New Podiatry Center Set to Open in Texas

Dr. Conklin with the famous Quarter horse mare Royal Blue Boon, who was one of his patients when she suffered from laminitis. The mare is the leading dam of cutting horses, and the dam of the great Peptoboonsmal. "She is living out her days at her owners' ranch, is virtually pain free from the laminitis and hasn't had any complications in over a year. She has arthritis but gets along really good for being 27 years old," says Conklin's technician, Kelsey Bohannon.

In just a week, the doors will open on a new podiatry center in the heart of cutting horse country in Weathersford, Texas, west of Fort Worth.

The 3,000 square foot, climate-controlled Podiatry Center at Reata will be the realization of a lifelong dream for Dr. Britt Conklin, a certified farrier and equine-specialist veterinarian, when it opens on April 1, 2008.

The new facility includes a complete farrier shop, several treatment areas, four stalls and a conference room. Clients will have the benefit of state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment such as Eklin digital radiography, venograms, GE Logiq 5 Ultrasound, MRI and bone scan modality access. Local farriers will have access to the facilities and diagnostic equipment to allow them to better serve the needs of their clients.

Cutting-edge treatments and services will include shock wave therapy, IRAP, stem cell therapy, sling and high scale bedding parameters, and customized diet, nutrition and rehabilitation plans for patients.

“We are excited about the opportunities The Podiatry Center at Reata will offer Texas horsemen,” said Conklin. “A top-notch equine podiatry center has been a goal of mine for many years. Having such a center available and easily accessible will allow us to better serve the horses by offering the best possible care and treatment of all hoof problems.”

Dr. Conklin worked as a farrier to put himself through undergraduate school at Texas Tech University and attended veterinary school at Texas A & M University. While at A&M, he apprenticed under Danny Taylor CJF, PhD, who in turn worked in conjunction with Dr. David Hood on "The Hoof Project"; Taylor earned his PhD for his research in the biomechanics of the equine foot’s digital cushion.

Dr. Conklin is co-owner of Reata Equine Hospital, and he has dedicated the majority of his practice to equine podiatry. He is very passionate in his research and is continually working to find new and more improved ways to prevent and treat laminitis.

“We do 90 percent of our work on cutting/reining horses, but have several dressage/eventing barns as well,” Dr. Conklin writes.

Reata Equine Hospital is a seven-doctor referral practice, located five miles south of I-20 in Weatherford, Texas. It houses complete reproductive, surgical, sports medicine facilities in addition to the new podiatry center. Veterinarians on staff include a board certified theriogenologist, surgeon, and certified farrier.

For additional information on The Podiatry Center at Reata, please contact Kelsey Bohannon by phone at 817-599-9635 or via e-mail at brittconklindvm@reataequinehospital.com.

Dr. Conklin bandages a patient's legs.

American Farrier's Association to Provide Farriers for 2010 Games

(Note: this is an official press release received today from the World Equestrian Games 2010 Foundation, confirming news reports previously published on this blog. It is published in its entirety without edits or interpretation and contains no graphic symbols or images.)

LEXINGTON, KY- The World Games 2010 Foundation today announced that the American Farrier's Association has been named the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

As the Official Certified Farriers, the American Farrier's Association will provide a farriery on the venue grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park from September 11 until October 10, 2010. Two farriers will be on site per day for the two weeks prior to the Games, and up to six farriers will be on site daily during the 16 days of competition, depending on the event schedule. Athletes will be charged on an individual basis for farrier services according to their needs.

"We are so pleased to have this partnership with the American Farrier's Association," said Competition Director Kate Jackson. "We know that the equine athletes competing in these world championships will be in professional and skilled hands."

"Naming the American Farrier's Association as the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games constitutes a true honor for our organization. While this event showcases competition, it's genuinely built upon cooperation, and our association is pleased to be a part of this international effort that will bring us together in Lexington," said Andrew Elsbree, CJF, President, American Farrier's Association. "We look forward to 2010 and the opportunity for our AFA Certified Farriers to offer participants the finest in hoofcare services."

