A phone call tip from British farrier Giles Holtom FWCF the other day tipped me off to a row among British farriers over the admission of a young man who is a convicted pedophile into the apprentice scheme in Great Britain.
Apparently Giles and the UK Horse Shoers Union (UKHSU) object to the decision of the Farriers Registration Council (FRC) to admit the fellow into an apprenticeship. It sounds like the FRC, as you may imagine, is bound to follow the letter of the law, which does not discriminate in employment of pedophiles.
But perhaps the law is not quite understanding of the position of trust that many farriers are given by their clients, is the opinion of many of the UKHSU's outspoken critics of this move.
Come to think of it, they are pretty critical of everything the FRC does. Last year, UKHSU member Peter Baker RSS was elected to a seat on the Farriers Registration Council, and has been an agent for change, particularly in the area of farriers having more say in the governance of their own trade.
A few years ago, the roof was patched on our office building. The roofing crew arrived n a big van and worked hard. They used the Hoofcare & Lameness bathroom, came and went with my blessing. One day one of them stopped by my desk and asked me if a knew a fellow here in Gloucester. I said I did, but stuttered that he wasn't around any more, he'd been sent to jail for a long time.
The man brightened and said, "I know, I'm his cellmate!" And that's how I found out that the men on my roof and in my bathroom were a pre-release work crew from the county prison.
I still get the chills thinking about it. Oh yes, and the roof still leaks.
Let's hope the British apprentice works in racing stables and not on family ponies.
You can read some of the facts in a story in this week's printed copy of Horse and Hound, or read the online version of the story, which I think is shortened.
If you think farrier politics in the USA are ripe, take a look at some of the articles posted on the home page at the UK Horse Shoers Union, where many independent-thinking or just plain esoteric farriers have found a voice. Many have axes to grind with the "system" and the "establishment" of British farriery, which makes the freedoms that American farriers enjoy seem well worth fighting for. Their forums (aka bulletin boards) are sort of difficult to understand unless you know the players and organizations. But the characters are larger than life.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
A Record Week on the Hoof(care) Blog
I just checked the statistics from the web site, and this week has seen the highest number of visitors to this blog since I've been able to figure out how to count them. I don't know who you are, but thank you all for visiting and I hope the information is of interest and useful.
If you like this blog, you might also like my blog over on equisearch.com called The Jurga Report.
Hooves are still where my heart is, though. If you have ideas for ways that I can improve this blog (I know, more graphics...but if you knew how long it takes to write html code...) or make it more useful to people, please let me know. And make or send news, please!
If you like this blog, you might also like my blog over on equisearch.com called The Jurga Report.
Hooves are still where my heart is, though. If you have ideas for ways that I can improve this blog (I know, more graphics...but if you knew how long it takes to write html code...) or make it more useful to people, please let me know. And make or send news, please!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Farriery Facts and Figures from the UK
One of the hardships of being in the farrier industry in America is that none of us who market to farriers really know who we are marketing to or how many of "them" are out there. No one's counting. Oh, figures get tossed around, like a number attributed to Walt Taylor, who once said that there were about 30,000 farriers in the USA. As I recall, that was at least 20 years ago. Are there more now? Fewer? Are farriers older? younger? We have no idea.
Come to think of it, we don't even really know how many horses are out there, and how many receive regular hoofcare. You can pick a number and do your math.
How different things are in the UK, where the British Equestrian Trade Association just released their statistics on the horse industry. Or so I thought. They seem quite confident in their number of horses, which is 1.35 million. There are 2,473 registerered farriers.
Wait, that math won't fly. That's one farrier for every 546 horses. Shouldn't it be about half that? Or are all those slave-like apprentices really upping the number of horses a master farrier can do in a day? Do these guys ever stand up?
The number that I really like in this study is from the Worshipful Company of Farriers. They report that the farriers in the UK earn a total of $500 million, or roughly $200,000 per farrier. If you divide that by 546 horses, then you see that the average income per horse is about $900.
