Saratoga in My Rearview Mirror: Highlights of Hoofcare@Saratoga 2006

There's a nice sign to welcome you to Saraoga, but there isn't one that says good-bye as you leave town. Perhaps that's because no one ever really leaves. Even if they don't come back the next summer they plan to, someday.

From the small print in The Saratoga Special recently: "We're in good shape, for the shape we're in." That's a quote attributed to David Mullins, Thoroughbred breeder and yearling consignor. I'll have to remember that one.

From famed sportswriter Red Smith: “To get to Saratoga from New York City, you travel about 150 miles north, turn onto Union Avenue and travel back in time to the mid-19th century. Its elegance and charm is why Saratoga has been selected as among the top 10 sports venues of the 20th century.”

From Dogwood Stable's Cot Campbell: “Louisville is fine; Lexington is OK; Miami is good; but Saratoga is truly glamorous. Saratoga is in a class by itself.”

The "Hoofcare@Saratoga" tour is playing like a tv-reality show so far. In other words, nothing is going according to the script! We've had one event cancelled because of 100 degree heat (even the racetrack was shut down, it was so hot)...and a cancelled speaker another week...a speeding ticket...a handicapped dog in the back seat...a car accident on the Mass Pike...and yet I know in another week or so when I am back in Massachusetts, those won't be the things I remember.

I'll remember the thrill of seeing people--dozens of people who've never heard of Hoofcare & Lameness before that night--marching into Dr. Don Walsh's "Hoofcare@Saratoga" evening on laminitis. Yes, they really showed up, Hoofcare@Saratoga was a reality!

I'll remember driving down Nelson Avenue and peeking through the hedges for a glimpse of Stonerside, the former Greentree Stables training track and barns. If I was to pick my favorite horse architecture in the world, I think Stonerside/Greentree would be it. But Bill Mott moved to new quarters this year, and I think Godolphin Racing has taken over. Someone has...and they've put up big "No Trespassing" signs at the gates. How sad. I don't remember Stonerside ever being overrun with tourists.

I'll remember going to the farrier shop at the Skidmore Equestrian Center at midnight with Cornell farrier Michael Wildenstein and Skidmore farrier Jim Santore to see one of the sweetest horseshoeing shops in the land. I'll be back with a load of cameras one day to photograph Jim in this shop.

I'll remember a fabulous lunch way up in the turf club with racetrack legend Ada Gates, who was visiting from Los Angeles.

I'll remember watching Dianne Volz trying to do therapy on Flower Alley and wondering why she's not covered with bite marks (or worse).

I'll remember an August with almost perfect weather (once that horrific first week of stifling heat was over).

I'll remember the palpable emotion in the air at the dedication of the farriers' memorial behind the Oklahoma training track. And how surprised I was when Pat Day popped out of a golf cart and led everyone in prayer. He said that horseshoers had saved his life by keeping the horses safe. I'd not thought of it that way.

I'll remember the farmers' market in Saratoga and how nice it was to fill my car up with fresh vegetables for the long drive home.

I'll remember the easy-going attitude of everyone at the Parting and the bartenders' sincere attempts to try to understand just what laminitis is.

I'll remember the first time I entered the state park in Saratoga; I hadn't been there since I was in high school. All those trees. The architecture. The gardens. And the Gideon Putnam hotel, such a perfect place to stay. If only they allowed dogs.

I'll remember the school-girl thrill I got the first time I saw Funny Cide and Showing Up, just lounging in their stalls in Barclay Tagg's meticulous shedrow.

I'll remember a stolen hour when I was able to browse through the horse books at the Lyrical Ballad bookstore on Phila Street, with Don and Diana Walsh. That has to be one of my favorite places on earth. What a treat.

I'll remember standing next to Bluegrass Cat and one of Pletcher's handlers saying softly, "Suave, suave" and hearing it echo'd by the other handlers to the four other stallions tapdancing on the pavement. It sounded more like a Tibetan prayer chant than a horseman's command. (And "suave" they did, once each was efficiently hosed down, rewrapped, and sent to his stall.)

