(Thanks to the US Equestrian Federation for help with this post.)
Before the curtain had a chance to rise on the 2007 Rolex FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada's Thomas and Mack Center, some unexpected news from the Danish camp brought a simultaneous chorus of concern and disappointment from fans and foes alike.
Denmark’s Andreas Helgstrand announced in an afternoon press conference today that his horse would not compete due to lameness. One of the favorites leading into the dressage competition, Blue Hors Matine, the striking 10-year-old grey Danish Warmblood that entertained and surprised the crowds at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, by taking the Individual Bronze and Silver in the grand prix special and the freestyle respectively, was pulled after the mare showed fluid gathering around her front left pastern.
The trouble began as the horse reached the ground from her transport to the venue. “The ground was slippery,” said Helgstrand. It was then that the horse twisted her left front leg’s pastern. After exhibiting some “twisting,” an ultrasound was performed and it confirmed the malady.
The horse looked good on Monday and Tuesday according to Helgstrand, but in the initial jog, the horse was held for re-inspection. The horse’s veterinarian said the horse might be good by competition time; however a decision had to be made before the draw.
“When we trotted the horse today, going up she was trotting 100%, and when we trotted her back, she was twisting again,” said Helgstrand. “So, there is no chance to compete with her.”
Such disappointment is part of the landscape when dealing with horses and the Danish rider said, “When you work with horses, there are ups and downs. This happened at the wrong time of course…but it’s better to keep it down now and let the vets look at her and do what is best for the horse.” Helgstrand pointed out that the prognosis for the mare, according to the veterinarians, was good.
No doubt Matine will now be aimed at the European Dressage Championships to be held in Torino, Italy in September.
More news about Matine: http://www.dressagedaily.com/
The mare has been the center of rumors: following her 81.25% score at WEG last August, the Danes were said to have been offered 9 million euros (approx US$12.25 million) for her...by an American, of course. They continue to deny the rumor.
Blue Horse Matine's scratch comes after a news-filled week on the international dressage and show jumping scenes, with several horses scratching before the flights even left Europe. Dutch team chef d'equipe Sjef Jansen shocked the dressage world by resigning his post, protesting that the Dutch riders were not serious enough in their preparation for the 2008 Olympics.
Note: I don't usually go overboard about a horse, but I make an exception for Matine. Commentator Richard Davison said of her performance at WEG in Aachen in August 2006: "It is an absolute privilege to watch this horse."
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
HELP WANTED: EARN-WHILE-YOU-LEARN FARRIER'S ASSISTANT
Lameness-specialist farrier consultant needs a part-time apprentice / helper to assist with caseload during eastern Massachusetts appointments at vet clinic and travel to stables. Paid position, approximately 3 or 4 days each month. Pull shoes, clean feet, etc. More work possible for the right person. Great learning potential, lots of opportunities to see digital radiography, cutting edge techniques, etc. in action on top horses and learn to work with veterinarians. Not for beginners. Perfect for someone new to the area, a retired farrier, or someone who aspires to become a lameness-specialist farrier. Send email to equinvet@earthlink.net.
(Do you have jobs to post, queries for literature searches, or other requests? Fran Jurga's HoofBlog is read by thousands of people, from all over the world, each month. This blog is also picked up daily by Google News...and who knows where it goes from there? Contact fran@hoofcare.com to arrange a listing. Our friends at Equine Therapies just did! Also consider a classified or display ad in our "real" journal, Hoofcare & Lameness, for maximum penetration in the farrier/vet overlap segment of the horse health sector.)
(Do you have jobs to post, queries for literature searches, or other requests? Fran Jurga's HoofBlog is read by thousands of people, from all over the world, each month. This blog is also picked up daily by Google News...and who knows where it goes from there? Contact fran@hoofcare.com to arrange a listing. Our friends at Equine Therapies just did! Also consider a classified or display ad in our "real" journal, Hoofcare & Lameness, for maximum penetration in the farrier/vet overlap segment of the horse health sector.)
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Pedophile and Farrier: Safe to Mix?
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.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)