Work and Play for Noted Veterinarian During Saratoga Visit

Linda and Dr. Frank Gravlee say hello to Rags to Riches at Todd Pletcher's barn. Note the strategically placed hay that prevents me from documenting her feet for you.

It was Alabama Stakes week at Saratoga, so Hoofcare and Lameness Journal made sure that someone from Alabama was on hand. Veterinarian and nutritionist Frank Gravlee, founder of Life Data Labs and inventor of Farriers Formula, enjoyed a hero's welcome, as did his wife, Linda, who is CEO of Life Data.

The Gravlees were featured in an article in Thoroughbred Times this summer for their innovative research on Thoroughbred nutrition at their research farm in Alabama. The Gravlees well-bred mares have foals by stallions like Distorted Humor, Royal Academy, and Posse at their sides. One of the foals' first lessons is how to stand still on a horse scale; they are monitored carefully and the mares' feed is scientifically formulated, measured, and administered. The farm's yearlings are headed to Keeneland next month to be sold.

Part of the Gravlees' whirlwind tour of Saratoga was a speaking engagement for Dr. Frank at our Hoofcare@ Saratoga event. After the lecture, Dr. Frank signed copies of his new book, co-authored with Dr Doug Butler, Laminitis and Founder: Prevention and Treatment.

Everyone in Saratoga was very welcoming to the Gravlees. Of course it didn't hurt that the Farriers Formula tractor-trailer rig had been stuck in traffic on Union Avenue outside the racetrack a few days before they arrived. It was just setting the stage!

However, the visit to Saratoga was related to Dr. Gravlee's research into laminitis and equine nutrition, and the publication of the book, rather than to a promotional push for the company.

Dr. Frank Gravlee stopped in the midst of his autograph party to chat with Diane and Curtis Burns. They market the Burns Polyflex shoe (http://www.noanvil.com/), which Curtis designed, worn recently by winning stakes horses like River's Prayer, Octave, Teuflesberg, and Zanjero. Curtis is a flying farrier who pops up everywhere.

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Alleged Tennessee Walking Horse Cruelty Case Charges Farrier As Well As Trainer

New rules in place at the 69th Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration - which began this week in Shelbyville, Tennessee– offer some signs of progress for an industry that has been plagued for decades by the specter of soring. But recent allegations of illegal and inhumane training methods serve as a reminder that the industry is still under close scrutiny.

In a letter sent this week to Hon. Charles Crawford, Bedford County, Tennessee District Attorney General, The Humane Society of the United States urged Crawford to investigate an alleged case of "pressure shoeing" and pursue, if warranted, animal cruelty charges against Tennessee Walking Horse trainer Dick Peebles and the farrier who allegedly performed the pressure shoeing. The Humane Society of the United States also offered assistance in investigating this case.

" At a time when some trainers and leaders in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry are trying to implement reform and finally put an end to soring, those individuals that refuse to comply with state and federal law and continue to abuse and molest these magnificent animals should be held accountable," said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for The Humane Society of the United States. "Those who practice the illegal act of pressure shoeing should be rejected by the entire Tennessee Walking Horse industry."

"Pressure shoeing"– generally held to be the most egregious form of illegal horse soring – is the trimming a horse's hoof so the shoe puts painful pressure on the horse's sole, forcing an exaggerated high gait. In some instances, foreign objects are placed between the sole and the shoe or pad which is nailed to the hoof, to create painful pressure on the sole.

On August 15, the Walking Horse Trainers Association (WHTA) Board of Directors and Ethics Committee issued a report detailing an investigation of Mr. Peebles' alleged shoeing violation. According to the report, Mr. Peebles, while not admitting guilt, agreed to accept responsibility for a shoeing violation and received a five-year suspension penalty, a penalty reserved for pressure shoeing under the USDA Horse Protection Act Operating Plan.

The WHTA's suspension of Mr. Peebles' trainer's license may not actually prevent him from training horses, or his clients from showing them. The suspension was not implemented and is not enforced under the Horse Protection Act, but rather the WHTA's own rules and ethics code; therefore, he is not officially banned from showing under any law or governmental regulation.


