Rags-to-Breeding Shed: Thanks for the Memories

Rags to Riches in Saratoga last summer. Photo by Fran Jurga, no use without permission, which is easy to obtain.

There were plenty of riches along the way, but 2007's top filly, Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches is leaving the racetrack forever. Trainer Todd Pletcher announced today that she re-injured her pastern, which just healed from a hairline fracture.

Thousands of American racing fans and horse lovers simultaneously sighed when the news hit.

After a combination of fevers, injuries and a dismal return to racing for a single race last fall, Rags seemed destined to live in her own shadow. Did she run her heart right out when she battled 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin to the wire in the Belmont last June (and beat him, after running a mile-and-a-half)?

We'll never know. But Curlin came back and regained his winning ways. There was never a re-match between the top filly and top colt. He'll run this weekend in the Dubai World Cup and hopefully will return to the States for the Grade 1 older horses stakes circuit this summer.

I know what you're thinking and I agree. Rags will be bred immediately to Giant's Causeway, a top sire and a stunning racehorse. But maybe in a year or two, let's hope the Ashford Stud powers-that-be have a romantic side and breed her to Curlin once he retires (hopefully, safe and sound). But I'm happy to watch him race for as many years as his connections will let him.

Rags was great for racing, while she lasted. She even had her own blog. I'm sure hers got a lot more traffic than mine...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

You can relax now, filly.

New Podiatry Center Set to Open in Texas

Dr. Conklin with the famous Quarter horse mare Royal Blue Boon, who was one of his patients when she suffered from laminitis. The mare is the leading dam of cutting horses, and the dam of the great Peptoboonsmal. "She is living out her days at her owners' ranch, is virtually pain free from the laminitis and hasn't had any complications in over a year. She has arthritis but gets along really good for being 27 years old," says Conklin's technician, Kelsey Bohannon.

In just a week, the doors will open on a new podiatry center in the heart of cutting horse country in Weathersford, Texas, west of Fort Worth.

The 3,000 square foot, climate-controlled Podiatry Center at Reata will be the realization of a lifelong dream for Dr. Britt Conklin, a certified farrier and equine-specialist veterinarian, when it opens on April 1, 2008.

The new facility includes a complete farrier shop, several treatment areas, four stalls and a conference room. Clients will have the benefit of state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment such as Eklin digital radiography, venograms, GE Logiq 5 Ultrasound, MRI and bone scan modality access. Local farriers will have access to the facilities and diagnostic equipment to allow them to better serve the needs of their clients.

Cutting-edge treatments and services will include shock wave therapy, IRAP, stem cell therapy, sling and high scale bedding parameters, and customized diet, nutrition and rehabilitation plans for patients.

“We are excited about the opportunities The Podiatry Center at Reata will offer Texas horsemen,” said Conklin. “A top-notch equine podiatry center has been a goal of mine for many years. Having such a center available and easily accessible will allow us to better serve the horses by offering the best possible care and treatment of all hoof problems.”

Dr. Conklin worked as a farrier to put himself through undergraduate school at Texas Tech University and attended veterinary school at Texas A & M University. While at A&M, he apprenticed under Danny Taylor CJF, PhD, who in turn worked in conjunction with Dr. David Hood on "The Hoof Project"; Taylor earned his PhD for his research in the biomechanics of the equine foot’s digital cushion.

Dr. Conklin is co-owner of Reata Equine Hospital, and he has dedicated the majority of his practice to equine podiatry. He is very passionate in his research and is continually working to find new and more improved ways to prevent and treat laminitis.

“We do 90 percent of our work on cutting/reining horses, but have several dressage/eventing barns as well,” Dr. Conklin writes.

Reata Equine Hospital is a seven-doctor referral practice, located five miles south of I-20 in Weatherford, Texas. It houses complete reproductive, surgical, sports medicine facilities in addition to the new podiatry center. Veterinarians on staff include a board certified theriogenologist, surgeon, and certified farrier.

For additional information on The Podiatry Center at Reata, please contact Kelsey Bohannon by phone at 817-599-9635 or via e-mail at brittconklindvm@reataequinehospital.com.

Dr. Conklin bandages a patient's legs.

American Farrier's Association to Provide Farriers for 2010 Games

(Note: this is an official press release received today from the World Equestrian Games 2010 Foundation, confirming news reports previously published on this blog. It is published in its entirety without edits or interpretation and contains no graphic symbols or images.)

LEXINGTON, KY- The World Games 2010 Foundation today announced that the American Farrier's Association has been named the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

As the Official Certified Farriers, the American Farrier's Association will provide a farriery on the venue grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park from September 11 until October 10, 2010. Two farriers will be on site per day for the two weeks prior to the Games, and up to six farriers will be on site daily during the 16 days of competition, depending on the event schedule. Athletes will be charged on an individual basis for farrier services according to their needs.

