Clinical Farriery: New Book from German Farrier Leader

It's foaling season all over the Northern Hemisphere: these post-mortem photos are a reminder of the amazing process that creates the hoof from very soft tissue. Photos provided by Uwe Lukas.

It is a pleasure to announce the publication of a new book on farriery. Gesunde Hufe--kein Zufal! by Uwe Lukas was published recently by FN Verlag in Germany and my copy finally floated over to these shores.

The title translates to: "Hoof Recovery: No Accident" (sort of), meaning that hoof rehabilitation, the author's specialty, requires skill, experience, and a plan. I am sure someone will leave a comment with a better translation.

Uwe is the chairman of the Erster Hufbeschlagsschmiede Verband (EDHV), a.k.a. the German farriers association. His client list reads like a "who's who" of international dressage and show jumping, but his heart seems to be back at the vet clinic; he is the farrier at Tierärztliche Klinik Telgte (Telgte Equine Hospital and surgical center) and is based in Warendorf, the site of the state stud of the Westphalian breed. He also "rehabs" horses by offering long-term residential care at his forge, especially for laminitis cases.

While most Americans will be scared away by the German text, the photos in the book are compelling. The foal correction and sport horse shoeing images are among the most instructive without translation, but it is fascinating to see that the bulk of the book is therapeutic cases that are treated with the most high-tech support materials (Vettec and Luwex hoof support materials earn a big thumbs-up from Uwe) but also the most basic German-type Werkman and Kerckhaert shoes and big e-head nails.

As in the Hoof Problems book by Rob Van Nassau from Holland, this book has many detailed cases of canker, various types of "loose wall" conditions, coronitis and nasty quarter cracks. It's hard to say if those problems are more prevalent in Europe or if both authors had access to unusually severe cases.

I know this blog is read around the world, and some readers can surely read German (or live there), so please consider purchasing this book. I have a shelf of German farrier and hufpflege (hoof nurse) books, but this one seems by far the most contemporary, and breaks some of the stereotypes about traditional German farriery. Surely we are evolving to an international playing field where it will become harder and harder to discern the nationality of the farrier by looking at the shoe, just as the warmblood horses themselves are now so hard to identify by nationality.

Aluminum shoes may be the last frontier between American and European farriers. The only aluminum shoe in Uwe's book is a lovely ultra-toe specimen attributed to Dr. Jean-Marie Denoix of France.

A unique part of the book explains how to clean feet; the text goes on for quite a while about tidiness in the stable. As Uwe cleans a foot, there's an explanation of how to use bucket underneath to catch the water and keep the floor clean. All the settings for the photos are very tidy.

Uwe's book is published by FN Verlag, the national equestrian association in Germany, and may be purchased through their web site's bookshop.

Thanks to Uwe and the EHDV for all the help they give to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal.

Cheltenham Runner is No Relation to Blogger

Thanks to everyone who has suggested placing a Transatlantic wager on the Scottish horse Big Eared Fran, who is entered in the Cheltenham Festival's Championship Bumper this week. The Festival is the biggest jump racing event in the year's calendar in the UK and creates quite a frenzy.

Big Eared Fran is by the famous flat racing sire Danehill and originally was destined for flat racing with the Coolmore Stud but has changed hands (and racing genres). Trained by the legendary Martin Pipe, the horse is named for his current part owner, former England and Rangers football player Francis Jeffers.

A win by a Scottish-owned horse at "the biggest show on turf" would be a Seriously Big Deal, since the festival is normally dominated by Irish horses and trainers.

The horses to watch are the super star Kauto Star and his stablemate Denman, both entered in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Kauto Star is recovering from a foot abscess but is expected to start.

Cheltenham is in the scenic Cotswolds district of England, west of London. To make the festival more challenging, southern England is bracing for the arrival of the storm that swept across the USA this weekend. Gale-force winds and torrential rains are predicted, which will make the "going" soft and deep, which is tough on jumping horses attempting Cheltenham's long, long course of what we Americans would call brush jumps.

Animal rights advocates are highly critical of the number of horses injured and killed at Cheltenham each year. During the 2006 Festival, 11 horses perished in just four days. In protest, a woman dressed in black gothic robes representing a mourning costume will be present at the Festival. She will be wearing a wide-brimmed hat that features a model racehorse tumbling over a hurdle.

Cheltenham is also noteworthy for its popular amateurs-to-ride races.

Favorite Video Clip: The Show-Off Jumper

Thanks to June Evers of Horse Hollow Press in New York for forwarding this clip of a young Belgian jump prospect. Assuming that this horse didn't break or rupture anything when he landed is testimony to the miraculous design of the equine limb.

