We've Lost Edward

Edward Martin died early on the morning of February 14th at his home in Closeburn, near Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

The worldly farrier and blacksmith used to have a saying about how much you'd be missed after your death. He'd say, "Swirl you hand around in a bucket of water, and watch the hole it makes in the center, and watch it for a a few minutes. That's how much you'll be missed when you're gone."

That might be the one thing that he was wrong about.

PS I am struggling to write Edward Martin's obituary but it is being written and will be published when details of his funeral are available.

Australian Fire Survivor Horses Now in Danger of Heat-Induced Laminitis

This has to be the animal-lover's photo of the year; a firefighter in the Australian state of Victoria shares his bottle of spring water with a burned koala. (photo links to Horse Deals Australia blog)

The numbers are staggering. Wildlife and public health officials in Australia estimate that as many as one million animals may have been killed in the wildfires that ripped through the state of Victoria last weekend. As if that news isn't bad enough, there may be a double whammy coming for horses who had to stand on the scorched earth: the fire in the bush is over, but the fire in the feet may be only beginning.

We know that rapid and continual cooling by the icing of the horse's lower limb and digit ("cryotherapy") can clinically prevent laminitis, as proven in studies by the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit at the University of Queensland, directed by Dr. Chris Pollitt.

But can the inverse be true? Can heat cause laminitis?

Dr. Pollitt is flying south to Victoria to help with rescue efforts and provide veterinary services for the hundreds of horses displaced or injured by the wild bushfires that ripped through the countryside in Victoria.

The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Veterinary Science in Victoria is providing free care to pets and horses injured in the recent fires. Professor Ken Hinchcliff, Dean of the Faculty there, says that veterinary clinic staff at the university are deeply concerned.

Dean Lewis of the Victoria Farriers Association has spoken up about the danger of horses "losing their hoof capsules" and has offered the services of his member farriers to help with rescue operations.

One of the things that touched me was that the rescue center are having trouble feeding the horses, and put out a call for soft lucerne (alfalfa) hay. So many horses have burned muzzles that it is painful for them to eat regular hay with its stiff stalks poking their burnt flesh.

The burns on this cat's paws are typical of what pets and livestock have experienced. This cat is receiving veterinary care at the Victoria Animal Aid fire assistance center.

Triple R Equine Welfare Inc. (TREW) warns horse owners and anyone wishing to help, "The immediate threat to horses left stranded in burnt properties is damage to hooves. Prolonged exposure to hot ground will cause a low grade overheating, that develops into heat induced laminitis. The prognosis for horses suffering this condition will be extremely poor. It is imperative the we move swiftly to relocate horses off burnt properties."

The textbook Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue by Gimenez, Gimenez, and May (Wiley-Blackwell 2008) offers some insight into what body conditions of a burn victim horse may contribute to laminitis and hoof capsule detachment:

"Thermal injury produces local and systemic responses. In the local (skin, which would include the hoof) response, inflammation is the primary reaction, caused by damaged, leaking tissues and blood vessels. Tissue fluid and electrolyte shifts cause inflammation and fluid loss...

"Tissue injury continues for 24-48 hours after the initial thermal injury, therefore the burn will increase in severity over that period of time. Necrosis (death) of the dermis and epidermis in full-thickness burns creates a hard, leathery charred appearance to the skin; this is called eschar (Pascoe 1999). As the eschar sloughs, it creates an increase in open wounds."

It's pretty straightforward to think that burned hooves are a danger in themselves, even though farriers routinely hot-fit hooves and prolonged hot fitting has not been shown to be a danger to hooves. Burned coronets would affect the blood supply to the lamina within the hoof, which would probably already be decreased by the inflammation, edema, and compromised circulation.

Let's keep all the Australians--two-legged and four-legged in our thoughts, and hope that we can learn something about laminitis and how to prevent and treat it in future forest fire emergencies.

Sam the Water Guzzling Koala is recovering at a shelter; she too has extensive burns on her feet. It looks like she's been to the hairdresser, too.

© 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.

American Quarter Horse Association New "AQHA Medical" Plan Offers Affordable Benefits to Association Members

The world's largest horse breed association got my attention today when it announced that it would begin offering a range of health insurance plans to members. Membership costs to join AQHA start at $40 per year. I know that health insurance is a big worry to lots of people in the horse world and that many people go without it.

One of the policies that the AQHA is offering is an "active lifestyle" policy for only $20 per month for accidents. Note: there may be an exclusion for people who make their living with horses, but it is worth looking into, especially if you have a family.

The AQHA policies sound great and very affordable but before you get your hopes up, you should realize that the insurance laws vary from state to state and these types of policies may not be available where you live.

Other organizations, such as the US Equestrian Federation and US Eventing Association, have in the past offered some sort of accident insurance plus optional Med-Flight coverage, which the AQHA offering also includes.