Headquartered in the Kentucky Horse Park's National Horse Center, the American Farrier's Association (AFA) focuses on improving equine welfare through excellence in the practice of hoofcare and farriery. As North America's premier farrier organization, the AFA centers upon five basic tenets: certification, education, communication, research, and innovation. Working through the AFA's education and certification programs, AFA farriers provide exceptional, professional services for horses and the people who use and enjoy them.

"Many of the horses competing in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be there, in part, due to the ongoing, exceptional work of AFA Certified Farriers," said Elsbree. "We are honored to have the opportunity to continue providing excellent care throughout the Games."

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park September 25-October 10, 2010, are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and are held every four years. The Games have never before been held outside of Europe, nor have all eight disciplines ever previously been held together at a single site- both firsts that will be achieved at the Kentucky Horse Park. The 2010 Games are expected to have a statewide economic impact of $150 million. It is anticipated that more than 600,000 spectators will attend the 16-day competition.

The Humane Society of the United States Announces $10,000 Reward for Information on Horse Soring in Tennessee

(this is an abbreviated version of an HSUS press release received March 18, 2008)

The Humane Society of the United States has announced it will offer a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any violator of Tennessee's "horse soring" law, which prohibits the deliberate infliction of pain to horses' feet to produce an artificially high-stepping gait.

Ads announcing the reward will appear throughout middle Tennessee, an area still believed to be a hotbed of soring activity.

The soring of Tennessee Walking Horses and other breeds of gaited show horses is one of the most heinous forms of abuse inflicted upon equines in the U.S. The practice involves the use of caustic chemicals and chains on the legs of the horse, creating severe pain and forcing an exaggerated, high-stepping gait.

Pressure shoeing — another especially egregious form of soring — is the abusive technique of cutting a horse's hoof almost to the bloodline so the shoe puts painful pressure on the horse's sole with each stride. In some instances, foreign objects are placed between the hoof and the shoe to create painful pressure on the sole.

Passage of a federal law (the 1970 Horse Protection Act) has not had the intended effect of eliminating soring. Tennessee also has a state law prohibiting soring, but enforcement of these laws has proven difficult.

Anyone with information on this cruel practice should call 1-866-411-TEAM (8326). The Humane Society of the United States will protect the identity of all callers.

(Editor's note: please read this announcement carefully: this reward apparently only applies to alleged violations within the state of Tennessee)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Have some fun today! This photo is from sport.yahoo.com's coverage of this year's Cheltenham Festival of steeplechase racing in England.

Hoof Blog Retrospective: Slide Show for the 500th Article Published

Photo highlights from the first 500 posts on Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog.

Sometimes a good idea sticks, and that has been the story with this blog. We now have 500 stories posted here and hundreds of people visit this blog daily...from every corner of the planet. Most zip in to grab details of a single story (Tildren and collateral ligament injuries are always at the top of the list) or watch a video. Others, mostly loyal Hoofcare and Lameness Journal subscribers, start at the top and read the new posts each day.

An uncountable number of people read this blog by email now and many more read an RSS feed of the headlines on their Yahoo/Google/AOL newsreader pages (but miss all the photos and videos). This blog now have a "widget" of code that will display the headlines on anyone's web site or blog (just ask).

No matter how they read it, people do read it. I know because so many leave encouraging or disparaging remarks, usually by email. These remarks either make or break my day.

The only thing that gets me up in the morning (or keeps me up late at night) to post these stories is the positive feedback from the people who tell me that they check the blog before they head out off to work or the barn/track/forge/clinic or when they get home at night. That, and wanting to share with you all the news of the hoof.

It's just too interesting to keep to myself.

Thank you all for reading and for the emails and occasional comments. Thanks for being patient about the erratic publishing schedule of Hoofcare and Lameness. Thanks for being not passive readers of the news, but the makers of the news. This blog is yours.

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2008 unless otherwise noted.

To learn more about new research, products, and treatments for the horse's hooves and legs as reported to veterinarians and farriers in the award-winning "Hoofcare & Lameness Journal",
go to http://www.hoofcare.com
Contact Hoofcare Publishing anytime:
tel 978 281 3222 or fax 978 283 8775 or email bloginquiry@hoofcare.com

British Farrier/Vet Conference Planned for April

The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and the National Association of Farriers, Blacksmiths and Agricultural Engineers (NAFBAE) have joined forces to present an informative and stimulating one day conference with international speakers from the USA and The Netherlands.

