Posted by Fran Jurga | 15 November 2008 | © www.hoofcare.blogspot.com
This post contains an embedded multimedia file and may open slowly. It's worth the wait!
At the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego, attendees will be able to meet German veterinarian and anatomist Christoph von Horst in the Hoofcare and Lameness booth. This will be the first time that equine plastination anatomical models will be shown in North America! The majority of the equine plastination models are of hoof tissue, but you will also see in this slide show a tissue slice from a horse's head.
Plastination is a preservation technique. You may have seen or heard about the blockbuster museum exhibit that has been traveling the world, called Body World. Dr. Von Horst is an anatomy specialist who uses the same procedure not to shock the public or create controversy, but to preserve delicate slices of tissue for intense study of equine anatomy.
Serendipitously, he has created hauntingly beautiful images and models that cross the line into art. His images of the hoof's laminae were selected for display this summer at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, New York. Was it art or was it veterinary science? It looked like a spectacular sunrise coming up not over the curvature of the earth but the curve of the coffin bone!
Dr. Von Horst will be bringing some samples of his work in the form of both two- and three-dimensional models for sale. Many of his tissue extractions are cased in lucite for long-term preservation and study. I do not know what he is planning to bring but I know it will be a beautiful display--and turn our booth into a museum! You will be able to purchase examples that are for sale.
Be sure to visit www.plastinate.com to learn more about Dr. Von Horst and his work.
I know that many of Hoofcare and Lameness's subscribers and friends will be joining us in San Diego for the AAEP convention, beginning December 7th. There is a half day of lameness lectures each day, and a full day of farrier lectures on Wednesday, December 10th. Add those educational opportunities to the prospect of browsing through the largest trade show on earth dedicated to horse health products and services (you really can't see the whole show in one day) and you can see why this event is the one we have been waiting for through all of 2008.
Having Dr. von Horst visiting with hoof and anatomy afficianados in our booth each day will be a huge bonus. Over the next three weeks, this blog will be featuring many of the speakers and exhibitors and new products that will be making the trip to San Diego. Just a few of the speakers familiar to Hoofcare and Lameness readers are vet/farrier Dr. Hans Castilijns from Italy, farriers Dave Duckett FWCF and John Suttle, and hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay. (And that is just the tip of a wonderful iceberg!) We all look forward to seeing you and sharing this great experience with you.
Please download and study the AAEP Convention web site's schedule of the veterinary and farrier programs. Click here to preview the trade show, which will be open all day, Sunday through Wednesday.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. All images in this post loaned by HC Biovision and www.plastinate.com. No use without permission.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Big Brown's Famous Hooves Find a New Kentucky Home
Posted on Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog | 10 November 2008
Guess who?
The most famous feet in the horse world touched down on their new Kentucky home last week, as more than 500 guests were on hand for a "Big Brown Bag Lunch" to welcome Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky.
Big Brown will stand at the elegant farm for a fee of $65.000. The farm was the former home of champions like Seattle Slew and is currently home to Point Given, Smarty Jones, Dynaformer, Sky Mesa and other top Thoroughbreds.
A report by Glenye Cain in the Daily Racing Form said that Big Brown's heel bulb injury, which caused his early retirement and withdrawal from the 2008 Breeders Cup, was "filled with soft putty" and that he was wearing a z-bar shoe.
Thanks to Jen Roytz, Marketing and Communications Director at Three Chimneys Farm for the loan of these photos which were taken by Gayle Ewadinger of Three Chimneys.
Big Brown received a Big Welcome on Wednesday when guests celebrated the Derby winner's return to Kentucky. He will stand at stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are usually easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science may also be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Guess who?The most famous feet in the horse world touched down on their new Kentucky home last week, as more than 500 guests were on hand for a "Big Brown Bag Lunch" to welcome Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky.
Big Brown will stand at the elegant farm for a fee of $65.000. The farm was the former home of champions like Seattle Slew and is currently home to Point Given, Smarty Jones, Dynaformer, Sky Mesa and other top Thoroughbreds.
