Friends at Work: Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

British farrier Pete Wherret DipWCF showed up in a New Zealand newspaper today. He’s in Hawke's Bay, seeing to the hooves of the 700 polo ponies in town for the Dewars Cup. Read the article about the inter-Equatorial polo-specialist farrier (and the tournament) here.

Note: “Friends At Work” is a regular feature of the Hoof Blog. When newspapers and web sites alert us to features on our hard-working readers and friends, I sometimes can figure out how to link to the story and share the photo with blog readers. Preference is given to people who aren’t normally in the news…and the more exotic the locale, the better! Scroll down the blog to read more "Friends at Work" posts from all over the world. You could be next!

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USEF Rule Requires Heel Measurements on Some Hackney Roadsters

This is the USEF official diagram of measuring heel length, according to the rule book. "Heel length" may be a misnomer; what is actually being measured is hairline distance from the ground, since the heel angle can be exaggerated (high or low) and identical hair line heights may be paired to radically different heel lengths.

Received from USEF's Stacey Meier, posted here for general public information

Lexington, KY— The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has selected the six competitions which will be required to take heel measurements from the first and fourth place ponies in Roadster and Hackney Roadster Pony Championships. The 2008 competitions include:

J. D. Massey Classic - Pendleton, SC (April 16-19)
Des Moines Springfest - Des Moines, IA (April 24-27)
Syracuse International - Syracuse, NY (June 25-28)
Lexington Junior League - Lexington, KY (July 7-12)
Kentucky State Fair - Louisville, KY (August 17-23)
UPHA/American Royal - Kansas City, MO (November 18-22)

Prior to these show dates, competition managers, secretaries and stewards will receive informational packets that will explain all procedures and policies regarding USEF rules HK116.3. and RD112.2 which state:

“All Hackney Roadster and Roadster Ponies must be re-measured and issued new measurement cards prior to competing in licensed competitions for the year 2004 and beyond. In all Hackney Roadster or Roadster Pony championship/stake classes (except Junior divisions) at selected USEF competitions which will be notified in writing by USEF, the first place and fourth place ponies must allow a heel measurement to be taken immediately following the class to verify the heel measurement is at or below what is indicated on the current measurement card; a copy of which must be on file in the show office prior to the pony competing.

"The heel measurement will be taken by the competition steward at a location determined by the measuring official and competition management. The heel measurement must be taken from the left bulb of the left front heel, from the skin line on the lower side of the coronary band with the ruler perpendicular to the flat surface. It is the trainer's or driver's decision and responsibility to determine if the pony will be hitched or unhitched for this measurement. If the heel measurement is higher than the measurement on the pony's USEF measurement card, an overall height measurement must be performed by two measuring officials (See GR502.4) no later than one hour following the end of the session at the designated location.

"Any entry that exceeds the legal height limit will forfeit winnings in that class. In the event there are fewer than four ponies in a class, the pony occupying the final placing will be measured. In the event of an emergency and the steward is unavailable to take the heel measurement immediately, competition management must appoint a representative to remain with the pony until the heel measurement can occur.”

Any questions regarding these USEF rules or the 2008 competitions selected should be directed to Carrie Mortensen at the USEF office via email at cmortensen@usef.org or by calling (859) 225-6986.

Speed Skater vs. Rough Shod Icelandic Horse: Place Your Bets!

Claudia Pechstein may be in for a surprise on March 8th. The former world champion in speed skating has won five Olympic gold medals, two silver and two bronze...but has she ever skated against a horse wearing studded shoes?

At the European Championship on Ice, which will be held in Berlin, some of the best Icelandic horses in Europe will be tolting at high speed against each other, but there will also be held a very exciting speed duel between Pechstein and a pacing horse.

Pechstein is featured on a video on YouTube skating backwards; she even looks fast that way. I hope they clip those furry Icelandics to cut down on wind resistance. Claudia doesn't seem to have any.

These horse can fly across the ice, it should be a great race! They wear sharp-studded shoes. Not far from here, harness races are held on the frozen lakes in Maine in winter. Those horses allegedly wear shoes with a continuous outside "sharp" rim.