I'll remember the horseshoers, especially the parade of them through Butch Colbert's farrier supply trailer every Wednesday morning. So many new friends.

I never did get to wander through the shops on Broadway...or eat at Hattie's Chicken Shack...and I still haven't been to Yaddo. I suppose if I'd done it all and seen it all, there would be no reason to come back and I want to be very sure I have plenty of reasons to return to Saratoga next August.

We have great memories of this year to carry around in our hearts like so many talismen against change. There is always that feeling that even though it has been there for 250 years, this place is just too good to be true. It can't possibly last...but I sure hope it does.

Doug Butler Will Open a Horseshoeing School in Nebraska; Butler Professional Farrier School Will Be in Crawford

Doug Butler, PhD, FWCF will open a horseshoeing school in Crawford, Nebraska this fall. Teaching alongside Dr. Butler will be two of his sons, Jacob and Peter. "Butler Professional Farrier School" will also offer a certification program for its students to progress from level to level, and will offer classes from beginning to advanced as well as personalized graduate-level training.

Learn more at http://www.butlerprofessionalfarrierschool.com

Patty Hogan Will Be Head Surgeon at New Equine Hospital Planned for Belmont

(This article was originally written by Fran Jurga for " "The Saratoga Special" and may be property of that publication. Photo by Mark Wyville, used with permission.)

Trainers at New York's Belmont Park will have both a world-class equine orthopedics facility and a world-renowned surgeon on site when a new equine hospital is completed in 2007.

Patricia Hogan VMD ACVS traveled to Saratoga on August 24 to take part in a press conference organized by International Equine Acquisitions Holdings, Inc. (IEAH), the industry group that will fund the Belmont facility. Dr. Hogan confirmed that she will be serving as lead surgeon when the hospital is built.

Plans call for an 11,500 square-foot, $7 million equine hospital designed to serve the needs of racing Thoroughbreds. The new facility will also have a treadmill for the evaluation of breathing problems as well as diagnostic imaging equipment. The hospital’s practice will be headed by James C. Hunt Jr., DVM. Hunt currently employs five veterinarians and services more than 50 percent of the horses in training at Belmont.

In a telephone interview this week, Hogan clarified that she will retain her current position as surgeon at New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, New Jersey until the new hospital is completed and that in 2007 she hopes to perform surgeries at New Jersey Equine two days a week, while traveling to Belmont three days a week. This will enable her to continue to serve trainers at Philadelphia Park, Monmouth, and Delaware Park, as well as retain her connection with the Standardbred industry in New Jersey.

Hogan noted that harness trainers and Thoroughbred trainers from other tracks would be able to ship cases to her at either Belmont or New Jersey Equine, although stalls may be limited at Belmont. Currently, Hogan lists about half of the trainers on her client list as New York-based.

Hogan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and completed an internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, followed by a surgical residency at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. As a Board-certified surgeon, earned by examination under the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Hogan specializes in orthopedic surgery, particularly removal of bone fragments and chips, and the repair of fractures. She also performs corrective surgery on foals and laser surgery for upper airway problems.

Among Hogan’s best-known cases have been Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex.

Hogan was in the headlines earlier this summer as the only veterinarian to speak before Congress in favor of H.R. 503, also known as the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

The nation’s two leading veterinary organizations—the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners—opposed the bill. This did not deter Hogan from speaking her feelings on the issue.

“Nick Zito knew how I felt,” Hogan said. “He passed my name to Congress, and it was arranged for me to speak. Veterinarians should never have been politically involved in this issue.”

“There had been no veterinary voice from the other side of the fence,” Hogan continued, referring to the AVMA/AAEP stance.

Hogan’s eloquent testimony voiced concerns about the way that horses are held and transported before slaughter, as well as her warning about the unregulated amount of medication present in slaughtered horses. A transcript of her testimony circulated on the internet this summer, making Hogan something of a folk hero in the anti-slaughter camp.

