Would you clone your horse?

You may have already read the announcement in The Horse magazine -- the French company Cryozootech has produced a clone of Gem Twist, the famous jumper. Is this little guy (pictured left) a doll? The state of cloning has apparently advanced rapidly. Poetin has been cloned, and now Gem Twist (a gelding) may be able to be used in breeding. The cost of cloning is still rather high -- $150K, but its sure to come down. Horses are a good choice for the cloning industry, as their breeding value can go into the millions. The interest in cloning horses does beg a question, though. Will cloning someday be available to the consumer for their companion animals? Will people start to clone their horses? And more to the point, would I ever clone my horse?


O brother where art thou?
I have thought of "finding another Harvey" but not through cloning. I searched horse sale sites for Harvey's brothers/sisters. Several years ago, a horse appeared on Equine.com by Harv's sire, High Tribute. His name was Big Country (BC) and he is pictured right. BC looked amazingly similar to Harvey, and the owners kindly sent me a video. Harv and BC could be twins in terms of type and they had the same had/face. However Big Country was "hot" and his gaits were more impressive. His professional rider had trouble containing him in a first level test. His ears were pinned repeatedly and he kicked out a few times, but he definitely had a show ring presence. BC was reportedly schooling fourth level with FEI potential. Harvey, on the other hand, has a particularly kind way of going, and he's gotten 8's for obedience. His performance may not scream FEI, but when he's under saddle those ears are pricked forward!

Thinking of cloning?
If you have a few hundred thousand to spare, and have a horse or pony you're fond of, here are a few things to think about before you plunk your money down..

• Cloned horses are not copies of the original. Texas A&M produced five clones of a quarter horse stallion, and the clones look more like brothers than clones: they have different markings; they are different heights; their conformation differs. To explain the color differences, The Horse magazine article says, genetics call for white at the extremities, not necessarily specifying a location. Cells for white pigmentation can migrate differently in different individuals. So socks mix and match, and a donor might have one white hind sock while a clone gets a blaze. See the photos to the right of the barrel horse Scamper and his clone to the right.
  
  
• Although cloned horses don't experience the same level of health issues as sheep and cattle, they horses can experience problems early in life. This is because DNA pulled from cells will have some genes turned "on" while others are "off" depending on what type of cell the DNA is pulled from--skin cells will have skin-related genes turned "on". When the DNA is inserted into the oocyte, the DNA has to be reprogrammed to turn on the genes. Sometimes this process is not 100% reliable. Different animals have different kinds of health issues. Cloned baby horses are more prone to contracted tendons, oxygenation problems, low birth weight
  
  
• The uterus is a critical environmental factor that determines individual differences among horses -- even those that are genetically identical. Natural identical twin horses can vary dramatically in height--by as much as two hands. For example, differences in the availability of the placenta nutrients will alter a horse's appearance. And placenta seems to be the most affected part of cloning. The placenta of a cloned horse may not deliver nutritients as well as that of a non-cloned individual.
  

My take
I can't really stomach the notion of consumers cloning their companion animal. Imagine cloning the horse of your life to find that the clone just "isn't your baby." And how unfair to the animal! Besides, isn't it kind of creepy anyway? Like hiring a taxidermist so you can still have your horse around?

RESOURCES ON HORSE CLONING

Equine cloning: Where are we today?

Champion clones join Texas horse stables from NPR

Equine Cloning Expert Reviews Successes, Challenges

Cloning the Equine from Google books

Nuclear transfer saddles up from Nature

Champion horse cloning

Worlds first horse cloning opportunity opens to the public from Medical News Today

When Irish eyes are smiling, it's Riley's dentist

For years I have used a local equine dentist, Les. Les is a big bear of a guy, in his fifties; he's friendly, strong, and good with horses. He's also very successful, and our barn gets on his calendar well in advance. Well, this year the word didn't get out about his visit, and I couldn't arrange for the vet to be there for Riley's dental work. Les was down in Florida for the season, and I needed to find another dentist. I asked around, and someone in Bucks County recommended a dentist who handles some of the top competition horses/barns in the area: P.J. O'Rourke [slight name change here to protect the innocent and keep him to myself].

