Horse Magazine Puts Spotlight on Barefoot's Pete Ramey

In all my years in horse journalism, I've never seen anything like this. Not even Burney Chapman, Hiltrud Strasser or Gene Ovnicek has ever received publicity like this.

Blog readers will be well-advised to pick up a copy of the December 2007 issue of Horse and Rider magazine. Sit down for a while and read all the way through the eight-page interview with barefoot's de facto spokesman, Pete Ramey.

Horse and Rider has been promoting barefoot hoofcare for some time now, and Pete Ramey in particular. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like Pete and I'm delighted for his success.

I think the barefoot-shod debate, if you want to call it that is evolving. Pete Ramey and other barefoot leaders endorse new generation hoof boots as "the horseshoes of the 21st century", to quote Pete. I cringe when I hear this. Such a statement places even more of a stigma on traditional horseshoes and a lot of peer pressure on owners from "barn nazis" to pull those evil shoes off a horse.

To be successful, the barefoot option has to be more than fashion, and saddling up a lame horse to go riding in hoof boots that may or may not fit is a new form of equine abuse that no one is talking about yet. I'd like to see people like Pete encourage boot use for long rides or rough conditions, not for every day use on a sore-footed horse as an alternative to traditional shoes and certainly not for turnout. A "2 butes + boots = ok to ride" formula is not much of an improvement.

I think of barefoot horses as the equine equivalent of hybrid cars: it's not enough just to have a car that saves gas, especially if the rest of your lifestyle includes an energy-guzzling home, boat and RV. Some people buy a hybrid to look cool or to save money for the drive to work in the morning without buying into the bigger commitment of living more lightly on the earth in terms of energy consumption.

Hoof boots are cool now. They also hide the hoof they are designed to help and no one but the rider knows what lies beneath or how raw those heel bulbs will be when the boot is finally pulled off. I've seen riders trade boots between horses that didn't have the same size or shape of feet. I've seen people put them on without cleaning them out. I've seen hairless coronets, dangling straps, and boots left on for days on turned-out horses.

One of my favorite stories is from years ago when I was at a boarding barn. The Old Macs boots had just come out and a wealthy boarder had bought four, to go all around her sore-footed barefoot horse. The boots seemed to fit and she rode off one afternoon.

She came back quite soon and seemed visibly shaken. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, “It’s those boots. He was raring to go. Geez, you know, I don’t think I’m a good enough rider to head out on a sound horse.”

A sound barefoot horse should always be the goal and I hope that part of Pete's message doesn't get lost. Read this article, it is important. Horse and Rider should be available on most newsstands and in tack shops.

Eleanor Green: First Woman President of the AAEP Takes Office for 2008

Eleanor Green, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP, of Gainesville, Florida, was installed as the 54th president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners during the group’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida on December 4, 2007. She will serve through 2008 and becomes the first female veterinarian to lead the association.

With a distinguished career in academia, Dr. Green currently is a professor and chair of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. She also is the chief of staff of the college’s Large Animal Veterinary Medical Center. Dr. Green previously was a member of the veterinary faculties at Mississippi State University, the University of Missouri and the University of Tennessee and also has experience in private practice.

Under Dr. Green's leadership, the University of Florida is actively promoting staff farrier services. The university's web site devotes a page to the bio of staff farrier Mr. Adam Whitehead, who recently attended the Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot in West Palm Beach, Florida and is a Hoofcare and Lameness Journal subscriber.

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British Farrier Gary Darlow Honored by Leading Horse Charity

From England's Horse Trust (formerly the Home of Rest for Horses) comes this photo and news of a special honor given to one of Britain's leading international competitors:

British farrier Gary Darlow of Meadow Bank Farm in Over Peover, Knutsford, England is the first Horse Trust Open Farriery Champion.

Gary won the award, which included a perpetual rose bowl trophy and a check for £250, in a farriery contest recently at the British Army Farrier School at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. Competitors were required to participate in two classes -- Hunter shoeing and Therapeutic shoeing. Points were awarded for each class and Gary was the overall winner.

Gary, who treats riding ponies, polo ponies, hunters and Shire horses throughout Cheshire, England, learned the profession in the mid-1970s; he is now 48 years old. He has, he says, been competing ever since.

"For the apprentices and other farriers, contests are a fantastic learning curve. I've learned more by competing than from anything else," he says. "You get the best people in the world at competitions and you can learn from watching them. Most of those who compete are very good at what they do but are not recognized for it outside the farrier industry.

