AAEP Convention Report: Hoof Dudes, Unite

There must have been something in the water. Or maybe it was in the tequila. But the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention, held in San Diego, California, last week was an escapist's dream. Five days of lectures, a huge trade show, a beautiful city, great food and drink, but most of all, a collection of interesting people from all stripes and ranks within the horse health and husbandry worlds made last week one of the most memorable conferences I've attended.

They streamed in and out of the Hoofcare and Lameness booth: veterinarians, farriers, vet techs, practice managers, hoof trimmers, educators, researchers, therapists, chiropractors, authors, journalists, photographers, artists, spouses, ex-spouses, significant others, old friends, new acquaintances and even a Dachshund from Arizona. Seldom was heard a discouraging word.

I hadn't expected the convention to be so upbeat. I flew in from the land of gloom and doom, where falling real estate values and collapsing stock prices have convinced everyone that the End is Near. I wasn't expecting people to be generous and supportive and so very friendly. What a wonderful surprise!

I would like to thank everyone who visited the booth, everyone who worked so hard to present their finest information and images from the stage, and especially the AAEP for hosting this event in the right city for this year. Warm and sunny and relaxed was the perfect recipe.

Special thanks go to our friends at Vettec for sponsoring our California-themed "Hoof Dude" unofficial convention guide. It had tips and schedules designed just for people who were interested in hoof-related information.

The AAEP again hosted a sub-conference for farriers. I can't estimate how many farriers were there because, as was the case in San Antonio, a lot of the people in the lecture hall were vets, which is encouraging. I did see a lot of farriers in the trade show, and met some from California that I might otherwise never have known.

Special thanks to everyone who came up and opened a conversation with the kind words, "I read your blog every day!" and especially to the one who said, "I check your blog before I eat breakfast."

I have more friends out there than I could ever know about, since I really have no way of tracking who reads this blog, or how many read it. I can only keep count of the "unique visitors" who actually go to the blog's web site (vs those uncounted legions who read it by RSS, email, and on various feeds like the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance) and I'm thrilled to report that the uniques passed 150,000 (cumulative) while I was in San Diego. I'm stunned. (Thank you to Big Brown, Barbaro, and Molly the Pony--three lame horses who have fascinated the public and brought thousands and thousands of people to this blog to learn more about how and why the three horses had such problems.)

The AAEP convention is the end of the conference year. It is the single biggest and most expensive event on the Hoofcare and Lameness calendar each year, and it is often difficult to pull it off when it is a few days after Thanksgiving, or when the trade show budget is being scraped as clean as a cookie batter bowl.

In December 2009, the AAEP travels to Las Vegas for the first time, where it will share the big bright city with the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Hoofcare and Lameness already has a booth reserved.

My red-eye flight home landed in Massachusetts just a few hours before the worst ice storm in recent history hit the region. I feel a bit of survivor guilt, since the storm was mostly rain here on the coast, although the power did go out and is still out just a few miles from here. People are in the dark in their cold houses tonight as I write this.

It seems impossible that I could have been standing under a palm tree just a few days ago. I hope I can share with you some of the rays of sunshine that spill from my notebook, even if it is hard to type with gloves on.

Please keep the cold New Englanders in your thoughts, especially those who can't and won't leave their animals to get to a warm, safe place. It's not warm here. There are no palm trees. But it's home.

© 2008 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

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.

Ice Capades: New Englanders Are Still in the Dark Tonight

APTOPIX Ice Storm "IDYLLIC", originally uploaded by nike6.

Throughout New England, more than 600,000 households are still without power following Friday's horrific ice storm that laminated the landscape, sent trees crashing into homes and barns, closed roads, blocked driveways, damaged vehicles, and sent the normally hardy residents of New England into candlelit darkness in their cold, cold homes.