Photos below from the Icehorse event web site.

Too Fat? Too Thin? British Court Faces Conflict Over "Abused" Horse with Cushings Disease

A magistrate in Norwich, England is learning a lot about Cushings disease this week, according to newspaper reports. A pony seized by animal welfare officials had been a family pet for 20 years. Following their veterinarian's advice, the owners kept the pony in a very lean condition score to prevent laminitis as a complication of the Cushings disease that the pony suffered.

The pony had already suffered laminitis.

The owners said they were quite surprised when animal welfare authorities seized the pony, claiming it was emaciated. The pony was sound at the time of seizure.

The pony's veterinarian testified in court that the condition of the pony was not abusively thin, and that the owners were trying to be kind to the pony and avoid a recurrence of laminitis.

According to newspaper reports, the vet representing the animal welfare agency testified that the horse had suffered muscle wastage and fat loss as a result of poor care.

In the USA a few years ago, a well-meaning welfare agency seized two thin ponies in New Jersey. The owner claimed they were being kept intentionally lean to avoid laminitis. The welfare agency, wanting to be kind, plumped up the ponies while they were in custody. The ponies developed laminitis and the owner sued the welfare agency.

In other court cases this year in Britain, horse owners were prosecuted for allowing horses to become too fat, putting them at risk for laminitis.

Politics on All Levels: Smear Campaign in Farrier Election

Mike Miller AWCF of Alabama sent a scan of a post card sent to farriers in the southeastern United States recently. Mike is a candidate for the board of the American Farrier's Association and was the target of a hate-mail campaign designed to cost him votes.

Mike, who is also an M.D., is an unabashed and unapologetic supporter of some type of registration of farriers in the United States.

New Book Announcement: Therapeutic Farriery Available from Hoofcare Books

Therapeutic Farriery: A Manual for Veterinarians and Farriers by Yehuda Avisar has made its way east.

"Yudi" may not have a name that is a household word in vet/farrier circles, but I don't know of many well-known experts who would have the time and perseverance to complete a project like this. He has paid his dues; this Israeli-born veterinarian worked as a farrier at the side of the legendary Charles Heumphreus, longtime resident farrier at the University of California at Davis' vet school, and many of the photos in the book show examples of his work on cases at the school.

This new book is very well-researched and referenced. Many of the photos look dated because they are from the Heumphreus archive, but this is the closest thing we have had to an actual new textbook on farriery in many years. You won't find banana shoes or plastic shoes or inflatable hoof pads or even Natural Balance shoes. There are no justifications for hoof balance theories and hardly a word about wild horses.

If there is such a thing as a subjective science, hoof science is it. Every author is noted for his exclusions and his biases and this book is no different in that respect. And the cases are all illustrative of the dry California hoof, something that has been missing from hoof reference books to date. The author's specific division of hoof problems into subsets is inspiring--he even has separated heel dermatitis from foot mange and defines things like "false quarter". He gives references to people like Don Birdsall, a California farrier who was way ahead of his time in "mapping" the foot and studying coronary contour and dedicates a small section to the oft-overlooked (or misdiagnosed) problem of coronitis. Most interesting to me was a section on frostbite and, conversely, burns in the hoof caused by power tools or resin curing.

One could use this book to reference many concepts in farriery and find both text and clear diagrams to back up a certain technique. It would make an excellent textbook for a college or professional course, and I think that may the author's intent. The book is nicely designed, with references in color to offset them from the text.

The tendency in farrier publishing is for an ever-rising standard of photography and graphics, thanks to the influence of talented visually-oriented people like Chris Pollitt. This book takes a step or two backward, to the text-centric, footnoted reference books of the pre-Internet, pre-PowerPoint age. When you need a reference book, this book can be a treasure on your bookshelf.

Therapeutic Farriery costs $90. You can order it from Hoofcare & Lameness; please include $6 for post in the USA and $13 for post to most other countries. It is hardcover, 292 pages, and is fully indexed and illustrated. Click here for a printable, faxable/mailable order form, or send an email with Visa/Mastercard info and your full name and address to books@hoofcare.com

And how's your book coming?