Fran Jurga`s Hoofcare + Lameness

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Equine Hoof Vascular Supply Plastination Cast for Equine Education is a 3-D Venogram

2 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

A plastinated "corrosion cast" of the blood supply in a horse's foot is created from the foot of a cadaver. Plastic is injected into the veins and, after removing the hoof capsule and processing away any non-vascular tissue, what is left is virtually a three-dimensional venogram. Hoofcare and Lameness began offering these for sale on a special order basis on December 1, 2009.

This over-exposed and light-enhanced image of a corrosion casting shows the delicate structure of the blood supply inside the hoof capsule.

Hoofcare and Lameness is now officially taking orders for full-hoof vascular casts, preserved by the plastination process of Dr. Christoph von Horst in Germany. Dr. von Horst has agreed to ship these fragile wonders to the USA on a special-order basis.

Some of you may have seen the half-hoof cast that has been on display in the Hoofcare and Lameness booth for the past year. Everyone wanted it, but I couldn't sell it.

The cost for a whole hoof corrosion casting to the USA is $280 plus air shipping from Germany, which is probably about $20 since the cast does not weigh much, but does require a lot of protective packaging.

These models are fragile and little bits have been falling off mine for the past year but it still looks wonderful. Dr. Von Horst warns that this "shedding" of plastic particles is inevitable and unavoidable. It probably doesn't help that my sample travels from trade show to trade show and is handled a lot.

The plastic is quite resilient, but these models should be handled with care. It's hard to imagine a better tool to explain why a venogram is needed, or as an asset to an anatomy class.

If you would like to order a vascular cast or any type of plastination model, please contact Hoofcare and Lameness by calling 978 281 3222 or emailing fran@hoofcare.com. Advanced payment by Visa or Mastercard is required.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

Advanced Radiography for Heavy Horse Breeds Leads to Anatomical Disovery

2 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Horse, originally uploaded by Cuff. (Thanks!)

I was saving this for April Fool's Day but every time I see it, I just start smiling, so why not spread the fun around?

I hope you can see this image clearly. You may need to double-click on it.

Now you know what's really inside those big guys.

If your monitor isn't high resolution or you are reading the blog on your cell phone, watch this YouTube video, it might help explain the heavy horse anatomy. It's a take-off on Wheatabix cereal commercials (I guess).

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Would Horses Prone to Grass Laminitis Suffer Less If Exercised More? A New Study Will Focus on At-Risk Horses

1 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

The following announcement was received by press release:

Great Britain's Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in collaboration with the Laminitis Consortium, the United Kingdom’s leading laminitis research body, has been awarded a grant of £134,425 (ed.:approximately $223,297US) by the Laminitis Trust, to investigate the effects of exercise on horses and ponies that are predisposed to pasture-associated laminitis.

The WALTHAM–initiated International Laminitis Research Consortium comprises world-leading equine veterinary, nutrition and research experts interested in collaborating on the important topic of laminitis. It includes Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow and Professor Jonathan Elliott of the RVC, Dr Pat Harris of the WALTHAM® Equine Studies Group, and Clare Barfoot of Mars Horsecare UK Ltd.

Perhaps the most important issues in laminitis clinical research, especially for those who own or look after affected animals, is why some individuals seem to be predisposed to recurrent bouts of this potentially devastating condition and how can their susceptibility to future episodes be reduced. This project aims to evaluate both aspects with the aim of identifying potentially beneficial management procedures.

Dr Menzies-Gow, lead investigator for the recently awarded grant explains: “This project will in part investigate whether exercise can reduce the level of chronic inflammation in laminitis-prone animals, which may then prove to be a simple and practical way of reducing the risk of future bouts of disease in susceptible animals.”

The grant commences in January 2010 and will run over two years. The Laminitis Consortium will be providing regular updates on progress.

Robert Eustace, founder of the Laminitis Trust said: “We are very grateful to all who have made legacies and donations to the Laminitis Trust. Additionally we recognise the efforts of the feed companies. Their responsible attitude to horse nutrition has enabled the Laminitis Trust Feed Approval Mark to become the 'gold standard'. Lastly, without the support of their customers who buy Approved Feeds for their animals, the Trust would not have been able to provide this substantial research grant to the RVC.”

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, 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.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Video Clip: Thermography Out-Takes from "Recognizing the Horse in Pain" DVD

by Fran Jurga |30 November 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

A few weeks ago, we introduced a new DVD on this blog. "Recognizing the Horse in Pain" is an interesting survey of subtle lameness problems in performance horses by Dr Joanna Robson, a veterinarian in the Bay Area of Northern California.

In this little clip, you will see a few out-takes from the section on thermography from the video. The Arabian ex-endurance horse was worked up at farrier Mike DeLeonardo's clinic in Salinas, California; his diagnostic protocol included scanning his feet with a thermographic camera, as well as radiographs.

After reviewing all the images with Dr. Robson, Mike was able to come up with a change in the horse's shoeing that would make her much more comfortable.

Dr. Robson's DVD "Recognizing the Horse in Pain" has been very popular and we will soon have the book that goes with it. If you'd like to order the DVD, it is $60 plus $5 post in the USA and $8 post to other countries. However, the DVD is only available in NTSC (North American) format which may not play in some DVD players in other countries. Click here to go the web page for the book or use the PayPal button to order directly.

© 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.

Equine Gait Analysis Has a Secondary Benefit: Upgrading Video Game Quality

by Fran Jurga | 30 November 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Sometimes I see people shake their heads after a lecture on the wonders of video-based gait analysis of horses. They just don't get it. And admittedly, the lectures can be boring, although Mark Aikens certainly showed how interesting and practical it can be when he spoke at Cornell University's farrier conference two weeks ago. (More information is coming on that presentation!)

But did you know that roughly the same process used to identify gait abnormalities in a clinical setting is used to collect data points of horses for animation? Today's video takes you to a makeshift video studio on a riding arena in England, where a video crew is "filming" a white horse that will later star in a video game.

Here's a rough cut of what the animators were able to re-create from the data points. So the next time you waste an hour playing Oblivion, just ask yourself where that horse got his moves. His moves might just be data points, plucked out of a riding arena by a geeky animation crew that could moonlight at an equine hospital, if they were so inclined.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanks

26 November 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Farrier Family Portrait, Germany, circa 1900.

To the Hoof Blog's USA readers:
Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving from the Hoof Blog!

I hope that you all have wonderful holidays with your families and friends and horses and dogs. I am most thankful for the opportunity to write for you and act as a conduit for new and old information. Most of all, I'm thankful for the friendships I've made with other professionals in the horse industry and I appreciate the way that you all keep me inspired.

Enjoy your turkeys and your football games!

Note: if things get slow today, I would refer you to last year's Thanksgiving blog post, which was one of our most popular ever: it revealed the long-forgotten story of the shoeing of turkeys. I will never top that one. Enjoy!