The Olympic (Laminitic) Hoof: Dressage horse diagnosed with laminitis before competition begins

A dressage horse representing South Africa has been withdrawn from the Olympics after developing laminitis at the Olympic Equestrian Center outside Tokyo. (Hoofcare.com file photo; this is not the horse described in the article.)

It's been a long road to Tokyo for the world's Olympic equestrian competitors. They've faced Covid lockdowns worldwide, an Equine Herpes Virus outbreak in Europe, Brexit horse transport regulation changes in the United Kingdom, and floods just miles from the quarantine center in Aachen, Germany. 

But for one rider, the challenges are just beginning: Her horse, expected to compete in dressage on Saturday for South Africa, has been diagnosed with laminitis at the equestrian center outside Tokyo.

Renate Weller appointed vet school dean at University of Calgary

Renate Weller, an educator and leader in the equine veterinary field in Europe, will become the new Dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Canada this September.

Well-known veterinary educator and researcher Renate Weller, Dr Med Vet, PhD, MScVetEd, FHEA, NTF, DipACVSMR, MRCVS will accept a new challenge in September when she adds Canada to the countries she has called home. Professor Weller will soon be known as Dean Weller as she assumes leadership of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary (UCFVM) in Alberta, Canada.

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Hoofcare Publishing will be back at work and publishing from the "real" office in town soon. In the meantime, some changes are coming to improve the delivery of your email newsletter and headline alerts.

Remembering Britain's Prince Philip and the Quick-Thinking Farrier

Prince Philip's brush with danger at the 2013 Royal Windsor Horse Show has almost been forgotten but it could have ended quite differently. A quick-thinking farrier was the hero that day.

The sound of the bagpipes and boatswain's whistles is fading, but the funeral of Great Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will remained etched in our minds as a tasteful, dignified farewell to an international icon of both monarchy and the horse world.

Prince Philip was, of course, an avid and exuberant competitive carriage driver, as well as polo player and long-time president of Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI), the global governing body of equestrian sport.

What I'll remember, however, is a horse show mishap that could have ended quite differently.

UC Davis Heumphreus equine foot lecture will be a free online event with focus on farriery, surfaces, foot imaging

All Creatures Great and Small: James Herriot Begins Career with a Hoof to the Head

The return of James Herriot's heart-warming "All Creatures Great and Small" stories to American television for the next six Sundays might be just what we need to get through the winter.