Hogan works with both the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and ReRun, and donates some surgeries for ex-racehorses. She is also active in re-homing Thoroughbreds and making them more adoptable.

“As a person, I have a lot of love for horses,” she stressed, adding, “And as a veterinarian, I have a lot of concern for their humane treatment.”

Strasser Trimmer Receives Sentence in British Cruelty Case

Mary Jo Kowalski, the Strasser-trained hoof trimmer found guilty of causing suffering to her foundered pony last month, with German veterinarian Hiltrud Strasser at a British court.

According to the The International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) web site, a sentence has been given in British court to Mary Jo Kowalski, the Strasser-trained hoof trimmer found guilty of causing suffering to her foundered pony last month.

The ILPH report continues: Kowalski had studied and used the Strasser technique in a belief that she would “cure” Brambles' laminitis. However, District Judge David Cooper did not agree and said in his judgement: “Was Brambles suffering? It is common ground that she was. Was the suffering necessary in the sense that it was inevitable? I am satisfied that it was not inevitable although dogmatic adherence to Dr Strasser’s methods may have made it appear so. Brambles' suffering could and should have been alleviated."

He went on to say with reference to the second charge: “The well-intentioned mutilator does not have a defense”.

Kowalski was given a sentence of 100 hours community service, banned from keeping horses, asses and mules for one year and ordered to pay £10,000 towards costs.

Director of UK Operations Tony Tyler said: “The ILPH had hoped for a more severe sentence but the fact that Kowalski has been found guilty shows the Strasser technique employed caused an already suffering pony to suffer more and should in the opinion of the ILPH be avoided by horse owners.”

Results are in from the International Farriery Competitions at Stoneleigh, England

Initial results from the International Farrier Competitions at the Royal Showgrounds in Stoneleigh, England:

Team results
1st place ENGLAND(Beane, Bazin, Devereux and Darlow); 2nd place Wales (Blurton, Martin, Crothers, and Ellis); 3rd place France (Mathieu, Delcroit, Policard, and Baijot). On an individual basis in this class, Travis Koons' score placed him in fourth place....ahead of Crothers and Blurton! Todd Walker was 16th. Not to be forgotten is Aaron Gygax of the Swiss team, who finished 18th on his individual score. Aaron lives in the US and is employed as a farrier in the podiatry clinic at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY. Stoneleigh was Aaron's first and only competition of the year!

Individual competition
1. Gary Darlow (England); 2. Darren Bazin (England); 3. Allan Ferrie (Scotland); highest place USA competitor was Travis Koons in 16th place. Other US competitor placings were Trey Green 25th, Billy Reed 26th, Bill Poor 27th, and Todd Walker 28th. Bruce Hauge of Canada was 30th and Aaron Gygax was 35th.

Team gas forging
1 England (Beane, Bazin, Devereux and Darlow), 2 France (Mathieu, Delcroit, Policard, and Baijot), 3 Wales (Blurton, Martin, Crothers, and Ellis), followed by Scotland, Holland, USA, Canada, Norway. Todd Walker was 5th on his individual score, and Colain Duret of Canada was 14th.

Thanks to Carl Bettison, manager of the English team, for sharing these results...and congratulations to anyone who survives that grueling competition!

New Laminitis Research from England's Waltham Equine Studies Group

Mark Andrews, our intrepid colleague in England, has published a new edition of his "Equine Science Update", a handy newsletter about equine research and practice. He has written a summary of the scientific output from Waltham's Equine Studies Group in 2004 and 2005 .

Several studies considered the nutritional aspects of laminitis. One showed that grasses with lower nutritive value (such as timothy), or pastures with lower water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) levels are associated with slower fermentation in the colon. Consequently they may be less likely to cause acidosis of the hindgut contents.

Another study demonstrated the existence of marked insulin resistance and / or hyperactive insulin secretion in ponies prone to laminitis.