My first reaction was a smirk. He's gotta be Irish, of course. In my mind's eye I pictured a wizened old leprechaun of a gent, like Mickey Rooney many years after Andy Hardy. I called P.J's number and scheduled an appointment with his secretary. And because Riley was uncooperative for the last visit, I planned on being there, along with my vet in case Riley needed sedation.

The appointment
P.J. O'Rourke pulled up in an SUV. As I walked out to greet him, he was pulling his tools out of the back of the car. And MY OH MY. P.J. was tall and lanky, with shock of thick, curly, auburn-red hair perched atop broad shoulders. He was wearing black jeans, and (there's no subtle way to say it) he had a cute tush. P.J. Rourke was a hottie! He turned to me and offered a friendly greeting.

In a thick Irish brogue.

Thank God the vet pulled up in his truck about now, or I may well have fallen at his feet and attached myself to his ankle. I have loved red-headed guys ever since my teen crush on Rodney Jenkins. Ireland must produce more red-heads than any other nation, so by extension I must love Irish guys too. FWIW, Bob is of Irish descent.

Getting to know you
I spent a good few hours at the barn, chatting up the vet and listening dreamily to P.J. talk while he worked on several horses at our barn. Not only did P.J. have a great accent, he had the gift of gab. In the course of the conversation he mentioned his father's name was "Paddy." What else would it be? If he had pulled out a flask of whiskey every now and then, he would have fit every possible Irish stereotype. It didn't matter. He was charming and witty and delightful. And I was positively giddy.

Riley required sedation for the dental procedures -- actually I suspect the vet was ready to sedate me by this time. It turned out my horse had a lot of sharp ridges to file down. At my request, P.J. observed Riley eating--he holds his head to his side while chewing, which is a sign of dental issues. The examination and filing took perhaps an hour from start to finish. Before he left, P.J. handed me a bill.

All's fair in equine dentistry
$190! Wow! Les never charged more than $80. For the second time that day, P.J. had taken my breath away. I blinked hard when I saw that number. P.J. volunteered that I could make several payments if it was better for me. Bonus points for flexibility! And besides, this visit had entertainment value.

The question is, in the future, do I use P.J or Les? I've always been happy with Les, but he is travelling a lot now, and... Well, it was a quandry. I was on the fence until August, when P.J. wrote to me! Well, sort of. I got a newsletter from his practice. At any rate, now we have this relationship. I'm sorry Les and I drifted apart. But in light of this whole newsletter thing, I think P.J. has shown he deserves my loyalty. Sorry Les.

P.S. Riley is chewing normally again.

Fidertanz youngster at Dressage at Devon 2008

Disclaimer: I'm editing this post based on a comment by Anonymous (below), who caught a gap in my fact checking w/regard to bloodlines. I tend to do "quick and dirty" entries on the weekend, and I found this nice video, and threw in a link to a bloodlines article -- but it was misleading at best. I should have been more careful. My bad.

Anyhoo..
I didn't take this footage but saw this young horse go. He is by Fidertanz out of a Harvard mare:

Here is the daddy, Fidertanz.


Now, I get confused sometimes about the F and W line hanoverians. According to an article by Ludwig Christmann, all F line horses go back to a stallion called Fling. In 1989, the line was separated into the "F" and "W" lines according to the two Fling sons Fiener Kerl and Flavius: as of 1989, all stallions licensed in that year and going back to Feiner KerI belong to the F-line; all going back to Flavius form the W-line. Now sometimes (all in the past -- never again!) I have assumed that a horse whose name begins with an "F" or "W" is an F-line horse. Not so! Fidertanz is by Florestan who is by Furioso who does not trace his lineage to Fling.

The local dollar store: My equine finds

There is a dollar store the way home from the barn, and adjacent to the grocery store I frequent. I stopped by the other day, and found two wonderful equine items in the kids toys-- bought multiples of both.