"Some of these lads, the practicing they do at home is amazing," Gary added. "Some of these shoes are very complicated to make, because there are so many different sorts of shoes and you have to practice them all. You may know before the competition what you will be asked to do, but you have to spend hours beforehand practicing to reach the standard. Competing at horseshoeing is like any other event: if you don’t practice you won't get there."

He was thrilled by the letter from The Horse Trust following the awards ceremony. Paul Jepson, chief executive of the Trust, wrote: "I can think of no one who has demonstrated a more consistently high standard of farriery over many years and you are a worthy champion."

Note: The Horse Trust was established in 1886 and is the oldest equine charity in the world. They are leading funding source in the UK for research into strangles, sweet itch, ragwort poisoning, colic and laminitis and fund many meetings and horse health initiatives. Over £20 million (approx. $40 million US) has been invested by the Trust in research and education.

AAEP Convention Trade Show Report: Pergolide in Treats for Cushings Horses

Wedgewood Pharmacy has introduced peppermint- and alfalfa-flavored Pergolide for Cushngs-affected horses in Gourmeds(TM) dosage form. Gourmeds are chewable, naturally-flavored tablets that are easy to administer -- and tasty as a treat. Gourmeds also is an economical medication form that costs about one-half the price of Pergolide in suspension form.

Pergolide mesylate, a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease in humans, was withdrawn voluntarily from the market in March 2007 because it was reported to carry a risk of serious heart-valve damage in humans. Equine veterinarians also prescribe the drug for horses with equine Cushing's Syndrome.

The withdrawal of the drug for human use had an unintended but serious side effect in barns, stables and pastures throughout the United States and left equine veterinarians scrambling for an alternative -- and legal -- source of this critical medicine.

Under the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994, veterinarians are permitted to prescribe drugs intended for human use in "extra-label" uses in animals. According to the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), compounding pergolide from bulk substances for animal use is permitted in response to a valid veterinary prescription to treat an affected horse. The FDA was sufficiently concerned about the market withdrawal of pergolide that it announced that it will "work with sponsors interested in seeking approval of a new animal drug application for the use of pergolide to treat Cushing's Syndrome in horses," according to Wedgewood.

Gourmeds are now available to veterinarians in the United States.

Quite a View: Fetal Feet from New Book "Hoof Problems"

Here's one of my favorite images from the new book "Hoof Problems". Do you have your copy yet? We sold out at Cornell vet school's farrier conference but have plenty more in stock now!

Click here for more information.

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Sue Dyson Will Present New Information on Imaging for Foot Lameness at AAEP Convention

Dr. Dyson specializes in sport horses at a leading diagnostic referral clinic in England.

Sue Dyson MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, Head of Clinical Orthopaedics at the Animal Health Trust equine unit in Newmarket, England will present an in-depth three hour presentation on Tuesday, December 4 at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Co-presenting with Dr. Dyson will be Kent Allen DVM of Virginia Equine Imaging.

The title of the program is “Lameness and Diagnostic Image in the Sports Horse: Recent Advances Related to the Digit” and it will be a case-by-case presentation between the two experts.

Dr. Dyson is known in the foot world for her meticulous diagnostic procedures and her documentation of imaging techniques, particularly in the foot. In recent years, she has made tremendous strides by using Scintigraphy and MRI to confirm or debunk the diagnosis of navicular disease in certain horses.

Her article in Hoofcare and Lameness #79 documented lesions in the deep digital flexor tendon that were treatable with rest and therapy. Many “navicular” horses have been re-evaluated since MRI has been in use, thanks to Dr. Dyson’s documentation. The tendon tear findings also explain why some horses appear to recover from navicular disease after being turned out to pasture and why other horses may not respond to certain types of medications.

Click here to download a PDF file of an article from the Equine Veterinary Journal by Dr. Dyson documenting 199 scans of equine feet. The file name will be EVJ07_39_340_343.pdf.

Sue obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) for her thesis on shoulder lameness in the horse. She holds the RCVS Diploma in Equine Surgery (Orthopaedics) and is a recognized Specialist of the RCVS. She obtained a PhD from the University of Helsinki for a thesis on lameness diagnosis.

Sue Dyson is co-author of the textbook Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse and a consulting editor to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Her newest article is on the subtleties of identifying multiple limb lameness in horses.

Sue is a past President of the British Equine Veterinary Association. She has also ridden at top national level in both eventing and show jumping and has produced horses that have subsequently competed at the Olympics and World Championships.

Any opportunity to hear her speak is a gift. See you there.

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