Like a Foal with Extra Long (And Crooked) Legs: Equine-Specialist Vet Helps Louisville Zoo's Giraffe

by Fran Jurga | 18 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

A month-old giraffe born in February at the Louisville Zoo is responding after surgery to correct a hind limb deformity. Scott Bennett DVM, a well-known surgeon with Equine Services in Simpsonville, Kentucky performed the surgery at his clinic.

For the first time since his birth, Bakari is currently eating well and is now standing for hours at a time instead of minutes.

Through digital X-rays of Bakari’s legs, Bennett said he determined that Bakari had an angular limb deformity in both hind legs, which the Zoo described as "one side of his bones growing faster than the other", forcing Bakari to wobble and walk sideways.

“Dr. Bennett said the deformity probably started in utero, and that he sees many horse foals with the same problem,” Zoo vet Roy Burns DVM said.

The Zoo said that Bennett performed periosteal stripping, a brief surgical procedure that speeds bone growth on the short side of the leg. As far as Bennett and Burns know, this is the first periosteal stripping ever performed on a giraffe.

Periosteal stripping, also called periosteal elevation, is routinely performed on the front limbs of valuable Thoroughbred foals who show signs of angular limb deformities that might hamper their running ability or detract from their saleability in the auction ring.

Horses helped Bakari both with the technique of his limb surgery and in his immune system. Since he couldn’t stand to nurse, the Zoo’s veterinary team conducted a plasma transfer where horse immunoglobulins (or antibodies) were transfused into the giraffe through an intravenous line. Two plasma transfers were necessary to establish a protective immune system.

Bakari is a Masai giraffe; his name means "Hopeful" in English.

Thanks to the Louisville Zoo for the great photo of Bakari and their help with this article.

© 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.

One of the (Many) Reasons I Love Ireland: Racing on the Beach

by Fran Jurga | 17 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

This video is like a quick trip to Ireland, although to these beach races. The festival you see here is at Glenbeigh on Dingle Bay in County Kerry and is held every August. I don't know how long the races are, but I'm sure it is a good distance.  Glenbeigh is near the place where, in Irish mythology, Oisin and Niamh rode the white horse shod with silver shoes into the sea to journey to that land of eternal youth known as Tir na nOg. 

To learn more: Two favorite movies set in this part of Ireland are the heart-wrenching 1970s film about Irish rebellion, Ryan's Daughter, and Into the West from the 1980s. The latter is about two Traveler ("gypsy") children who run away from the slums of Dublin with their gallant horse named Tir na nOg, who unbeknownst to them just happens to be a famous show jumper missing from the Dublin Horse Show. They are convinced that they will find cowboys and Indians, or at least the land of Tir na nOg from the Irish legend, if they ride off into the west.  

Click here to read the original legend of Tir na nOg...and why it pays to take care of your horse. There are many versions of this legend, but most include references to hooves. In one version, the white mare gets a stone caught in her silver shoe and the hero dismounts to relieve her pain...and instantly ages.

Here's to Ireland--the people and her horses!

Friends at Work: Ernie Gauoette Shod His Way from the Racetrack to the Show Barn

Somehow it didn't surprise me to see Ernie Gauoette's picture in the newspaper today. Our friend Ernie has been shoeing show hunters and jumpers at the well-known Briggs Stable in Hanover, Massachusetts for a while now and he's a good model, as well as a nice guy, so Ernie gets his picture taken a lot.

What did surprise me was when I went to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper's web site and Ernie's voice came out of my computer speakers as if he was right in the room with me; the paper made a video of Ernie explaining a few aspects of shoeing. Thanks to the magic of YouTube.com I was able to embed the video and share it with you.

Enjoy the video and please know that what you are seeing Ernie do is pretty normal shoeing in the Boston area from Thanksgiving to Easter. The shoe was four tiny tungsten drive-in studs for traction on ice or slippery pavement and a big black "pop-out" pad that prevents snow from building up on the bottom of the horse's foot. Pop-out pads are a poor rider's gait analysis system. They make an audible pop-pop-pop-pop with each stride set as you ride and if the rhythm is off, you know you have a problem. A sure sign of spring around here is when horses go back to clopping instead of popping. 

The shape identification system for hooves that Ernie alludes to on the video is the "Eagle Eye" system developed by farrier instructor Scott Simpson in the 1980s. He taught farriers to look for Norman, Stubby, Ralph and Tag...and guess what? It's pretty accurate!

By the way, Ernie's excellent accent comes through nicely. Every region of New England has a distinct accent so we can tell each other apart. Thanks to the Patriot-Ledger newspaper and web site. Click here to go to Ernie's page and leave a comment, or leave one here by clicking on the word
"comment" below.

  © 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.

AVMA Considers Specialty in Sports Medicine for Veterinarians

by Fran Jurga | 16 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog


The American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is the authority charged with recognizing the sub-categories of veterinary medicine which a practitioner can pursue. Often recognized by the term "diplomate" or "board-certified", veterinarians can and do pursue advanced credentials in surgery, internal medicine, and reproduction, for example; there are currently 20 specialties within veterinary medicine.