Find #1
This is a novelty sponge "lucky horseshoe." I'm hoping these won't be utterly ridiculous stocking stuffers :-).


Find #2
No, it's not a donkey -- it's a stuffed animal HORSE in the likeness of Harvey! I love the sweet goofy face and the wide-eyed pleasant expression. I got two of these, one for me and one for my niece, who is at University of Kentucky -- their colors are blue and white, I think, and heck, it's in Lexington. A blue horse seems like the right kind of gift. After the fun, exotic, expensive boutique-y shops of Devon, I love these wonderful unexpected dollar store finds.

DAD '08: A lovely yearling filly

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008
Here is a lovely filly with quite a story behind her. I know this story second-hand and do not really know the breeder, but I'd like to share it with you all.

The breeder, a woman with a small farm in central Pennsylvania, purchased a weanling filly from an established Pennsylvania breeder. The filly, named Ghlycerine, grew to be a stunning young mare. She won many admirers as she gained exposure at breed shows and she received top ribbons at Devon. An elite mare candidate, Ghlycerine scored just a few points shy of an 8 at her mare performance test. The breeder was also a rider, and she planned for Ghlycerine to have a career in the show ring. In 2006, she bred Ghlycerine via embryo transfer (ET).

This special mare promised to fulfill so many goals and dreams--but it was not to be. Ghlycerine died tragically in a freak accident at the age of five. Even hearing the story second-hand, and having only seen photos of Ghlycerine, my heart broke when I heard this news. It is the thing we horse owners fear the most -- that we won't be able to keep our beloved horse safe. You can see a memorial to Ghlycerine, including some footage that captures her beauty and power, below...

Although Ghlycerine is gone, she left a legacy in the form of the baby horse conceived via ET. Her first and only baby, a filly by Pablo, is now a yearling. She was at Devon today. I knew she would be spectacular, but I was blown away at her beauty. You can see her baby footage in the Youtube video (above), but here is the Devon footage. Remember now, she's a yearling!

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She was in the ribbons in every class -- and if you know how competitive Devon is, you know this is quite an achievement. A hearty congratulations to Edgewood Meadow Farm...

EM Ghlycerine

Dressage@Devon 08 Diary

Tuesday, Sept. 23 DAD breed show
On this beautiful, cloudless day, I sat with my friend Dawn and watched some of the best young horses in the country pass before us. What a dream!

I like to watch horses that have some kind of connection to me, no matter how tenuous. Iknow a woman slightly who purchased a young horse in 2006, the same year I got Riley. She has a good eye, I think, and snatched up a yearling filly from a local breeder whose stallions are nationally known. The filly, Ruby, has been cleaning up at breed shows for two years -- last year and this year. Ruby came to Devon, and I was excited to see Ruby go. I attempted to videotape the triangle work, but whether the filly was just unsettled or the handlers didn't read her well, her run doesn't do her justice.


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With horses, you just never know, and that goes double for young horses. Based on Ruby's scores at other shows, she was definitely "a contender" for a top ribbon at Devon. In the video, you can see she's a quality girl, with a lovely walk. But in the trot around the triangle, she just never got into the rhythm with the handler, and when the assistant handler (in the middle) cracks the whip, it's all over. The few trot strides suggest her potential but judges have to score what they see.

Something similar happened at Dressage at Stone Tavern. Riley got a blue ribbon in his first class, which shocked me because one of the top two year olds in the country (a Sandro Hit son) was in the same class. In the second class, this horse was "back on top" with a super score, while Riley placed third. I can only guess that in the first class, the Sandro Hit son didn't show himself well -- through misbehavior, tension, whatever.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to videotape a filly named Showgirl, who scored an 87% on Tuesday -- that is the highest score I have ever seen. I missed seeing her Tuesday...

Longeing: Safety first!