Sure, lots of resourceful people have generators and the old-fashioned types of wood stoves and fireplaces that still burn real wood. But all those who own horses and livestock are experiencing the double challenges of meeting their own needs as well as those of horses who may not have on their winter shoes with ice calks. Horses that should be turned out, but the paddocks look like a hockey rink. And the fences are electric, anyway. Horses that need water, but the pumps are electric too. Horses that need hay or grain, but the driveway is blocked and the feed store is closed, without a doubt.

For many people, a horse is the only way to get around. Tree branches still lie on top of cars and trucks and block driveways.

December is a busy month for the farriers around here. The show- and sport-horse customers want a final set of shoes before the horses leave for Florida or Aiken or Southern Pines. And the grin-and-bear-it stay-at-homes want to delay putting on expensive winter shoes for as long as possible. They gamble for another week, another month, especially this year with so many people losing jobs or having just taken a heavy hit on the stock and real estate markets. They remember hacking out throughout the winter on bare ground last year, the year it forgot to snow.

So far, I have only been able to speak with one farrier. Phones are out everywhere, and cell phone chargers dangle uselessly from dead outlets. Not so for one farrier: Tom Maker has 50 Morgan horses to take care of at the beautiful old Townshend Farm atop a hill in Bolton, Massachusetts. The town, which is about 30 miles west of Boston, has been shut down since 10:55 p.m. on Thursday night, the exact moment the power died. Law enforcement has all roads closed in the town: no one goes in, no one goes out.

Tom said that, even today, if you stared at a tree line in any direction for a minute or two, you'd see a treetop break off. He said that virtually all the trees had been topped off, as if a helicopter flew over and trimmed them. Falling limbs buried the fence lines...and became fences themselves.

Unfortunately, Tom said, his clever Morgans are learning that the juice to the fences is off. He has one generator to use at two houses, an apartment, and a big barn, in an attempt to keep all the water pipes and drains from freezing.

Another handicap is that we are approaching the shortest day of the year. It gets dark in New England just after 4 p.m. this time of year, and stays dark for about 15 hours.

"Maybe tomorrow," Tom said optimistically tonight from a candlelit farmhouse on an icy hillside.

It's a sentiment echoed from all over Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, although power company officials say it may be another week for some towns.

Thanks to the Associated Press for the beautiful photo. Click on this link to read a story about the widespread darkness that continues tonight here in New England.

You wouldn't believe how bright the stars are.

AAEP Convention Report: Digital Extension Device Details from Hans Castelijns

German veterinarian Eva Krüdewagen learns to use the hoof lifter at a clinic in Germany. Dr. Hans Castelijns kneels at right. Photo by Loic Entwistle.

And now for something completely different: German farrier/veterinarian Hans Castelijns gave several lectures at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Diego, California. In a special session on lameness in the foot in Monday, he presented a tool that has, as yet, not hit the radar of American-style lameness diagnosis.

Castelijns is a referral vet/farrier and runs a rehabilitation farm in the Tuscany region of Italy, when he's not harvesting his olive groves or traveling the world as a lecturer and thought-provocateur.

His tool is a multi-level aluminum-encased disk that the horse stands on; the top surface is covered with a non-slip pad. A long lever arm extends from the center of the disk. It cranks the disk up to displace medial or lateral, toe or heel, regions of the foot, to test for discomfort, or perhaps more precisely, to gauge the horse's range of comfort. The horse protests when too much torque is placed on the foot, indicating ligament pain or general intolerance to uneven weightbearing.

Closeup view of the digital extension device: the center plate swivels quite elegantly so the operator can move around the horse while the horse stands still and does not have to have its foot repeatedly placed on and off the device. The opposite leg is still held up by a helper. (Loic Entwistle image)

Swiss farrier Bernard Duvernay demonstrated the device at the wonderful Luwex HufSymposium in Germany in 2006.

The lever arm has an angle gauge and a level at the end, so the operator can say, "Before we trimmed him, he had a medial intolerance at x degrees. With this new trim, he showed no intolerance at all."