A report by Glenye Cain in the Daily Racing Form said that Big Brown's heel bulb injury, which caused his early retirement and withdrawal from the 2008 Breeders Cup, was "filled with soft putty" and that he was wearing a z-bar shoe.
Thanks to Jen Roytz, Marketing and Communications Director at Three Chimneys Farm for the loan of these photos which were taken by Gayle Ewadinger of Three Chimneys.
Big Brown received a Big Welcome on Wednesday when guests celebrated the Derby winner's return to Kentucky. He will stand at stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway.© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are usually easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science may also be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Foot Balance And Lameness Thesis Wins British Award
A study of foot balance and lameness in riding school horses has won the Royal Agricultural Society of England‟s "Eqvalan Duo Equine Thesis of the Year Award‟, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. The award is sponsored by Merial, manufacturers of the Eqvalan equine wormer.
On Friday, before a panel of academic and horse industry authorities, Laura Corbin from Warwickshire College in England reported on her research on riding school horses and described how she developed an objective system to evaluate foot balance. She found that horses with chronic foot conditions often had poor scores for foot balance and proposed that maintaining good foot balance could reduce lameness and provide long term economic benefits.
Laura is currently undertaking a studentship with the Roslin Institute and is at the University of Edinburgh in preparation for her PhD.
Her winning thesis “Foot Balance and Lameness in Riding School Horses”, was selected from research theses submitted by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Laura competed against four other finalists in a presentation of her study which the judges described as “fascinating and extremely useful information for the industry”.
Second prize winner was Charlotte White of Nottingham Trent University for her dissertation: "An investigation into the occlusal secondary dentine thickness in horses of different ages".
From the abstract for Corbin's thesis is this general summary:
"Inappropriate foot balance has been implicated as a causative factor in many instances of equine lameness. In this study, the static foot balance of 81 horses at two riding schools was evaluated in order to assess foot balance in relation to lameness.
"An objective system was used to assign a foot imbalance score to each horse based on the occurrence of the following foot abnormalities: sheared heels, underrun heels, contracted heels, broken hoof pastern axis, mismatched hoof angles and small feet, as assessed using specific measurements of the foot.
"The mean foot imbalance scores were 2.9 (± 1.0) for horses at Riding School A and 2.9 (± 1.2) for horses at Riding School B. (Minimum score = 0; maximum score = 6).
"Horses with chronic foot conditions were found to have significantly worse foot balance with respect to the foot abnormalities identified in this study (as indicated by a higher foot imbalance score) than those without.
"At one of the riding schools, horses that had been lame within the last year had significantly worse foot balance than other horses in the population.
"The results suggested that poor foot balance in riding school horses may contribute to the occurrence of lameness and the development of chronic foot conditions. Maintaining appropriate foot balance in riding school horses may therefore reduce the incidence of lameness and chronic foot conditions and could provide long-term economic benefits.
"Further investigations incorporating a greater number riding schools are necessary to confirm the results of this study; prospective studies would be of particular value."
Note: the abstract is a little vague about defining what a chronic foot condition is or how severe or longlasting the lameness conditions were. Hopefully the full paper will disclose a lot more about the methods and presumptions of this study. Congratulations to Laura for bringing the preventive value of good hoof balance to the attention of the public. Warwickshire College is home to one of Britain's leading farrier college programs.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are most often easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
On Friday, before a panel of academic and horse industry authorities, Laura Corbin from Warwickshire College in England reported on her research on riding school horses and described how she developed an objective system to evaluate foot balance. She found that horses with chronic foot conditions often had poor scores for foot balance and proposed that maintaining good foot balance could reduce lameness and provide long term economic benefits.
Laura is currently undertaking a studentship with the Roslin Institute and is at the University of Edinburgh in preparation for her PhD.
Her winning thesis “Foot Balance and Lameness in Riding School Horses”, was selected from research theses submitted by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Laura competed against four other finalists in a presentation of her study which the judges described as “fascinating and extremely useful information for the industry”.
Second prize winner was Charlotte White of Nottingham Trent University for her dissertation: "An investigation into the occlusal secondary dentine thickness in horses of different ages".
