Hoofcare@NEAEP: See You in Connecticut!

by Fran Jurga | 20 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Don't call the office this week. Hoofcare and Lameness will be on location at the first-ever conference of the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners (NEAEP) in Ledyard, Connecticut. The new NEAEP organization is kicking off its public persona with a double-barreled lecture series from Wednesday through Friday. One lecture hall is podiatry only, while the other covers a range of veterinary topics, including equine sportsmedicine.

Chances are, you'll find me in the podiatry lectures. The NEAEP has brought together a great group of speakers--including Robin Dabareiner, Melissa Fagerlin, Ian McKinlay, Scott Morrison, Scott Pleasant and Patrick Reilly--and filled a trade show with exhibitors.

I will try to keep the blog updated from Connecticut, but if you are planning to attend--and I hope you are--please stop by the Hoofcare booth in the trade show and say hello!

Registration will be available on site; details are at www.neaep.net. See you there!

PS I chose this nice old illustration as our company's booth logo for this event because it is so old. It dates back to a time when farriery was veterinary medicine, and the art of bandaging a horse was an example of one of the many arts of farriery. NEAEP is an organization comprised of both veterinarians and farriers (and other horse health professionals) and I am looking forward to working with this organization for many years to come!

© 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.

Farriery Forensics: Who Shod the Wall Street Bomber's Horse?

The scene on Wall Street in 1920 after a wagonload of explosives became a horse-drawn bomb in front of the New York Stock Exchange. 

When the 9/11 tragedy happened in 2001, few people knew that it was not the first terrorist attack in lower Manhattan on a September day. Anarchists had tried it way back in 1920, and the only clue detectives had to go on in that case was a  horseshoe that survived the blast.

This is the story of that horseshoe.

Laminitis Prevention: Is Current Body Condition Scoring Irrelevant for Ponies?

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

A 9.2 hand, 12-year-old spotted pony named Firefly suffered from overgrown feet and laminitis in England in April 2007. She couldn't walk properly, but her owner refused to have her cared for, nor would she sign the pony over to the World Horse Welfare. A court case ensued and the owner lost her right to own horses for two years.

Here's Firefly in September 2007, on her way to full recovery and adoption to a new home. The research project funded by WHW at the University of Liverpool suggests that it is difficult to assign an objective body condition score to ponies using the system designed for larger horses.

Researchers at the department of clinical science at Britain's University of Liverpool, with support from the World Horse Welfare charity, presented new research at the annual convention of the British Equine Veterinary Association(BEVA) last week.

The question: how accurate is conventional equine body condition scoring for weight loss management when the equine being evaluated is an overweight pony?

The study, entitled Managed Weight Loss in Obese Ponies: Evaluating Weight Change, Health and Welfare, involved five mature, overweight or obese ponies and aimed to restrict their feed intake (on a dry matter basis) to 1% of body weight of a chaff-based complete diet for 12 weeks.

During this time the ponies' weight change, health parameters and behavior were monitored. All ponies remained healthy throughout the whole trial and an appropriate and safe rate of weight loss was achieved.

Clare Barfoot BSc (Hons) RNutr, registered nutritionist and the research and development manager for SPILLERS® (British horse feed company) explained: “Body weight decreased at a steady rate. However, despite significant weight loss, the body condition scores of the ponies didn't change. This highlights the concern that body condition scoring may not be the most effective way to monitor early weight loss in ponies.”

Even in this well-managed study, the feeding activity of the dieting ponies was decreased by 74 percent compared to ad libitum intake, highlighting the need for a practical feeding system that is both effective at managing weight loss but is sensitive to behavioral needs.

The WALTHAM® Equine Studies group was closely involved with this study as it has been with other groundbreaking work on equine obesity, such as showing that an obese body condition score was associated with increased insulin resistance back in 2003, and developing the cresty neck scoring system.

In response to the study, the research group is in the process of developing a new condition scoring system designed specifically for ponies. “This will involve validating the relationship between actual measurements of body fatness and the external appearance of the pony,” said Alex Dugdale, lead researcher for the study at Liverpool University.

Note: information provided by Spillers was used in the preparation of this blog post.


© 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.

Texas A&M Adds Full-Time Farrier to Hospital Staff

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

Jason Wilson-Maki is the first resident farrier at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine's Large Animal Hospital.

The following article is provided by Angela Clendenin of Texas A&M University. I don't think I know Jason Wilson-Maki, but wish him the best of luck in his new position and congratulate A&M for taking the important step of hiring a full-time farrier. Photographs were also provided by A&M.

COLLEGE STATION, TX –A certain specialization that is often overlooked or unknown by many people today is that of a farrier. A farrier’s job is to provide shoes for horses, and to work on their hoof problems. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences does a lot of work on lame horses, and a big part of treatment for horses’ hooves often requires therapeutic shoeing, and a specialist who knows what to do.