The tool is a massive sophistication of the basic lever test for navicular pain; veterinarians formerly stood horses on a board and lifted it, higher and higher to extend the coffin joint and stress the navicular zone, including the deep digital flextor tendon and the navicular ligaments, while an assistant lifted the opposite foot (see photo below). Horses with navicular pain shivered their upper leg muscles, jumped right off the board or buckled backward. The test was often dangerous for all involved; sometimes diagnostic tests would try to lift the foot from the side to elevate the lateral side of the foot, so that pain in the collateral ligaments might be identified.

French veterinarians with a customized board for navicular zone reaction testing; one end has been covered with a non-slip pad, while the operator end has a handle for pulling up. Notice that the board is long enough to keep the diasnostician somewhat clear of the horse in case it rears up or jumps off. (Photo courtesy of Tildren educational series in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal.)

While digital extension tests with a board may not be very accurate in pinpointing the source of pain, they can be helpful, particularly in the field, and they are useful for before and after illustrations of horses reactions pre- and post-shoeing or trimming or surgery. Castilijns has developed a protocol for the use of the more sophisticated tool and also has pinpointed areas that he feels are sensitive to specific elevations.

Castilijns's paper is published in the official Proceedings of the AAEP Convention. An older paper on the device is published in the English language section of his excellent web site. Click here to read the older paper.

The device is sold commercially in Europe.


© 2008 Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

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.

Belknap Laminitis Research at Ohio State Will Be Funded by Barbaro Legacy

by Fran Jurga | 5 December 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

A new study of laminitis at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine has been approved by the Barbaro Memorial Fund, which is administered by NTRA Charities and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Funds for the study will flow through the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

The new study, "Effect of Digital Hypothermia on Inflammatory Injury in Laminitis," by Dr. James Belknap, is a two-year project funded for $82,109. The study will examine the effects of extreme, isolated cold on the damage done to hoof tissue when laminitis damages the hoof wall's bond to the inner foot.

Barbaro funds also will support two continuing projects: "Targeting 5-HT in Equine Laminitis," by Dr. Douglas Allen at University of Georgia and "Treatment of Equine Laminitis with Doxycycline," by Dr. Susan Eades at Louisiana State University. Both studies were funded with a $100,000 contribution from the Barbaro fund to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation in 2007; an additional $8,692 completes the projects in 2008. Both projects are on schedule to produce research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The Barbaro Fund contributed an additional $60,000 in 2007 toward laminitis research projects and programs at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing its total disbursements to $250,801.

A distinguished panel of equine veterinarians, assembled by the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, evaluated several proposals before making final recommendations on the laminitis studies. The panel included Dr. Larry Bramlage, chairman of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation; Dr. Johnny Smith, the Foundation's veterinary consultant; Dr. Paul Lunn, Professor and Head of Clinical Studies at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University; Dr. Scott Hay, President of the Teigland, Franklin, Brokken veterinary firm and a specialist in equine lameness; racetrack practitioner Dr. Tom Brokken, also of Teigland, Franklin, Brokken veterinary firm (and a past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners); Dr. David Horohov, the William Robert Mills Chair at the Maxwell Gluck Research Center, University of Kentucky; Dr. Gary Lavin, a retired race track practitioner, past AAEP president, and Vice-Chairman of the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation; Dr. Rick Arthur, Equine Medical Director for the California Horse Racing Board; Dr. John Stick, Professor and Chief of Staff at the Large Animal Clinic of Michigan State University School of Veterinary Medicine; and Dr. James Orsini, Director of The Laminitis Institute, and Associate Professor of Surgery at New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania.

Barbaro, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, was euthanized while recovering from fracture surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. The horse developed laminitis, a common and often fatal complication of orthopedic procedures for some horses.

Photo: University of Pennsylviania, Hoof Blog archive

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. 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.