It's an option, and may be something that will help some people in the horse world. Pass the word! And thanks to the AQHA for realizing what a problem health insurance is to many in the horse industry.

Here's the official announcement, which was made earlier today:

The American Quarter Horse Association is proud to announce its partnership with Nicholas Hill Benefit Group and the Active Life Plan by Adventure Advocates to bring AQHA members a new program through AQHA Medical. Members and their families now have access to sign up for affordable accident and health benefits.

AQHA members can choose from a selection of major medical/health plans with available worldwide coverage, dental, vision, life, disability, long-term care and Medicare supplement plans.

Twenty-four-hour accidental medical coverage plans start as low as $20 a month and carry benefits as high as $25,000. AQHA Medical enables horsemen and -women to protect themselves and their families with quality plans that respect the medical coverage needs of the horse enthusiast and the active horseback rider.

Nicholas Hill Benefit Group Inc. has partnered with insurance providers that offer extensive professional care networks, healthcare plan options and worldwide protection plus multiple year rate guarantees and other unique features such as Health Savings Accounts.

To learn more about the quality plans available through AQHA membership, or to receive your free quote, visit www.AQHAmedical.com or call (888) 213-9710.

© 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.

What Is This? Can You Identify This Reader-Submitted Image?

by Fran Jurga | 10 February 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

What is this? If you know the answer, please send an email to fran@hoofcare.com and I'll publish your guesses and information from the reader who sent this in later this week. Please do NOT use the comments button to leave your answers because then the first correct answer will stop others from guessing! Super bonus points to anyone who can expound on this subject.

© 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.

Congratulations to Allie Hayes of HorseScience

by Fran Jurga | 9 February 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Congratulations to our friend Allie Hayes of HorseScience, who was recently inducted into the Horseshoeing Hall of Fame.

Allie's fame in the hoofcare world began when she retired from active shoeing in the 1980s, after a long career as a farrier here in Massachusetts. She was one of the first women to go through farrier school, and was challenged by instructor Bud Beaston to complete the course at his Oklahoma Farrier College. She met the challenge, and went on to do advanced studies with Dr. Doug Butler at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. And this was after she had finished both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in liberal arts!

Allie said in her acceptance speech that sitting in Bud's classroom was the first time that a lecture really hit home with her and meant something in her life.

In the mid-1980s, Allie's ability to shoe was limited by a freak accident on the job, and she switched her attention from shoeing to making educational hoof models. Her "HorseScience" business has expanded to a point where she is the world's leading (and almost exclusive) source of freeze-dried educational models, and she also supplies much more than legs. The models are freeze-dried in a monstrous freeze-drier machine on Allie's farm, a stone's throw from her wildlife rehabilitation and re-homing projects (anyone for a blind skunk or a one-winged crow?), her farm animals, and her how-many-are-here-today cats.

She's also well-known to FedEx, as vets and farriers from all over the country ship legs amputated from euthanized cases to her to be eternally preserved for further study. People must wonder...

As one farrier said in an email, "It's too bad Allie had that accident and had to stop shoeing, but it was a great thing for us that she started making her models!"

Allie gives clinics, lectures, and slide shows on the anatomy of the foot and lower leg and occasionally presents a museum-like collection of her most unusual specimen. At the Cincinnati conference last week, she casually pulled out a camel's foot, and mentioned a giraffe foot as well. Her show-and-tell discussions with farriers and veterinarians are legendary.

Needless to say, Allie is the first woman to be inducted to the hall, and it is a sign of respect for her that the living members voted for her to join them.

Allie has a hard time drawing the line between education and business and has not been utilized as much as a formal speaker and consultant, partly because her business keeps her so busy. If you are in the hoofcare industry, it is important to support Allie and HorseScience as she leads us all ahead on the road to understanding horses and their problems. She has enabled many people to "see" inside the horse and probably learn things they would not otherwise be able to comprehend. Allie Hayes is a unique treasure in the hoofcare world, and deserves this latest honor very, very much.

Allie makes foot and leg models like this one, which has magnetic bones that snap in and out.

HorseScience also makes hock and knee models, and specialized ultrasound interpretation models.

© 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.

Watch the Most Popular Super Bowl Commercials: Budweiser Clydesdales Dominated with Three Ads in 2009!

This was an impressive moment in the Budweiser Clydesdale "love" commercial this year.

Thanks to everyone who mentioned appreciation for the Super Bowl commercials last week. It looks like Hoof Blog readers are in tune with the national audience; the Budweiser Clydesdale ads took the first three places in viewer voting!

The actual videos of complete ads are not available until after the game, so here are the top three, for your instant recall anytime you need a dose of Fetch, Love or Clydesdale.

Thanks again to Budweiser for brightening up the Super Bowl and the added video they provided for Blog readers last weekend.

First place: "Fetch"


Second place: "Love"



Third place: "Clydesdale" ("Generations")



© 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.