The horse, whose name is Gesalme, is said to by Espom Gesmeray (you may remember him from the Athens Olympics in 2004) and is promoted by Béligneux-le-Haras.

Another Country Heard From: Hoof Project Research Center Grows in Texas

Dr. David Hood, director of The Hoof Project, at a recent seminar.

News from Texas is that the new Hoof Project Clinic and research center in Bryan, near College Station, is humming with activity. The clinic is open for the treatment of laminitic horses, and David Hood DVM, PhD is actively directing a team of researchers involved in 14 different studies related to laminitis.

Dr. Hood reports that 35 horses are in residence at the center, either in treatment or for use in studies, which include biomechanics, circulation, metabolism/nutrition, and laminitis pathology. Studies are particularly interested in the pain experienced by horses suffering from laminitis; Hood hopes to not just find ways to relieve the pain but also to determine the nature and source of the pain in order to prevent it.

His previous studies documented that horses with lamintiis suffer from secondary sources of pain. Changes in stance, posture, and gait affect tendons and ligaments in the legs, and joint angles may be altered, leading to arthritis. Even back and neck pain can develop in horses that are standing in abnormal positions for long periods of time. The fact that a horse has chronic laminitis may predispose it other co-existing lamenesses, such as ringbone, collateral ligament injuries, sheared heels, or navicular damage caused by long-term hoof capsule deformation and abnormally high heels.

Watch for announcements from The Hoof Project for the first series of seminars on hoof science to be held at the new facility.

UPenn Laminitis Research Project Hopes to Clarify the Mechanism of Developmental Laminitis

Dr. Hannah Galantino-Homer, senior research investigator of the newly created laminitis research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, is beginning her research in 2008 with a grant from Grayson Jockey Club Foundation.

“Molecular and Cellular Level Studies of Laminitis” is the title of the project.

Currently, laminitis still is so baffling to scientists that researchers tend to be split into two camps (theories) as to cause of the problem — vascular and enzymatic.

“The lack of agreement about the basic pathophysiology of laminitis explains why standard guidelines for therapy are not yet available,” noted Dr. Galantino-Homer in her research statement.

If this project can identify which specific genes and proteins are up-regulated or down-regulated during the first phase of the disease — when identifiable symptoms are not yet manifested — it “will determine the pathways of the disease and allow institution of preventive or interventional treatments sooner,” according to Galantino-Homer.

The first phase of laminitis, the developmental phase, is followed, of course, by the acute phase. One of the frustrations of dealing with the disease is that often by the time it is diagnosed, the horse may be gravely threatened.

Galantino-Homer believes the study “will provide information that we and other investigators can use to verify or elaborate on existing theories about laminitis, explore previously unrecognized cellular and molecular events during laminitis, and validate in vitro models of laminitis.” The latter will facilitate research projects that do not require laminitic horses.

Click here for information about Galantino-Homer's appointment at PennVet.

"Lucky" Horseshoes in India Are Not So Lucky for the Horse

In India, shoes from black horses are considered lucky, meaning many horses are continually and carelessly re-shod by poor owners simply to feed the "lucky horseshoe" trade. Yes, it has to be a shoe from a black horse.

Vets from the international equine charity "The Brooke" (Brooke Hospital) in Delhi witnessed this in a black horse called Kalu, who was brought to them in pitiable condition. Kalu had overgrown, cracked and severely damaged hooves caused by years of re-shoeing (but not necessarily re-trimming) and was suffering chronic foot pain.

Brooke vets helped the horse and taught his owner, Bhoora, better shoeing skills, although he looks like he is pointing a very sharp object at Kalu's sole in this photo.

"Now Kalu is happy to be with me," says a grateful Bhoora.

Here's a link to a spiritual web site in India that will send you a horseshoe from a black horse in India for $6.95. They explain the legend, which is similar to the Western superstition about horseshoes. But they also claim that a horseshoe is good Feng Shui. A lot of Freisian and Percheron owners are doing the math...

The Brooke’s mobile vet teams and community animal health workers, and partner organizations worldwide provide free treatment to animals and train animal owners, local healers, farriers, saddlers, feed sellers, harness and cart makers. They currently operate across nine countries in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Middle East with over 750 highly-skilled staff working directly in the field.

The Brooke Hospital was organized in Cairo, Egypt in the 1930s to assist in the care of thousands of surviving American, Australian and British military horses that had been abandoned there at the end of World War I. Their reward for gallant service in war was a lifetime of hard labor on the streets of Cairo and as they aged, their health suffered terribly. However, the horses were so valuable to their owners' survival that the only humanitarian recourse was a campaign to improve their health. A first equine hospital was built...and the rest is history.
Please support the efforts of charitable organizations who put teams of professionals in the field and at disaster sites to help horses. Some day they might show up to help you.