Okay, now I admit that I'm not an expert on longeing a horse (see me longeing Riley in my previous blog video to confirm this). Harv is a seasoned old codger and he's totally predictable on a longe line. The first time I longed my 2 year old, Riley, imagine my shock when he suddenly turned into the circle and bounded toward me. I instinctively stepped toward him and hit him on the head with the whip to back him off. It happened to work. Since then, my barn manager has given me a few tips on longeing babies.

Even before my Riley experience, I have seen other people longeing horses in ways that shock me: dangerous, ineffectual, and unfocused. One dear friend seemed to love seeing her arab cross buck, leap, and careen around the ring -- until he fell and got injured, that is. Longeing carries risks for the horse and the owner. Below is my own personal list of longeing tips, stemming mostly from my "pet peeves" with regard to longeing and safety. I'm talking about casual longeing for basic exercise, not the formal training situation with surcingle, sidereins, etc. For more thorough discussions of longeing, see the resource list at the end...

Equipment/location
Always use a cotton longe line that "handles well" (falls easily into loops) and has a swivel trigger snap. Keep it looped in your hand. The halter, bridle, or cavesson can be used in many configurations depending on the situation -- read the resources at the bottom for more info. Always wear gloves. For young horses, always carry a whip long enough to actually reach the horse on a 20 meter circle (usually 6 feet long rod, 5-10 foot long tail). Use leg protection (on your horse). Longe in an enclosed space, in good footing. And lastly: wear a helmet. Yes, that's right. A helmet.

It ain't geldings gone wild...
Most people longe to get the edge off a fresh horse, but it should not be a free-for-all. Even if you really just want to exercise your horse, keep in mind that horses learn about their relationship to you when during a longeing session. Too many people adopt a passive demeanor -- a "human post" that does little more than hold one end of the line. When you longe, establish yourself as the leader and exert control over your horse's actions. His/her attention should be on you.

How do you do this? Set a tone with your longeing session. Keep the horse's mind occupied by changing gaits and speed within gaits. Keep the horse moving forward to minimize the chance that he'll think of stopping or turning. Keep your body and the whip "behind" the horse to move him forward. Move your body and point the whip "in front" of the horse to slow, stop, or reverse him. Occasional bucking or cavorting will happen, but use your voice and pressure on the line to bring the horse back on task. If the horse is out of control, be prepared for a kick or sudden turn, and try to eliminate slack in the longe so that tangling is less likely.

Body language/voice commands
While I didn't know this was a specific rule for longeing, I've recently read that you should never step backward when a horse comes into your space. Riley is fairly calm and I can use the whip to encourage him back out on the circle when he cuts in. The bottom line is, use body language and voice tones that assert your authority. The same way you direct his actions under saddle you direct him on the longe line. Unless the horse is tense for some reason, s/he will fall into a relaxed rhythm on the longe. Try to make your commands follow this natural rhythm so that the "spell is not broken."

Don't yak at your horse incessantly or they'll tune you out. Your commands are whoa, walk, trot, canter, quit, and easy. Upward transitions should have an upward inflection (second syllable higher pitched), downward transtions should be be spoken (or sung, if you prefer) in a descending pitch. BTW, whoa ALWAYS means halt. When you want a slower pace, say Easy. To correct naughtyness, say quit rather than no, which sounds like whoa. A horse halting on the longe should not face you. They should halt with their body still on the circle. If they face you, gently direct them back on the circle until they halt properly.

Like I said, I'm not an expert, and these tips are only scratching the surface of all there is to know. So here are some sources that I found useful...


RESOURCES
How to lunge a horse (video)

Lungeing a horse from University of Kentucky

How to Lunge a horse from youtube.com

Longeing Safety from Equisearch

Longeing and long lining a horse in safety from horseshowcentral.com (good discussion of equipment safety)

Art of longeing from Newjerseyhorse.com

Longeing head to tail from myhorse.com

Lungeing: The basics

The USPC Guide to Longeing and Ground Training by Susan Harris


101 Longeing and Long Lining Exercises: English and Western by Cherry Hill

Training Mythunderstandings: Teaching your horse to lunge from Meridith Manor

What makes your horse's heart go pitter-patter?