The Diagnosis and Management of Conditions of the Foot: An International Approach will be held on Monday, April 14 in Nottingham, England.

The event will feature a Commercial Exhibition, strongly supported by manufacturers of equipment and related products, which presents an ideal opportunity to acquire the latest tools and materials and discuss the application of new techniques.

This conference sold out when last run. The event will be held on a Monday, at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, a slightly larger venue than in previous years, with tiered seating and enhanced audio-visual aids to improve the ability to present to a large audience.

Speakers and topics include:
MRI of the equine foot (Application of a new technique and its implications): Tim Mair
Useful foot-related measurements from the horse and its radiographs: Richard Mansmann
Advances in diagnostic techniques: Peter Clegg
Pressure mat analysis in the assessment of foot balance: Ian Hughes
International perspective: Meike Van Heel (replacing Pascal Ebel)
Pathological conditions of the donkey foot: Karen Rickards & Colin Goldsworthy
Slip and grip (Dynamics of the hoof): Chris Pardoe
Foot measurements in approaching clinical cases: Richard Mansmann

Unfortunately Pascal Ebel of The Netherlands,who was scheduled to speak, has been injured and will be replaced by Dr Meike Van Heel. Van Heel is a movement scientist, equine physiotherapist, and part of the same team at Utrecht as Ebel. Meike Van Heel completed her PhD on "the effects of trimming and shoeing warmblood horses" and has developed a prototype horseshoe which benefits the horse’s joint load and limb movement. She has also carried out studies into the development of uneven feet in foals due to grazing behavior and conformation.

Click here to download the updated program schedule. (A one-page Adobe Acrobat pdf file will automatically download from the NAFBAE web site.)

Click here to download the seminar's complete color brochure. (A larger Adobe Acrobat pdf file will automatically download from the NAFBAE web site.)

The Inside Track: Summit Sessions on Shoeing and Surfaces at Next Week's Jockey Club Racehorse Welfare and Safety Meeting

The second Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit will be held Monday, March 17, and Tuesday, March 18, at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion.

Most of the topics to be covered will be of great interest to Hoof Blog readers, in particular reports on committee studies of hoof care and horseshoeing, synthetic racetrack surfaces and injuries in racing.

Click here to read a complete press release describing the mission of this meeting and its unique structure for dynamic planning sessions and also visit the Summit's web site, which describes accomplishments of the first Summit, held in October 2006. Several PowerPoint presentations are available at that site's "Presentations" menu for download and study, including Bill Casner's animated slide show on the detrimental effects of toe grabs. (Note: this is a 7 MB PowerPoint file. Download only if you are sure your system is capable.)

Fran Jurga of Hoofcare Publishing will be one of 60 participants in the study groups. Fran joins shoeing and hoof care committee members Bill Casner (chair), Dr. Rick Arthur, Ed Bowen, Bob Curran, Bob Elliston, Dr. Rob Gillette, John Harris, Richard Mandella, Chris McCarron. Wayne McIlwraith, Dan Metzger, Steve Norman, Denny Oeschlager, Dr. Mick Peterson, Todd Pletcher, Richard Shapiro, Dr. Scott Stanley, Gary Stevens, Dr. Sue Stover and Mitch Taylor.

Mitch Taylor of Kentucky Horseshoeing School will present high-speed video studies of racehorses galloping on different surfaces wearing different shoes. Mitch has been building on his initial filming of horses with and without toe grabs that he presented at the "Hoofcare@Saratoga" forum last August and at the 4th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot in November.

In the synthetic surfaces study group, Dr. Preston Hickman of the Wichita Equine and Sports Medicine Clinic, who also uses video analysis technology, will examine the potential causes of on-track injuries. Hickman was a farrier before becoming a veterinarian and is certified by the American Farrier's Association. He is a proponent of Dartfish motion analysis software. Below are some examples of Dartfish "Stromotion" images from the Dublin Horse Show and a short example of a clip of Dr. Preston's high-speed video.

