EQUITANA 2007: German Horse Fair Is Still the Ultimate--For Farriers, Too

ESSEN, GERMANY--The world's fair of horse sports has just wrapped up for another year. "Equitana," held in a campus of convention halls in the city of Essen in northern Germany, is the ultimate horse destination. In addition to demonstrations, exhibits and live clinics featuring virtually every horse sport and breed, add horse shopping, parties, and an evening extravaganza arena show.

Where else in the world would you find clinics by Klaus Balkenhol, Christine Stuckelberger, Otto Becker, Isabel Werth, Rudolph Zellinger, Bettina Hoy, Ingrid Klimke, Franke Sloothaak, and Linda Tellington-Jones all under the same roof?

On the serious side, there are a series of professional congresses held in the big theater on site, as well. This year there were conferences on equine veterinary medicine (featuring Hoofcare & Lameness consulting editor Sue Dyson of England and Alan Nixon from Cornell), equine osteopathy, riding as therapy, and farriery.



The farrier meeting was the annual congress of EDHV, or Der Erste Deutsche Hufbeschlagschmiede-Verband e.V., which is the national organization of farriers in Germany. Speakers included our friends Dr Hans Castilijns of Italy, farrier Uwe Lukas of Warendorf, Germany and Dr. Michael Weishaupt of the University of Zurich. Two speakers unknown to me were Dr Alexander Merz and Dr. Michael Nowak but I am sure they were excellent as well.

In the photo is Hoofcare & Lameness subscriber Claus Linde of Germany doing a demonstration; the photo was provided by Equitana. I don't know what the plaque is, but it looks impressive.

I can tell you more about this meeting when I am able to get the information more accurately translated. Kudos to the German farriers for placing themselves front and center at what may be the world's largest-attendance horse event. I think there are 16 exhibit halls, not to seven arenas, stables for 1000 horses, and the convention theater. One exhibit hall is for only horse health and veterinary products, and includes Equitana's "Hoof Village." In 2005 (Equitana is only held in odd-numbered years), 220,000 people from 25 countries attended Equitana in spite of snow storms and icy roads.

Farrier Leaves Van to Walk Dog...and the Van Leaves

Police in Sussex in the south of England are looking for a farrier van that was stolen from a parking lot near a pond. The farrier had left the van locked while he took his dog for a walk in the park; when he returned, the van--containing all his tools and shoes, not to mention his ride back to town--was gone.

We all know that normally the dog would have been in the van to (hopefully) scare away anyone who cast a covetous eye on a van full of tools. The van and tools are valued at approximately $40,000.

The way I see it: it could have been worse. They could have stolen the van AND the dog.

Let's hope his apprentice wasn't inside.

Worldwide Wacky Weather: Laminitis Cases Down, Mud Fever Cases Increase in UK

It's the old good news/bad news scenario; here's a clip from a roundup of winter horse health observations for the past few months published in this week's Horse and Hound, the British weekly horse newspaper.

Peter Slater MRCVS, from Liphook Equine Hospital in the south of England comments: "The warmer weather this winter has meant less laminitis cases, but much more mud fever. I've seen some quite nasty cases."

Mud fever is directly related to the weather; the wetter it is, the worse the condition, acccording to Horse and Hound veterinary editor Karen Coumbe MRCVS, who adds that is not a single disease, but a collection of clinical signs ranging from a few scabs to cracked heels and sores, which in turn can produce infected legs.

Mud fever has a variety of causes, but can usually be blamed on bacteria infecting chaffed, waterlogged or otherwise damaged skin. Horses with white legs and pink tender skin underneath seem to be the most susceptible.

Hoofcare & Lameness published an in-depth special section on "mud fever" a few years ago, including mite infestation and pemphigus as problems that affect the lower leg; the section is available on cd-rom, or you can order the complete issue, which includes Michael Wildenstein's thesis on white line disease and articles on canker, spider bites, etc. We are doing this to make available articles that can then be printed out and distributed to clients. Email backissues@hoofcare.com to place an order. Other back issues, which have been out of print, are now available on cd-rom as well.

