the Surpass group showed decreased bone sclerosis, decreased cartilage erosion and increased levels of a key component of cartilage. All of these results indicate an improvement in the condition.

Surpass is the first drug of in its classification, which is a drug classification that includes aspirin and other pain-fighting medications, to demonstrate dual action with both symptom modifying and a disease modifying properties.

Surpass is approved in the United States as a prescription product for the control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in horses.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Equine Practitioners in Orlando, Florida. in December of 2007.

Horses and Humans Rock On: MBT Shoes

You are looking at the profile of the must-have human shoe around the Boston area these days.
Does it remind you of anything?
These MBT "physiological" shoes from Switzerland are a high-tech hoofwear dream: no less than five layers of sole activate unused muscles and simulate the blissful barefoot state. They don't use the horseshoe terms "rocker toe" and "air wedge heel" in human shoe-speak but the tech behind these shoes is intriguing and oddly familiar.
Has anyone out there tried them yet?

Duct Tape Laminitis Treatment for Ex-Racehorse Wins Prize

Dan Gardner, a retired farrier from Gladstone, Virginia, took home the $5,000 grand prize and a year’s supply of duct tape in this year's "How Duct Tape Saved the Day" competition sponsored by Henkel Corporation's Duck® brand duct tape.

While Dan's use of duct tape may be commonplace to most Hoof Blog readers, it was a novel use for the judges at Henkel.

Here's Dan's story:

"In 2003, I was volunteer working at a local equine rescue center. One day a winning Thoroughbred horse, named Early Start arrived at the facility. He had broken down on the track and for some time had been left unattended. He subsequently foundered which means the wall of his hoof and the internal tissue and bone had separated causing serious lameness.

"The choices were obvious. The humane thing to do would have been to destroy the horse, but the rescue facility wanted to try and save him. As a retired farrier, I took on the task. Beginning that day, I used a disposal infant diaper with antibiotic salve to protect and cushion the foot and wrapped the dressing with duct tape. Duct tape is the only suitable wrap that can withstand the wear until the next daily treatment.

"It took over 2 years and hundreds of rolls of duct tape to bring Early Start to a complete recovery. Today, he 10 and he is my youngest daughter's foxhunter and event horse. Simply, duct tape saved everyday for Early Start making my family and this horse winners for life."

(Remember: he's telling about using the tape; obviously trimming was done and other care was given to aid the horse's recovery; duct tape and diapers alone can't do it!)

Second prize went to a woman from a search-and-rescue posse in the Arizona desert who duct-taped her horse's shoe back on while searching for a lost child.

Hoof Lectures at This Week’s North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando

Saturday, January 19 will be “hoof day” at The North American Veterinary Conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. A full day’s program alternates between Scott Morrison DVM (above, left) of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY and Michael Wildenstein FWCF (Hons) (above, right) , Adjunct Professor at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Morrison’s topics are: Hoof Balance and Function, Difficult Foot Cases, Practical Approach to Heel Pain, Rehabilitation of the Foundered Foot, and Sterile Maggot Debridement.

Wildenstein’s topics are: Trimming and Evaluation of the Hoof, Advanced Therapeutic Horseshoes, Fungal Infections of the Foot, and Clinical Case Discussions.

Visit http://www.tnavc.org for registration information.

(Photo of Michael Wildenstein by Lexy Roberts)