But when you do the math the other way--gross farrier income divided by total horse population, it comes out to only $360 per horse. That's a pretty big difference. I wonder how they came up with the gross income for the farrier trade.
Farrier statistics are an enigma the world over, I guess.
Come to think of it, we don't even really know how many horses are out there, and how many receive regular hoofcare. You can pick a number and do your math.
How different things are in the UK, where the British Equestrian Trade Association just released their statistics on the horse industry. Or so I thought. They seem quite confident in their number of horses, which is 1.35 million. There are 2,473 registerered farriers.
Wait, that math won't fly. That's one farrier for every 546 horses. Shouldn't it be about half that? Or are all those slave-like apprentices really upping the number of horses a master farrier can do in a day? Do these guys ever stand up?
The number that I really like in this study is from the Worshipful Company of Farriers. They report that the farriers in the UK earn a total of $500 million, or roughly $200,000 per farrier. If you divide that by 546 horses, then you see that the average income per horse is about $900.
But when you do the math the other way--gross farrier income divided by total horse population, it comes out to only $360 per horse. That's a pretty big difference. I wonder how they came up with the gross income for the farrier trade.
Farrier statistics are an enigma the world over, I guess.
Palm Beach Laminitis Conference On-Line Registration Site Has Opened
I know that some of you are a little antsy about the details on the upcoming 4th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, to be held November 2-4, 2007 at the Palm Beach Convention Center in Palm Beach, Florida.
An online automated registration center has been opened, with registration being handled by the University of Pennsylvania.
The main site for the conference is http://www.laminitisconference.com.
Hotel information is on that site as well, or you can call the West Palm Beach Marriott directly at 1-800-376-2292 if you are in the USA: Outside the U.S.: 561-833-1234. You can learn more about the hotel here: www.westpalmbeachmarriott.com. Refer to the "Laminitis Conference" when booking your room.
NOTE: There is a special "Laminitis Conference" rate of $139 per night, for reservations made before September 28, 2007. The Marriott is by far the closest hotel to the convention center, but there are other hotels in West Palm Beach if the Marriott sells out quickly. However, you will need to rent a car if you stay elsewhere. If you stay at the Marriott, you can fly in, use the hotel shuttle, and probably never need a car.
The first mailing announcement has gone out to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal subscribers and AAEP members; the committee will be announcing the speaker roster soon. I know that November sounds like a long time from now but soon we will all be so busy that we won't know what month it is!
I've been really pleased to hear how many vets and farriers are planning to attend together as teams. There are so many lectures, in both the "science" and "practice" lecture halls, that one person attending alone would probably get really frustrated. I know that's how I felt at the last one.
Some of the first sponsors to announce their affiliation with the meeting are (in addition to Hoofcare Publishing) Merial, Purina, Castle Bay Farm, and Thoroughbred Charities of America. Many more companies will be added to that list, I'm sure, and/or will be part of the trade show.
"Sponsoring" university vet schools are the University of Pennsylvania, The Ohio State University, and the University of Florida. That said, speakers for the scientific program will represent veterinary colleges from all over the world, including a delegation from the University of Queensland's Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, headed by Dr. Chris Pollitt as well as major roles played by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Clinic and the Palm Beach Equine Clinic.
The "practice" side of the program will be a world-class roster of laminitis-specialist veterinarians, nutritionists and an impressive lineup of farriers who will cover a broad range of hoof-related topics in addition to laminitis.
Obesity Awareness: ILPH Takes Scales on the Road to Convince Owners Their Horses are Overweight
To help horse owners establish what the right weight for their horses is, the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH) has started a new program called "Right Weight Road Shows" in Great Britain. On these days the general public will be invited to bring their horses to be weighed on a mobile weighbridge.
One of the problems with obesity, the ILPH contends, is that horse owners miscalculate the amount of work their horses actually perform. They may purchase a grain product too high in calories, or feed too much, and some horses need no grain at all for their sedentary lifestyles.