While exploring the Internet I found some interesting articles on the equine heart, especially the heart rate. Here are some tidbits from this research...

Grooming
If you want to make your horse feel good, and reduce his heart rate significantly (up to 22%), try imitating the common social grooming behavior of horses in a herd. Manual manipulation (scratching, rubbing, massaging) the following areas reduces heart rate (calms) the horse.

• mane: reduces heart rate by 10.8%
• shoulder: reduces heart rate by 14.3%
• hip: reduces heart rate by 15.6%
• withers: reduces heart rate by 22.1%

Note: The normal horse heart rate is around 35-45 beats per minute (bpm) at rest.

Twitching
Twitching paradoxically lowers the heart rate during an unpleasant procedure. A twitched horse's heart rate increases 8%. Horses not twitched during an unpleasant procedure experience a heart rate increase of 22%. The experts say that twitching causes an endorphin release that makes unpleasant experiences less stressful.

Some heart rate factoids...

• Sleep heart rate is usually about 5-7 bpm lower than when awake
• Equine transport: The horse's heart rate increases to about 20 bpm above normal during trailering
• Exertion through exercises increases the heart rate as follows:
  • Extended walk 62 bpm
  • Collected trot 80-100 bpm
  • Collected canter 100-120 bpmHalf pass 120-140 bpm
  • Piaffe 141 bpm
  • Gallop 180 bpm
  • Furtheremore, anticipation of a difficult movement increases heart rate

Human/animal communication and heart rate
Many universities study the human/animal bond, and the research results are fascinating. One study showed that horses' heart rate increased when their riders were nervous. How did they arrive at this finding? Mounted riders were told their horse would be blasted with water at some point while they rode. Horse heart rate increase matched the rider's heart rate increase. This indicates riders can communicate nervousness to their horses. Note: No horse/rider combination was ever sprayed!

Ellen Gehrke of the Alliant International University claims that a horse's heart rhythms reflect their emotional state and can respond to the emotional state of a nearby human. This was a finding of a pilot study she conducted, where ECG recorders were placed on her and four of her horses. The subjects were monitored during a 24-hour period in which the horses experienced normal conditions and activities such as eating, grooming, being alone, and being ridden and accompanied by Dr. Gehrke.

The ECG recorders projected increased coherent heart rate variability (HRV) patterns for the horses during times of close, calm contact between them and Dr. Gehrke. Coherent HRV patterns are the result of positive emotions and facilitate brain function.

This is something we probably all suspected, but having the research to back up our beliefs is not only gratifying, it's useful knowledge.

Apropos fear: A study conducted by the University of Guelph showed that 1/4 of rider injuries are related to a fearful reaction of the horse.


RESOURCES
Heart Rate Reduction by Grooming in Horses (Equus caballus)

Horse Heart Coherence May Be Key To Non-invasive Stress Detection,
Alliant International University Professor Ellen Gehrke and the Institute of HeartMath.

Horse behavior by George Waring

Heart to Heart: A quantitative approach to measuring the bond between humans and horses in the Horse Connection

Transfer of nervousness from competition rider to the horse, Uta U. von Borstel¹ ²*, Proceedings of the 3rdInternational Equitation Science Conference 2007

Heart rate synchronization of dressage horse and rider during warm up period for a competition dressage test
Bridgeman, J., Pretty, M. and Tribe, A (2006). Heart rate synchronization of dressage horse and rider during warm up period for a competition dressage test.

Riley breed show photos

Well, the professional photos are in from the breed show -- see below!

Nailed shoes vs acrylic glue-on shoes

Susan Kaynes from Unbridled TV interviews Farrier Bob Rynearson about advances in horse shoeing. Glue-ons look time-consuming, don't they?

Milestones for horse lovers: First blackened toenail

The big family vacation of my youth was an annual summer trek to the Shakamak State Park in Jasonville, Indiana. My sister and I loved Shakamak, mostly because it offered trail rides. The collage to the right is actually from the park Web site (they still rent out horses!). Shakamak was probably my first time on a horse, at about 7 or 8 years old. A horse-crazy kid from the heart of the suburbs -- you can't imagine how exciting it was!