“For years, Texas A&M has had a farrier contract on an 'as needed' basis,” said Dr. Kent Carter, Professor of Equine Lameness and Chief of Medicine at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine Large Animal Hospital. “The problem with this type of contract is that we don’t always know when we are going to need a farrier and that makes us unable to provide full service to our clients.”

One year ago the faculty decided to do more towards pursuing a full time farrier to provide a better resource for our clients as well as a better teaching and learning environment for professional veterinary students.

“We set out on a national search for a full-time farrier and received a tremendous response,” said Carter. “There were 30 or 40 applicants who were narrowed down to 12, and finally we interviewed 5 of them. Jason Wilson-Maki had the most outstanding interview.”

A native of Ohio and a 1997 graduate of the Heartland Horseshoeing School, Jason was qualified for the job because of his previous experience and teaching. He also has a double certification in the American Farrier’s Association and the Farrier’s Guild (Guild of Professional Farriers). He showed great enthusiasm about horses and teaching during his interview and began work at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine during October of 2008.

Wilson-Maki feels that one of the greatest benefits of working as a farrier at a vet hospital, as opposed to being self-employed, is that working with so many veterinarians eliminates the guesswork, and is of greater benefit to the horses.

“Having a diagnosis and a prescription reduces the amount of trial and error required to improve an animal’s performance or soundness” said Wilson-Maki. “Moreover, the direct communication between the clinicians and myself benefits the animal by reducing the risk of a miscommunication. If I have any technical or application concerns, these issues can be discussed. This facilitates an individualized, comprehensive treatment for the animal which accomplishes the goals of the attending clinician and stays in step with the fundamental principles of sound farriery. This team approach is a great joy for me.”

Since such a huge part of an equine veterinarian’s career has to do with providing the physical skills needed to handle problematic hooves, Wilson-Maki’s expertise has taken the veterinary medical students’ education to the next level.

Jason Maki and Dr. Kent Carter (far right) with Texas A&M vet students.

“It has been such an enjoyable experience interacting with the vet students,” said Wilson-Maki. “It is great to be able to see the light go on in their heads when applying certain aspects that they have been taught, but have not been able to apply until now. The students are constantly challenging me with questions that I must sometimes pause to think about the answer! Working at the CVM has truly been the best experience of my life.”

From enhancing veterinary medical education to providing value added service for clients, the farrier service at the veterinary medical teaching hospital has given the clinicians at the CVM another tool for helping their patients.

“Having a full-time farrier on staff has been extremely beneficial” said Carter. “We are able to provide a more consistent and thorough job for clients, as well as a better learning experience for students pursuing their veterinary degrees.”

© 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.

The World Would Be a Better Place If There Were More of These

Farrier Vane, originally uploaded by Dave Angood.

Weathervanes, that is. They are one of the best ways to make a statement. A silhouette against the sky can be seen from afar and a good blacksmith can create a work of art to go atop a barn's cupola, a vet clinic, or a mobile home. Or a car dealership, clam shack or tipi.

It takes the observer's eye up to the sky and there's something uplifting about that, it more ways than one.

I just wish it wasn't so hard to get a good photo of a weathervane! It seems like there are always power lines or something in the way, or I can't get a good angle from the ground.

This is my new favorite weathervane, captured on film by Dave Angood, who tells me he found it atop an old barn inside some fortress-like gates near Swaffham in Norfolk, England. He allowed me to share it with Hoof Blog readers. I kept staring at it for the longest time this morning.

It reminds me of the beautiful weathervanes made by a farrier and heavy horse expert named Richard Gowing in England. If Richard didn't make it, surely his past work helped inspire it. Our friend the late Edward Martin from Scotland made beautiful weathervanes too.

Weathervanes carry some responsibility, of course. They have to be aligned with the earth. In our little seaside village, my salty old neighbor died and left a provision in his will that money from his estate be used to get steeplejacks to come and re-orient the weathervane on top of the church which, over the years, have drifted out of alignment.

It really bothered him. He saw the vane as a tool to check the wind as he drove toward the harbor each morning rather than the beautiful ornament on the church that the rest of us saw.

It's fixed now.

What--and where--is your favorite weathervane?

Thanks to Dave Angood for his hard work in getting such a good shot of this beautiful weathervane. Dave's trying to find out more about it and I'll add more details if he reports back.

Been There, Done That? Farrier Shrine to St Eloi Shoeing a Horse at Orsanmichele in Florence, Italy

by Fran Jurga | 13 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Dr. Gaunt recognized a familiar scene when he looked up: anvils, hammers, and farriers at work. (Photo: Dr Geoff Gaunt)

British Columbia veterinarian Geoff Gaunt was strolling down the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on his summer vacation when he looked up...and smiled. He snapped a photo for the farriers back home, and I'm sharing it with you all, too.