This might be the most important meeting of the year. There is no charge to attend for audience members; there will be two public sessions, one of Monday morning and one on Tuesday afternoon (see schedule).

Please contact the Jockey Club for more information: (859) 224-2850.

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2006-2008 unless otherwise noted. Please request permission to reproduce or capture images or content. This blog is available for delivery via RSS feed or as a daily email of new content.

To learn more about new research, products, and treatments for the horse's hooves and legs as reported to veterinarians and farriers in the award-winning "Hoofcare & Lameness Journal", go to http://www.hoofcare.com

Direct “subscribe now” link to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal: http://www.hoofcare.com/subscribe.html

Contact Hoofcare Publishing anytime:
tel 978 281 3222; fax 978 283 8775; email bloginquiry@hoofcare.com

Resource for Your Files: "Managing Equine Joint Inflammation" Free Download

Our friends at Idexx have a free download of a roundtable discussion featuring leading university lameness veterinarians at Colorado State University and Texas A&M University on the topic of joint inflammation. If you click on this link the download should start.

The document is a 2.4MB Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file created by Veterinary Learning Systems. You should end up with a 16-page document that you can print or read on your screen.

Idexx is the manufacturer of Surpass, a topical anti-inflammatory medication, and many other medications and products for equine veterinary care. The special report covers all aspects of new developments for equine joint problems.

Horseshoer Killed in Pancho Villa's Famous 1916 "Invasion" of New Mexico

General Francisco "Pancho" Villa was the people's hero during the Mexican Civil War in the early 1900s; depending on which history book you read, he was Braveheart with a great mustache...or Osama bin Laden in a sombrero.

Here's some history you won't find in any textbook. 

Montana farrier Scott Simpson and I share a fascination with the history of a raid by Mexican General Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who slipped across the border and raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico at dawn on March 9, 1916.  But I didn't expect there to be a horseshoer involved. Now I know otherwise.

Friends at Work: Let's Clone Nicole Roberts!

You hear a lot these days about cloning horses. Top showjumpers, endurance horses, and especially those down-in-the-dirt cutting horses can now have their DNA recycled into a genetic match.

From where I sit, we need to not clone the horses but the horsemen, those people of either gender who are superb at understanding how to care for horses and, in particular, how to nurse them back to health after illness or injury.

We've always had layup farms, some of which include physical therapy, but most of which are benign holding facilities where racehorses can get some fresh air and a few hours in a paddock each day before they return to the track or maybe put on a few pounds and some dapples before they head to the sales ring.

But what if you had a dressage horse with a suspensory problem, a steeplechaser with a bad bow, a racehorse recovering from EPM and you couldn't provide the nursing care? Where would you send your horse? Who would you trust to bandage and medicate and just plain care for that horse? We live in a day of revolving barn helpers; if Miguel can't make it today, he sends his cousin, but his cousin isn't quite the poultice artist Miguel is. And if you're working on layups, poultice needs to be your art form.

My vote for cloning would be the people who are so good at care of lame horses. Whether it's a barefoot rehab farm or a high-tech racehorse recovery center, the care and results will only be as good as the skills and experience of the people who have their hands on the horse, day in and day out. The best intentions and Internet consultations won't take the place of "been there, done that, can do" and that takes years of experience and hundreds of horses to gain.

So we come to the story of Nicole Roberts. I'd like to say I know her, but I don't. I do know Dr. Midge Leitch, the vet who recommends that owners turn their recovering horses over to Nicole for care.

Today's Philadelphia Inquirer has an article about Nicole and her "halfway house" for recovering horses outside Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The point of asking you to read this article is not that you will learn something about lameness, but that you will remember that there are people out there like Nicole.

I hope she takes on apprentices. It would be easy to say that she should write a book or make a dvd, but there is no substitute for hands-on experience with horses. Combine that experience with a genuine "feel" for horses and you have a valuable, if oft unsung, hero of the horse world who can often bring a horse back without sharing credit with high tech treatment tools or holistic cure-alls.

That's what they are talking about when they talk about horse sense. I hope you will take time to read the article and reflect on the role that people like Nicole play in our industry.