But as Tom Waits says, "Life's so different than it is in your dreams." My horse stepped on my foot within moments of my grabbing the reins. I knew my foot was a mess, but I kept my mouth shut and we went on the trail ride. After the ride I wasn't walking too well, and my parents made me take off my shoes. My toenail was split and the toe looked squished. Mom put the kibash on our plans for more outdoor fun -- we cut our vacation short. My sister and I were devastated. I remember begging and sobbing in the back of our 1969 VW van while my parents stared grimly ahead in the front seats. Poor Leslie, it was not going to be the last time her little sister wrecked her fun.

Anyway, that was my first blackened toenail -- it's still split, by the way. It wasn't the most auspicious beginning to my riding career, but it was the first of many milestones. Shall I tell you more? My first foxhunt? First riding lesson? First horse show humiliation? The first championship ribbon? The best riding clinic ever?

What milestones do you recall?

The healthy horse hoof: The experts say...

Skip to Resource List

Let me state my standard disclaimer: I'm not a horse expert and that applies double for hooves. While I know some areas of horsemanship passably well, when it comes to the equine foot I'm strictly a beginner. Ideally I could tell you about a great book, The Horse Hoof for Dummies, but no one has written it yet. So here are some tidbits of info that I've gleaned from reading...

Coronet or coronary band?
When referring to the area where the horse hair meets the hoof, I have heard people refer to coronary bands, coronet bands, or just coronet. I believe all are correct. But doesn't coronary refer to the heart? When you look up coronary, you find that it means "encircling like a crown; applied to vessels, ligaments, etc., especially to the arteries of the heart, and to pathologic involvement of them." So the term 'coronary' in reference to hoof anatomy refers to the fact that the band encircles the hoof. By the way, this band has special cells that grow new hoof (in case you didn't know).

Why hoof conformation matters
This great illustration from hoofnexus.com (an article worth reading) shows how a healthy hoof structure helps to both absorb force/reduce concussion. This mechanism/action is important for several reasons. The hoof is responsible for 70-80% of shock absorption. According to Hoof structure and foot facts, heel and the frog seem to be pretty critical to hoof health and soundness. The article says that the frog is an important shock absorber, sending concussion outward instead of up into the leg. The open heel and wedge of the frog allow the foot to expand and contract. As the foot expands it forces the bars apart, pushing the digital cushion upward to create a pumping action in the blood vessels inside the foot. The blood inside the cushion enables it to act as a big sponge to absorb concussion. Weight pushing down on this “sponge” (and upward pressure from sole and frog) also aids circulation because blood flows easily down into the foot but needs a little help getting back up.

When the hoof structure develops abnormally--e.g., when the heels are contracted -- the shock transmitted to the leg. Equally important, the circulatory "pumping action" is diminished, which will slow healing and growth/maintenance of tissue.

What makes a good hoof?
I'm embarrassed to say that after all of this reading, I'm still not at all sure I could distinguish between a healthy/good hoof and a bad hoof. Most articles acknowledge that two horses' hooves can look dramatically different, yet both sets of hooves can be healthy. Living conditions, conformation, trimming/farrier practices, and other factors influence hoof health. It was gratifying to find several sites such as the healthy hoof gallery that feature photos of healthy hooves. There are also quite a few sites that provide some general guidelines for judging hoof quality/health. Some of the guidelines are provided in this article. I'm purposefully omitting guidelines that are related to farrier work. Talk about controversy -- No way am I going there!

Anyway, the guidelines are below. If any terms are unfamiliar, a hoof anatomy graphic from Wikipedia is provided underneath the guidelines:

• The hoof wall should be at least 3/8" with little or no rippling.
  
• The coronet (also called the coronary band) is soft, elastic, and does not protrude from the wall. The hairline is even with no distortion or pushed up areas.
  