From the abstract for Corbin's thesis is this general summary:
"Inappropriate foot balance has been implicated as a causative factor in many instances of equine lameness. In this study, the static foot balance of 81 horses at two riding schools was evaluated in order to assess foot balance in relation to lameness.
"An objective system was used to assign a foot imbalance score to each horse based on the occurrence of the following foot abnormalities: sheared heels, underrun heels, contracted heels, broken hoof pastern axis, mismatched hoof angles and small feet, as assessed using specific measurements of the foot.
"The mean foot imbalance scores were 2.9 (± 1.0) for horses at Riding School A and 2.9 (± 1.2) for horses at Riding School B. (Minimum score = 0; maximum score = 6).
"Horses with chronic foot conditions were found to have significantly worse foot balance with respect to the foot abnormalities identified in this study (as indicated by a higher foot imbalance score) than those without.
"At one of the riding schools, horses that had been lame within the last year had significantly worse foot balance than other horses in the population.
"The results suggested that poor foot balance in riding school horses may contribute to the occurrence of lameness and the development of chronic foot conditions. Maintaining appropriate foot balance in riding school horses may therefore reduce the incidence of lameness and chronic foot conditions and could provide long-term economic benefits.
"Further investigations incorporating a greater number riding schools are necessary to confirm the results of this study; prospective studies would be of particular value."
Note: the abstract is a little vague about defining what a chronic foot condition is or how severe or longlasting the lameness conditions were. Hopefully the full paper will disclose a lot more about the methods and presumptions of this study. Congratulations to Laura for bringing the preventive value of good hoof balance to the attention of the public. Warwickshire College is home to one of Britain's leading farrier college programs.
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are most often easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Inaugural "Laminitis West" Seminar in California Well-Attended and Deemed a Resounding Success
(edited from a press release)
“The meeting by all measures was a resounding success,” stated James A. Orsini, DVM DACVS, one of three presenters at the inaugural Laminitis West Seminar, held November 1, 2008, at the Monterey Convention Center in Monterey, California. “We had expected approximately 100 attendees and exceeded that number, which tells me that the topic is viewed as being very important to veterinarians, farriers, and students, our future veterinarians, especially in a down economy.”
Dr. Orsini, a veterinarian and surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, is also the Director of the International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, which spawned the Laminitis West Seminar.
Dr. Orsini worked on the Laminitis West Seminar in conjunction with Dr. Tim Eastman and Dr. Nora Grenager of Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic in Salinas, California. Dr. Eastman served as the Laminitis West Seminar Director. Joining Dr. Orsini as presenters were Dr. Thomas J. Divers of Cornell University and farrier Patrick Reilly of the University of Pennsylvania.
“All the attendees I spoke with, veterinarians and farriers alike, were really excited by what they learned and were ready to go home and incorporate it into their practices,” noted Dr. Grenager. “It also certainly does not hurt that Monterey is a beautiful location to hold a meeting, and the Conference Center does a top-notch job. The excellent turnout and enthusiastic attendees were just proof of how much we need a laminitis conference on the West Coast.”
This premiere Laminitis West Seminar hosted 141 attendees including 55 veterinarians, 37 farriers, 21 students, 19 sponsors/exhibitors, and nine staff members. Dr. Orsini pointed out, “One of the very interesting facts and goals of this meeting was to encourage veterinarians and farriers to come to the meeting as a team. When I polled the audience, my estimate was that there were 10 to 12 combinations of veterinarians and farriers that registered together. Not only did they receive a savings in registration, but also – and most importantly – for the long term, this partnership encourages the ‘Team Laminitis’ approach to managing horses with laminitis.”
The 21 students at the Laminitis West Seminar were from the University of California/Davis. Of these students, two were scholarship recipients that competed for the Laminitis West scholarships. The scholarships were supported by a sponsorship from Merial and administered by Dr. Grenager. The scholarships were awarded to these students with the purpose and obligation of the students to return to their University/School and report on the latest information learned at the meeting.