AAEP Convention: Hoofcare and Lameness Industry Friends at the Trade Show

By Fran Jurga | 5 December 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

Trade show exhibits for small companies haven't really changed that much over the years. I would have liked to have spent some time at the Valentine Hoof Ointment booth back in the 1920s. The company is still making the ointment...with Mr. Valentine's face, front and center on the label! I wonder what became of his museum...

The doors of the huge three-block-long San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California will swing open today.

The back doors, that is. The front doors will open bright and early Sunday morning, when an expected 5000 or so people will don their badges and head for the lecture halls.

Those back doors open onto the loading dock. Cranes and cherry pickers and forklifts began today to prepare the giant hall for the trade show, which will host hundreds of "normal" trade show booths like Hoofcare Publishing's usual how-much-can-we-cram-in-100-square-feet displays. It will also be home to the colossal mega-island displays of the pharmaceutical companies and major veterinary product distributors. Each mega-booth has a squadron of salespeople in identical shirts (Pfizer is blue, Merial is green, etc.). The cost of the design and fabrication of one of those "booths" is equal for an entire veterinary student's multi-year tuition, I'm sure. Or more.

It will take the exhibit company three days to build the trade show. Some of the exhibits are three stories high...and revolve!

Those revolving corporate logos in the trade show sky become helpful landmarks to find your way around the vast space. Finding time to see all the booths will be a challenge with all the great seminars going on! This year's AAEP convention offers a half day program on lameness each day, including one on laminitis on Tuesday, foot lameness on Monday, and an all-day farrier conference on Wednesday. (My guess is that the farrier conference will be standing-room-only again, as it was two years ago in San Antonio, not because of the farrier attendance, which will be high, but because so many veterinarians want the information to be presented.) I've counted about 50 lectures that will be of interest to anyone working on horses with foot or leg problems.

Here's a list of some of the small to medium sized companies to look for in the trade show. Maybe next year we'll have moved up to a mega-island architectural statement but I don't think there are any unique colors left for staff shirts!

(I'm sure I may have omitted someone, but it was unintentional, if it did happen. Sorry to have to abbreviate some of the names, as well.)

Yes, there are 18 rows of booths, with about 40 normal-sized booths in each row. You can do the math and see how big this show is...and why you need a treasure map to find the little booths with the hoof information and products!

How wise was the decision to buy a piece of trade show real estate for four days at this convention...in this era of economic insecurity? It sounds like it was a good one, according to this early report from the AAEP:

"While pre-registration has ended, as of (November 19) the number of pre-registered attendees (DVMs, students, veterinary technicians and guests) for the meeting is the highest we’ve ever had for an annual convention," wrote AAEP Director of Marketing and Public Relations Sally Baker in a memo to the press three weeks ago. "This is certainly good news in light of the current economic climate. We will also have on-site registration."

Go to www.aaep.org/convention.html for more details. And come find us!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

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.

Friends at Work: Meet Brian Cameron, Award-Winning National Senior Apprentice Farrier in New Zealand

by Fran Jurga | 4 December 2008 | www.hoofcare.blogspot.com

When New Zealand apprentice farrier Brian Cameron puts down the last horse's hoof at the end of a day of shoeing, he puts his own foot in the stirrup and starts schooling his show jumpers.

Brian was recently awarded the title of National Senior Apprentice for his achievements with his mentor, senior farrier Jock Good.

This article is not just a good view of a hardworking young farrier who wants to excel; it offers insight into the New Zealand system of farrier training, which I have always thought was very good. THey not only have a system for apprentices with college training, but also offer continuing education courses with credits for working farriers--or at least they did when I was there.

You might see Brian Cameron in the farrier competition tents soon--or in the show jumping ring. He seems set to succeed in both arenas!

Click here to read about Brian and the farrier training system in New Zealand, as published today in the Taranaki Daily News in New Zealand..

Brian seems to be following in the hoofprints of show jumper Bernard Denton, who didn't make the Kiwi show jumping team for Hong Kong on his high-flying jumper Suzuki, but as a consolation prize was chosen as the team's farrier!



© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

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.