"It costs significantly more, takes longer and is far more difficult to rehabilitate an obese horse than an emaciated one," writes the ILPH on their new "obesity" web page.
"An emaciated horse that comes into ILPH care, providing it has no underlying conditions, can be back to the correct weight within three months," they write. "Conversely, a horse which is obese simply through overfeeding rather than because of some underlying cause, will take in the region of nine months to get to the correct weight. They are likely to suffer some long-term damage such as joint problems and, at the very least, their weight will always need monitoring. This is because once fat cells have been formed they will stay in the body forever, so a horse which has been overweight will become fat again far more easily.
"Many of the overweight horses and ponies we deal with will also suffer from laminitis, the treatment of which is prolonged and very expensive," says the ILPH.
In other ILPH news, the group is celebrating a court ruling on April 5th that levied a lifetime ban from keeping horses on an owner who neglected a pony's hooves.
One of the problems with obesity, the ILPH contends, is that horse owners miscalculate the amount of work their horses actually perform. They may purchase a grain product too high in calories, or feed too much, and some horses need no grain at all for their sedentary lifestyles.
"It costs significantly more, takes longer and is far more difficult to rehabilitate an obese horse than an emaciated one," writes the ILPH on their new "obesity" web page.
"An emaciated horse that comes into ILPH care, providing it has no underlying conditions, can be back to the correct weight within three months," they write. "Conversely, a horse which is obese simply through overfeeding rather than because of some underlying cause, will take in the region of nine months to get to the correct weight. They are likely to suffer some long-term damage such as joint problems and, at the very least, their weight will always need monitoring. This is because once fat cells have been formed they will stay in the body forever, so a horse which has been overweight will become fat again far more easily.
"Many of the overweight horses and ponies we deal with will also suffer from laminitis, the treatment of which is prolonged and very expensive," says the ILPH.
In other ILPH news, the group is celebrating a court ruling on April 5th that levied a lifetime ban from keeping horses on an owner who neglected a pony's hooves.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
New Virginia law: Non-veterinarian horse dentists will be regulated as of July 1, 2007
According to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the Commonwealth of Virginia's General Assembly session recently passed a law to regulate the practice of equine dentistry performed by someone other than a veterinarian. The new law states that only a registered equine dental technician (EDT) or a licensed veterinarian can work on a horse’s teeth professionally. It also outlines what procedures require a vet’s supervision, or must be performed by a veterinarian, whena horse is being worked on by an EDT.
A very interesting part of the new law is that International Association of Equine Dentists certification is listed as a requirement for non-veterinarians and non-veterinary technicians but that the exclusion to the certification is if the applicant can prove that he or she has been performing equine dentistry for five or more years and has the recommendation of two veterinarians.
There is some vague language in the bill, such as the words "board-approved" training program that may be defined in some document other than what is shown on the Internet.
To be specific, it reads: The Board may register a person as an equine dental technician who meets the following criteria: (i) satisfactory evidence that he is of good moral character, (ii) recommendations from at least two licensed veterinarians with practice bases that are at least fifty percent equine, and (iii) evidence that he holds current certification from the International Association of Equine Dentistry or a Board-approved certification program or has satisfactorily completed a Board-approved training program. The Board may register individuals who have not completed a Board-approved training program or do not hold a current certification from the International Association of Equine Dentistry or a Board-approved certification program if they have engaged in acts considered to be those of an equine dental technician as set forth in subsections C and D of this section for at least 5 years and provide the following: (i) satisfactory evidence of length of time of practice, (ii) recommendations from at least two licensed veterinarians with practice bases that are at least fifty percent equine, and (iii) proof of continued competency satisfactory to the Board.
The law prohibits non-veterinarians from using power tools in a horse's mouth and is quite specific what a technician can and cannot do without a veterinary license.
Read the complete law here.
The legislator who sponsored the bill has a web page on the bill where you can read its history. This bill flew through the state legislature in 90 days and passed unanimously every time it came up for a vote.
The new law takes effect on July 1, 2007.
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