Major sponsors were instrumental in the Seminar’s scope and success. “The support from our sponsors was outstanding and allowed the organizers to put together the highest quality meeting,” said Dr. Orsini. Sponsors included Merial, Sound Technologies, Purina Mills, Nutramax, Soft-Ride, Castle Bay Farm, UPS, Wachovia Dealer Services, Purina Mills, Intervet, Luitpold, Bayer, Platinum Performance, CVS/VET, Victor Medical Company, Pfizer Animal Health and Wedgwood Pharmacy.
Dr. Orsini led off the Seminar with an hour-long overview entitled “Laminitis: The Big Picture!” and later returned to the podium to present “Lessons Learned – The International Equine Laminitis Conferences: I-IV.”
Dr. Divers delivered three presentations: “Preventing Laminitis in Horses with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” “Treating Horses with Laminitis Associated with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” and “Corticosteroids Therapy and Risk of Laminitis – Identifying the High and Lower Risk Patients.”
Mr. Reilly also provided three presentations: “Laminitis: The Farriers Dilemma,” “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part I,” and “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part II.”
“This one-day seminar was an excellent starting point to get us geared up for a larger-scale conference in Monterey in September 2010,” said Dr. Grenager. “Many people were already asking for the date of the next one – which we will announce soon!”
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
“The meeting by all measures was a resounding success,” stated James A. Orsini, DVM DACVS, one of three presenters at the inaugural Laminitis West Seminar, held November 1, 2008, at the Monterey Convention Center in Monterey, California. “We had expected approximately 100 attendees and exceeded that number, which tells me that the topic is viewed as being very important to veterinarians, farriers, and students, our future veterinarians, especially in a down economy.”
Dr. Orsini, a veterinarian and surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, is also the Director of the International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot, which spawned the Laminitis West Seminar.
Dr. Orsini worked on the Laminitis West Seminar in conjunction with Dr. Tim Eastman and Dr. Nora Grenager of Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic in Salinas, California. Dr. Eastman served as the Laminitis West Seminar Director. Joining Dr. Orsini as presenters were Dr. Thomas J. Divers of Cornell University and farrier Patrick Reilly of the University of Pennsylvania.
“All the attendees I spoke with, veterinarians and farriers alike, were really excited by what they learned and were ready to go home and incorporate it into their practices,” noted Dr. Grenager. “It also certainly does not hurt that Monterey is a beautiful location to hold a meeting, and the Conference Center does a top-notch job. The excellent turnout and enthusiastic attendees were just proof of how much we need a laminitis conference on the West Coast.”
This premiere Laminitis West Seminar hosted 141 attendees including 55 veterinarians, 37 farriers, 21 students, 19 sponsors/exhibitors, and nine staff members. Dr. Orsini pointed out, “One of the very interesting facts and goals of this meeting was to encourage veterinarians and farriers to come to the meeting as a team. When I polled the audience, my estimate was that there were 10 to 12 combinations of veterinarians and farriers that registered together. Not only did they receive a savings in registration, but also – and most importantly – for the long term, this partnership encourages the ‘Team Laminitis’ approach to managing horses with laminitis.”
The 21 students at the Laminitis West Seminar were from the University of California/Davis. Of these students, two were scholarship recipients that competed for the Laminitis West scholarships. The scholarships were supported by a sponsorship from Merial and administered by Dr. Grenager. The scholarships were awarded to these students with the purpose and obligation of the students to return to their University/School and report on the latest information learned at the meeting.
Major sponsors were instrumental in the Seminar’s scope and success. “The support from our sponsors was outstanding and allowed the organizers to put together the highest quality meeting,” said Dr. Orsini. Sponsors included Merial, Sound Technologies, Purina Mills, Nutramax, Soft-Ride, Castle Bay Farm, UPS, Wachovia Dealer Services, Purina Mills, Intervet, Luitpold, Bayer, Platinum Performance, CVS/VET, Victor Medical Company, Pfizer Animal Health and Wedgwood Pharmacy.