Rustin Moore Speaks to Harness Racing Org About Laminitis

At today's annual meeting of the United States Trotting Association, Dr. Rustin Moore, professor and chair of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, of the College of Veterinary Medicine of Ohio State University, spoke to the harness industry representatives about the disease of laminitis.

After mentioning that 15 percent of adult horses in the USA are affected by the disease, he added that 75 percent of those cases are eventually fatal. He noted that the cause of the disease and how it actually affects the horse is still not well understood, and that the array of treatments and theories is testimony to how little we really understand it, in all its forms.

"Cryotheraphy (extreme cold) research seems to hold some promise," Dr. Moore said. "We don't know why it seems to help, but it does. In any event, all practitioners, including veterinarians, surgeon, and shoers, need to share all they know, and hope that such collaborating will lead to a cure -- or better yet prevention.

Dr. Moore is program chairman of the upcoming 4th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, to be held in Palm Beach, Florida on November 3-5, 2007.

To read a complete report of the USTA meeting, click here.

Photo of Dr. Moore courtesy of the Ohio State University.

Barbaro Death a Hoax? Conspiracy Theories Abound in Run-Up to April Fool's Day

Had a tough week? Snowed in again (if you live around here)? How about a good laugh?

Onion.com has a great story about Barbaro death conspiracy theorists.

Here are a few clips:

"On Tuesday, University of Pennsylvania criminologists, acting on a public petition, entered photos of Barbaro taken at the New Bolton Clinic only hours before his death into special face-aging software to determine what Barbaro would look like after two months. Results showed a remarkably similar-looking horse with a slightly longer mane."

"Despite the legions of fans who now believe Barbaro is alive and well somewhere in the U.S., others within the horse-racing community are quick to dismiss the theory, claiming that Barbaro was in fact assassinated after the Kentucky Derby, that the horse who raced in his place at the Preakness was an imposter, and that Barbaro's injury was staged by the government as part of a massive cover-up to divert the nation's attention from crucial domestic issues and the war in Iraq."

Here at Hoofcare & Lameness, we think someone should go out to the stables behind Graceland and see if Elvis's tack is missing...

Read the complete Onion story.

Farrier Competition Scene: Change/No Change at the Top

Jill and Kyle Ballard, two of the founders of the fledgling World Championship Blacksmiths competition corporation, have left the new company.

I interviewed Jill today, and as expected, she was upbeat about their decision not to continue with the venture. "We decided to step down as owners," she told me. "It's about spending time with our family. We have two children under the age of three and would like to have more. WCB was a bigger commitment than we can make right now."

Jill, who was Chief Planning and Operations Officer, and her husband Kyle, who was Chief Financial Officer, live outside Ithaca, Nebraska. Kyle is president of the Midwestern Farriers Association and, as such, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Farrier's Association.

Jill left her position as director of education for the American Farrier's Association to concentrate on her role with the WCB. She was optimistic about the future of the WCB's management, which will now be in the hands of Julie Ridley in Iowa. "Julie will do a good job," Jill said, "and I'm sure Kyle will still compete. We'll just be watching from the sidelines."

Meanwhile, Myron McLane, longtime chairman of the Rules Committee of the American Farrier's Association, wants everyone to know that he has not resigned. "The rumor mill has started once again," he notified me by email. "Just in case anyone is interested, I am still chairman of the AFA rules committee. I have not resigned as you may have been told (probably by someone who wishes I did).

"I am also NOT a member of the committee looking into the WCB thing," he continued. "My committee (the AFA Rules Committee) has already looked into it and has given its recommendation to the BOD (Board of Directors). Our job is done."

The "WCB Thing" that Myron refers to is a proposal by the World Championship Blacksmiths LLC to replace the annual AFA competitions with the national finals of WCB's regional competition series. When asked, Myron's committee advised the AFA against making such a change but the Board then appointed its own committee to look at the proposal. The Board had already granted WCB, a for-profit entity, a seat on its Board by making the corporation a "chapter" of the organization. The convention contest proposal is either a hostile takeover attempt or a gift from the hammer gods, depending on whom within the AFA political insider groups one asks.

To see how things can change, or don't change, Jill and Myron were both quoted in my post of June 15.

Photo of Myron McLane courtesy of http://www.hoofcare.com