For years, many in the hoofcare camp have grumbled that there was no specialty in podiatry, or even lameness, for that matter.

Recognizing the void in specialities for equine practitioners and those interested in lameness--and sensing the dedication of those who are hard at work in this field--French professor Jean-Marie Denoix has been offering a specialized and quite advanced course in imaging and diagnosis of lameness under his ISELP--International Society for Equine Equine Locomotor Pathology--which offers eight modules of advanced education in lameness problems; completion of all eight conferences then qualifies candidates to undergo a competency examination for Society certification.

While Denoix's program carries with it the tremendous respect attached to anything bearing his name and the top American veterinarians who are working with him in the program, ISELP is not part of the larger AVMA system of "colleges" or specialties in veterinary medicine. It is however, very specific to equine medicine and biomechanics.

This week the AVMA announced that it is considering a recognition of sports medicine and rehabilitation as a new "recognized veterinary specialty organization." This speciality would not be specific to horses, and would cover other species. Things don't happen overnight in the AVMA; the organizing committee of the proposed American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation submitted a letter of intent to the ABVS in 2003 and a formal petition for recognition of the specialty organization to the ABVS Committee on the Development of New Specialties in November 2008.

The ABVS will be collecting comments from the veterinary community and the public regarding the proposed new specialty organization. The comment period closes on November 1, 2009.

Photo/radiograph by Tim Flach, from the book Equus, available from Hoofcare and Lameness.

© 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.

Hoofcare's Family Album: Herman Kretzschmar's Blacksmith Shop in Henry, South Dakota

by Fran Jurga | 13 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Our friend Julie Grohs, who knows this blog loves old photos of farriers and smithies, writes:

"Here is a blacksmith shop in Henry, South Dakota, in the late 1920’s. The man on the left is my uncle, Herman Kretzschmar. He emigrated from Germany as a young boy. Most of the children from his family made it to South Dakota at that time, including his brother, my grandfather. They farmed in eastern South Dakota, using horses and mules, and worked on plow parts in this amazing blacksmith shop."

Julie and her husband Joe are both veterinarians and own Alaska Equine & Small Animal Hospital in Chugiak. Julie has a deep interest in foot problems and always has fascinating cases to share, as you would expect from a place like Alaska! When she wrote, she and Joe were about to leave for a long weekend at their remote wilderness cabin, 12 miles by snowmobile from the nearest road over six feet of snow, near Mount McKinley.

Herman would probably fit right in there, and be proud that his niece still has the family's pioneer spirit.

By the way, Julie mentioned in an email, "See you in November!" She is already planning to attend the 5th International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Disease of the Foot in West Palm Beach, Florida, to be held November 5-7. I hope you will be there, 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.

Event Announcement: Hufbeschlagkongress Will Be Held at Equitana in Germany

by Fran Jurga | 12 March 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Here's the EDHV "booth" at a recent event. Take a good look at the construction of the portal: My compliments to the architect! Double-click on the image for a larger view.

EDHV, the national farrier association of Germany, will host an international congress of farriers at Equitana, the "world's fair of horses", which opens tomorrow in Essen, Germany. EDHV will also have a booth and ongoing demonstrations in Hall 1, the "Hufdorf".

The Congress is scheduled for Saturday, March 15 at 10.30 a.m. in the "Deutschland" Room of the Congress Center South.

Program highlights:

Prof. Dr. H. Geyer - University of Zurich: "The influence of
environmental factors on the hufhorn of the horse "

Veterinarian and biomechanics expert Gerd Heuschmann :
"The biomechanics of the horse"

Farrier insturctor Melanie Scherer and Dr med vet. Wolff - University of Giessen:
"Farriery, using before and after X-ray imaging"

Farrier Josef Ganser of Austria: "What pad for what purpose? How soft or
hard should a cushion be? "

Farrier Jörg Ohl - Underrun heels: "How many degrees of lift or none at all? What is the effect of wedges on the hoof? "

Note: Dr Heuschmann's new anatomy/biomechanics dvd, "Stimmen der Pferd" ("If Horses Could Speak") will be shown in a special event at Equitana, with a separate admission charged. The Hoof Blog will have a review of the English translation of the dvd later this week, and we will also be offering it for sale. It is the media-rich follow-up to his bestselling book "Tug of War: Modern vs Classical Dressage" and is expected to open up his biomechanics ideas to an entire new audience. Watch for details or reserve your copy now!

For more information about the Farrier Congress, visit www.edhv.de.

Equitana is possibly my favorite horse event in the world; it is a heady 10-day cocktail of horses mixed with adrenaline and international glamour, with world-class shopping, champagne, new faces, old friends and entertainment as a chaser, all squashed into eight huge coliseums of exhibits and arenas with 100,000 people celebrating their work with or love for horses. Oh, how I wish I was there.

(speakers and topics translated very loosely by Fran Jurga, sorry for any errors!)

© 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.