Dr. Orsini led off the Seminar with an hour-long overview entitled “Laminitis: The Big Picture!” and later returned to the podium to present “Lessons Learned – The International Equine Laminitis Conferences: I-IV.”
Dr. Divers delivered three presentations: “Preventing Laminitis in Horses with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” “Treating Horses with Laminitis Associated with Systemic Inflammatory Disease,” and “Corticosteroids Therapy and Risk of Laminitis – Identifying the High and Lower Risk Patients.”
Mr. Reilly also provided three presentations: “Laminitis: The Farriers Dilemma,” “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part I,” and “Mechanical Considerations for the Treatment of Laminitis – Part II.”
“This one-day seminar was an excellent starting point to get us geared up for a larger-scale conference in Monterey in September 2010,” said Dr. Grenager. “Many people were already asking for the date of the next one – which we will announce soon!”
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Deltad? Mustelta? Two Farrier Industry Giants Combine Forces, Faces, Functions
Sorry, friends, I have been on the road and only today found a way to check email and this was in Thursday's email. It is a press release from Mustad Hoofcare and will be of interest to everyone in the farrier world, quite literally. I am posting this press release in its entirety, as received from the Mustad public relations firm. Companies and individuals with business relationships with the firms who have questions should contact Mustad and/or Delta directly.
FOREST LAKE, Minn. – (Nov. 6, 2008) – The Mustad Hoofcare and Delta Horseshoe families are joining forces to create an integrated team dedicated to the hoofcare industry and to the welfare of the horse.
Owned by its founding family since 1832, Mustad brings more than 175 years of manufacturing expertise to the newly combined entity, which also will benefit from Delta’s 25-year track record of distribution and brand building proficiency under the direction of the van der Linden family.
“We’ve long admired Delta and their reputation for being extremely close to the customer in everything they do, so it’s a great combination for us,” said Carlos A. Xifra, president of Mustad Hoofcare Center.
“We are extremely excited to join forces with the world’s leading manufacturer of farrier-related products,” said Remco van der Linden, president of Delta Horseshoe Company. “There is no doubt that our customers will benefit greatly from the added value created by the combined strengths of the two organizations.”
Both leaders said they expect to offer increased value to customers and to the hoofcare market, including a broader mix of products from a single source and simpler, faster delivery coast to coast.
There are no immediate changes to personnel or procedures at either company following today’s announcement. It will be “business as usual,” company officials said.
On Jan. 1, 2009, Mustad Hoofcare Center and Delta Horseshoe Company will be officially combined into a single operating entity. At that time, more details will be shared about the new organization, including how customers will benefit from expected operating efficiencies and synergies.
Both leaders will take on new roles: van der Linden will become the president of the combined organization, and Xifra will become the new horseshoe manufacturing director for the Mustad Hoofcare Group worldwide. The combined organization will continue to operate both locations, in Rocklin, Calif., and Forest Lake, Minn.
About Mustad Hoofcare Center
Based in Forest Lake, Minn., Mustad Hoofcare Center provides products to satisfy the needs of farriers, horse owners and veterinarians. Mustad Hoofcare Center is comprised of some of the industry’s leading brands, including St. Croix Forge, Capewell, Cooper, Tuff Stuff®, Thrushbuster® and Right Balance™.
About Delta Horseshoe Company
Based in Rocklin, Calif., Delta Horseshoe Company has been providing quality farrier-related products since 1984. Delta is committed to every aspect of the farrier industry and stays in constant communication with a worldwide network of manufacturers and farriers in order to provide the best and most current products available. It sells its products under a variety of widely recognized brands, including horseshoes, horsenails and tools under the Delta brand.
© 2008 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
FOREST LAKE, Minn. – (Nov. 6, 2008) – The Mustad Hoofcare and Delta Horseshoe families are joining forces to create an integrated team dedicated to the hoofcare industry and to the welfare of the horse.
Owned by its founding family since 1832, Mustad brings more than 175 years of manufacturing expertise to the newly combined entity, which also will benefit from Delta’s 25-year track record of distribution and brand building proficiency under the direction of the van der Linden family.