"We are so pleased to have this partnership with the American Farrier's Association," said Competition Director Kate Jackson. "We know that the equine athletes competing in these world championships will be in professional and skilled hands."

"Naming the American Farrier's Association as the Official Certified Farriers of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games constitutes a true honor for our organization. While this event showcases competition, it's genuinely built upon cooperation, and our association is pleased to be a part of this international effort that will bring us together in Lexington," said Andrew Elsbree, CJF, President, American Farrier's Association. "We look forward to 2010 and the opportunity for our AFA Certified Farriers to offer participants the finest in hoofcare services."

Headquartered in the Kentucky Horse Park's National Horse Center, the American Farrier's Association (AFA) focuses on improving equine welfare through excellence in the practice of hoofcare and farriery. As North America's premier farrier organization, the AFA centers upon five basic tenets: certification, education, communication, research, and innovation. Working through the AFA's education and certification programs, AFA farriers provide exceptional, professional services for horses and the people who use and enjoy them.

"Many of the horses competing in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be there, in part, due to the ongoing, exceptional work of AFA Certified Farriers," said Elsbree. "We are honored to have the opportunity to continue providing excellent care throughout the Games."

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park September 25-October 10, 2010, are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and are held every four years. The Games have never before been held outside of Europe, nor have all eight disciplines ever previously been held together at a single site- both firsts that will be achieved at the Kentucky Horse Park. The 2010 Games are expected to have a statewide economic impact of $150 million. It is anticipated that more than 600,000 spectators will attend the 16-day competition.

The Humane Society of the United States Announces $10,000 Reward for Information on Horse Soring in Tennessee

(this is an abbreviated version of an HSUS press release received March 18, 2008)

The Humane Society of the United States has announced it will offer a reward of $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any violator of Tennessee's "horse soring" law, which prohibits the deliberate infliction of pain to horses' feet to produce an artificially high-stepping gait.

Ads announcing the reward will appear throughout middle Tennessee, an area still believed to be a hotbed of soring activity.

The soring of Tennessee Walking Horses and other breeds of gaited show horses is one of the most heinous forms of abuse inflicted upon equines in the U.S. The practice involves the use of caustic chemicals and chains on the legs of the horse, creating severe pain and forcing an exaggerated, high-stepping gait.

Pressure shoeing — another especially egregious form of soring — is the abusive technique of cutting a horse's hoof almost to the bloodline so the shoe puts painful pressure on the horse's sole with each stride. In some instances, foreign objects are placed between the hoof and the shoe to create painful pressure on the sole.

Passage of a federal law (the 1970 Horse Protection Act) has not had the intended effect of eliminating soring. Tennessee also has a state law prohibiting soring, but enforcement of these laws has proven difficult.

Anyone with information on this cruel practice should call 1-866-411-TEAM (8326). The Humane Society of the United States will protect the identity of all callers.

(Editor's note: please read this announcement carefully: this reward apparently only applies to alleged violations within the state of Tennessee)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Have some fun today! This photo is from sport.yahoo.com's coverage of this year's Cheltenham Festival of steeplechase racing in England.

Hoof Blog Retrospective: Slide Show for the 500th Article Published

Photo highlights from the first 500 posts on Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog.

Sometimes a good idea sticks, and that has been the story with this blog. We now have 500 stories posted here and hundreds of people visit this blog daily...from every corner of the planet. Most zip in to grab details of a single story (Tildren and collateral ligament injuries are always at the top of the list) or watch a video. Others, mostly loyal Hoofcare and Lameness Journal subscribers, start at the top and read the new posts each day.

An uncountable number of people read this blog by email now and many more read an RSS feed of the headlines on their Yahoo/Google/AOL newsreader pages (but miss all the photos and videos). This blog now have a "widget" of code that will display the headlines on anyone's web site or blog (just ask).

No matter how they read it, people do read it. I know because so many leave encouraging or disparaging remarks, usually by email. These remarks either make or break my day.

The only thing that gets me up in the morning (or keeps me up late at night) to post these stories is the positive feedback from the people who tell me that they check the blog before they head out off to work or the barn/track/forge/clinic or when they get home at night. That, and wanting to share with you all the news of the hoof.

It's just too interesting to keep to myself.

Thank you all for reading and for the emails and occasional comments. Thanks for being patient about the erratic publishing schedule of Hoofcare and Lameness. Thanks for being not passive readers of the news, but the makers of the news. This blog is yours.

All HoofBlog text and images © Hoofcare Publishing 2008 unless otherwise noted.

To learn more about new research, products, and treatments for the horse's hooves and legs as reported to veterinarians and farriers in the award-winning "Hoofcare & Lameness Journal",
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