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Lightning Strikes: A Sobering Reminder

Hoofcare and Lameness Journal subscribers will remember this photo that ran in the magazine a few years ago, but it is a good one to look at now and again to remind us all of the power (and danger) of an electrical storm. On the rainy day of September 1, 1923, 18 horses belonging to the Christy Brothers circus died as one when a lightning bolt hit a nearby transformer as they prepared for the parade. The lightning didn't come down from the sky but travelled through the wet, muddy earth from the telephone pole to their steel shoes. This photo shows one six-horse hitch who died as one; the four-horse calliope team and the eight-horse lead wagon team were all killed in the same strike. Several people died as well. Thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Society and Circus World Museum for the loan of this photo.

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Bone-Healing Seminar In Lexington, Kentucky

(from invitation)

SentrX Animal Care, Inc. will host a reception for the equine community at the Embassy Suites in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday, September 7, 2007. The event will feature a keynote from Louise L. Southwood, BVSc, PhD, DACVS, DACVECC. Dr Southwood is a prominent large animal veterinarian, who will present an update on SentrX’s equine bone healing work.

“We are honored to have such a notable veterinarian as Louise discuss equine bone healing,” said Dr. Richard Koehn, president and CEO of SentrX Animal Care, Inc. “SentrX’s products accelerate the healing of wounds in horses with minimal scarring. The equine community has successfully put our products to use and we are excited to provide them a brief update on our work.”

Dr. Southwood is an Assistant Professor of Large Animal Emergency and Critical Care at New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Event Details
Friday, September 7, 2007
5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Embassy Suites
Lexington, Kentucky
1801 Newtown Pike

To learn more, visit www.sentrxanimalcare.com

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British Farriers to Face Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Requirements Beginning in 2008

Passing the British farrier education system's stringent apprenticeship and exam systems will no longer be a ticket to a lifelong career for farriers there. Beginning in 2008, British farriers must also prove that they have spent a required number of hours per year in pursuit of new knowledge or participating in farriery-related events.

From the website of the Worshipful Company of Farriers:

"Every farrier will be required to gain 10 points per year averaged over a 3 year period. The system will start in earnest in 2008. The requirement in 2008 is 5 points, in 2009, 8 points, and from 2010 onwards 10 points per year. Farriers who have completed the required amount of CPD in the previous year will display CPD Stickers on their vans."

A similar program launched by the American Farrier's Association two years ago was withdrawn. The 2006 Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's racehorse welfare summit meeting hoof care committee recommended continuing education programs for racetrack shoers.

CPD is a growing trend in many fields. The Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot was recently granted 18.5 hours of CPD credit to veterinarians.

A controversy in the US exists over veterinarians not being able to receive credits for educational events' lectures if farriers are speakers.


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Myhre Equine Clinic Announces 2007 Farrier-Vet Conference

Myhre Equine Clinic (MEC) in Rochester, New Hampshire has announced that its annual farrier and veterinarian conference will be held on October 18 and 19, 2007.

The conference will have a new format this year, with one full day or lectures on hoof wall infections and chronic laminitis and one full day on navicular disease.

Speakers scheduled are Drs. Bryan Fraley and Bob Agne of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Center in Lexington Kentucky, plus farriers Patrick Reilly of the University of Pennsylvania and Rebecca Watts, resident farrier at MEC.

The clinic is offering a ten percent discount to attendees who pre-register. This conference was a sell-out last year, so pre-registrations is recommended.

Drs. Fraley and Agne provided consultation services in the Boston area on a monthly (or so) basis primarily on complex laminitis cases.

Myhre Equine Clinic is in the former clinic facility of Rochester Equine Clinic.

Rochester is convenient to airports in Boston, Manchester, New Hampshire or Portland, Maine. It's a beautiful time of the year to visit New England.

A great hotel is the Governors Inn; less expensive is the Anchorage Inn.

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