“We’ve long admired Delta and their reputation for being extremely close to the customer in everything they do, so it’s a great combination for us,” said Carlos A. Xifra, president of Mustad Hoofcare Center.
“We are extremely excited to join forces with the world’s leading manufacturer of farrier-related products,” said Remco van der Linden, president of Delta Horseshoe Company. “There is no doubt that our customers will benefit greatly from the added value created by the combined strengths of the two organizations.”
Both leaders said they expect to offer increased value to customers and to the hoofcare market, including a broader mix of products from a single source and simpler, faster delivery coast to coast.
There are no immediate changes to personnel or procedures at either company following today’s announcement. It will be “business as usual,” company officials said.
On Jan. 1, 2009, Mustad Hoofcare Center and Delta Horseshoe Company will be officially combined into a single operating entity. At that time, more details will be shared about the new organization, including how customers will benefit from expected operating efficiencies and synergies.
Both leaders will take on new roles: van der Linden will become the president of the combined organization, and Xifra will become the new horseshoe manufacturing director for the Mustad Hoofcare Group worldwide. The combined organization will continue to operate both locations, in Rocklin, Calif., and Forest Lake, Minn.
About Mustad Hoofcare Center
Based in Forest Lake, Minn., Mustad Hoofcare Center provides products to satisfy the needs of farriers, horse owners and veterinarians. Mustad Hoofcare Center is comprised of some of the industry’s leading brands, including St. Croix Forge, Capewell, Cooper, Tuff Stuff®, Thrushbuster® and Right Balance™.
About Delta Horseshoe Company
Based in Rocklin, Calif., Delta Horseshoe Company has been providing quality farrier-related products since 1984. Delta is committed to every aspect of the farrier industry and stays in constant communication with a worldwide network of manufacturers and farriers in order to provide the best and most current products available. It sells its products under a variety of widely recognized brands, including horseshoes, horsenails and tools under the Delta brand.
© 2008 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Monday, November 03, 2008
The Big Event: 25th Cornell Farrier Conference This Week Features Mark Caldwell
by Fran Jurga
Exclusive to Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog; published November 2, 2008.
British farrier instructor Mark Caldwell FWCF (Myerscough College and the University of Lancashire) began his lecture once with this slide. He said this was the group of shoes he had made up for the week ahead. Looking at them lying on his shop floor, he realized that there were no normal shoes among them. Was he doing something wrong that the horses he shod required ongoing orthopedic support? (Mark Caldwell photo)
On Saturday and Sunday, November 8-9, Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine will celebrate its 25th annual farrier conference. The college welcomes farriers from all the US and Canada, and provides a first-class setting for a range of speakers and demonstrators.
The two "lead" speakers this year are two farrier instructors from Great Britain, Mark Caldwell and Neil Madden. Both have earned the FWCF level of recognition from the Worshipful Company of Farriers and are currently at work as the instructors of the world's first official Bachelor's degree program in farriery.
Additional speakers are Steve Kraus and Bruce Matthews, along with Cornell's Dr. John Lowe.
On Saturday, Caldwell and Madden will compare video-based gait analysis and sensor-embedded pressure mats to demonstrate hoof balance quantification. Sunday will be a full day of lectures in the high-tech lecture theater.
Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York; it is approximately in the center of the state. There is a very good reason why this conference has succeeded and lasted for 25 years: it is simply excellent. Hoofcare and Lameness is proud to be associated with this event.
Click here for more information or call 607-253-3200 to speak with Amanda Mott about registration. A full conference brochure can be downloaded from the Cornell web site.
Caldwell's lectures can ask as many questions as they answer. Here you see two views of the right front foot a horse brought to him "to be fixed".
I've heard Mark Caldwell speak several times and it's hard to say what the audience at Cornell should expect. I remember one video example shown by Caldwell was a time delay over four strides. As the load came over the medial heel, the medial heel became a fulcrum point around which the hoof rotated outward, slightly.
Video analysis showed that over the four strides of the two-beat gait, synchronization of the loading feet was delayed by .020 seconds. As we all know, synchronicization is crucial to a horse. Without it, he is likely to forge or interfere, or even stumble. At the very least, the horse falls out of the collected frame.
At this point in farrier science, we probably don't know how much variation in timing a horse can compensate. In Caldwell's sample case, by the fourth stride, the horse had to compensate for his imbalance by “hanging” on the left rein while it re-collected itself. With a lot of horses, that's one "long side" of the ring. Horses can get away with a lot and keep trying; it takes an experienced rider (or, sometimes, a bigger arena) to sense what is really going on; a good rider can help a horse.
Caldwell's example makes a good case for not evaluating a horse based on a single isolated stride on high-speed video...or even several strides. Even with the best scientific aids, farriery still requires the art of looking at a horse in motion and recognizing rhythm and cadence, before one can even begin to dissect the horse's problem. You just might look in the wrong place.
Caldwell talks a lot about the marriage of art and science that is necessary for good farriery. His and Madden's lectures at Cornell this weekend should be a great update for new ways to approach studying the hoof.
See you there!
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are mostoften easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
Exclusive to Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog; published November 2, 2008.
British farrier instructor Mark Caldwell FWCF (Myerscough College and the University of Lancashire) began his lecture once with this slide. He said this was the group of shoes he had made up for the week ahead. Looking at them lying on his shop floor, he realized that there were no normal shoes among them. Was he doing something wrong that the horses he shod required ongoing orthopedic support? (Mark Caldwell photo)On Saturday and Sunday, November 8-9, Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine will celebrate its 25th annual farrier conference. The college welcomes farriers from all the US and Canada, and provides a first-class setting for a range of speakers and demonstrators.
The two "lead" speakers this year are two farrier instructors from Great Britain, Mark Caldwell and Neil Madden. Both have earned the FWCF level of recognition from the Worshipful Company of Farriers and are currently at work as the instructors of the world's first official Bachelor's degree program in farriery.
Additional speakers are Steve Kraus and Bruce Matthews, along with Cornell's Dr. John Lowe.
On Saturday, Caldwell and Madden will compare video-based gait analysis and sensor-embedded pressure mats to demonstrate hoof balance quantification. Sunday will be a full day of lectures in the high-tech lecture theater.
Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York; it is approximately in the center of the state. There is a very good reason why this conference has succeeded and lasted for 25 years: it is simply excellent. Hoofcare and Lameness is proud to be associated with this event.
Click here for more information or call 607-253-3200 to speak with Amanda Mott about registration. A full conference brochure can be downloaded from the Cornell web site.
Caldwell's lectures can ask as many questions as they answer. Here you see two views of the right front foot a horse brought to him "to be fixed".
I've heard Mark Caldwell speak several times and it's hard to say what the audience at Cornell should expect. I remember one video example shown by Caldwell was a time delay over four strides. As the load came over the medial heel, the medial heel became a fulcrum point around which the hoof rotated outward, slightly.
Video analysis showed that over the four strides of the two-beat gait, synchronization of the loading feet was delayed by .020 seconds. As we all know, synchronicization is crucial to a horse. Without it, he is likely to forge or interfere, or even stumble. At the very least, the horse falls out of the collected frame.
At this point in farrier science, we probably don't know how much variation in timing a horse can compensate. In Caldwell's sample case, by the fourth stride, the horse had to compensate for his imbalance by “hanging” on the left rein while it re-collected itself. With a lot of horses, that's one "long side" of the ring. Horses can get away with a lot and keep trying; it takes an experienced rider (or, sometimes, a bigger arena) to sense what is really going on; a good rider can help a horse.
Caldwell's example makes a good case for not evaluating a horse based on a single isolated stride on high-speed video...or even several strides. Even with the best scientific aids, farriery still requires the art of looking at a horse in motion and recognizing rhythm and cadence, before one can even begin to dissect the horse's problem. You just might look in the wrong place.
Caldwell talks a lot about the marriage of art and science that is necessary for good farriery. His and Madden's lectures at Cornell this weekend should be a great update for new ways to approach studying the hoof.
See you there!
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Permissions for use elsewhere are mostoften easily arranged.
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).
To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.
Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
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