• Hooves should be large relative to body size, symmetrical, and more round than oval. Rear hooves will generally be more oval-shaped and pasterns will be more upright compared to front hooves. Front and rear feet should match the partner (LR should match RR and LF should matchRF).
  
• The distance from hoof heel to bulb should be relatively short. See healthy vs. unhealthy examples here: illustration 1 and illustration 2 (from the side).
  
• The frog should be in proportion 50-60% wide as long. The apex (tip) of the frog should be 2/3 length of the hoof.
  
• The hoof should be "under" the foreleg, not out in front of it (contrast examples A and B in two photos from an article at infohorse.com.
  
• Growth rings should be examined. They should not be too pronounced/ripply, and each ring of the hoof should be about equal in width. Each ring is about a month's worth of growth.
  
• Bulbs of the heel should be firm, round, and of equal height. A cleft or track between heels can indicate contraction.
  
• The white line should be uniformly thick with no fissures. In this photo you see an unhealthy white line where the blue arrows point (from Blue Heron Farms web site).
  
• Heels should be fairly wide and form a solid base of support. The weightbearing points of the heels lie outside a line from the frog apex to the outer curve of the bulb.
  
• The weightbearing points of the heels should lie outside a line from the frog apex to the outer curve of the bulb (see Help! What does a healthy hoof look like?).
  
• The sole should be slightly hollow. Look for a sole depth of about 14mm (depth of cleft in heel?). In a healthy hoof with adequate sole depth, the sole adjacent to the white line should lift the collateral grooves about 3/4 inch off the ground in front, and around an inch off the ground at the back of the foot alongside the bars (This extra height at the back of the foot allows for expansion and a ground parallel collateral groove at peak impact loads)--from http://www.hoofrehab.com/coronet.htm
  

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

Transitioning barefoot hoof, from below. Details: heel perioplium (1), bulb (2), frog (3), central groove (4), collateral groove (5), heel (6), bar (7), seat of corn (8), pigmented walls (external layer) (9), water line (inner layer) (10), white line (11), apex of frog (12), sole (13), toe (14), how to measure width (15), quarter (16), how to measure length (17)

RESOURCE LIST
Disclaimer: Some of these sites are a mixture of fact and opinion -- informed opinion, maybe, but still opinion.

Healthy hooves, inside and out from The Horse magazine

Help! What does a healthy hoof look like? from thehorseshoof.com

The healthy hoof gallery from thehorseshoof.com

Common foot problems from The Horse magazine

Landmarks for Evaluating, Trimming, and Shoeing the Equine Foot From The Horse magazine

Anatomy and topography of the equine foot (a publication from the University of Florida)

How to judge hoof health from Healthyhooves.ca

What does a healthy hoof look like? from the Australia Equine Barefoot Movement

Anatomy of a horse hoof from horse-diseases.com

Hoof form and mechanism: The keys to healthy, happy, sound horses from the Hoof Maiden

Normal vs. contracted feet from Hooves that work

Contracted feet from the California Thoroughbred magazine

Hoof and horse conformation from eponashoe.com

Applied equine podiatrist has some good anatomy photos

How to recognize a healthy hoof notes from a lecture (Strasser Hoof Care)

Growing a healthy hoof (article from Equus Caballus magazine)


Hoof structure and foot facts from Eclipse Press

Hoof adaptability from Eponashoe.com

More strange horse patents...

The most bizarre award goes to...
The sandbox horse training apparatus (Richardson, no first name, 1976). Anyone care to guess what this is about? At first I thought it would be litterbox training, but what's with the horsey TV?

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Also ran...
US Patent 5775071 - Device and method for correcting the gait of a bad gaited horse. This one has "rope burns" written all over it.

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And then we have...
Equine training aid balancer, Patent 4004403. When you are really specific about where you want your horse to carry his head...

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Back from the Hoosier state

This weekend I went home to visit my family in Indiana. Mom now has a DSL connection so I got to do a bit of blogging, but mostly we shopped and ate. My second cousin had tickets to the Purdue game (Purdue is my alma mater) in the Buchanan Suite. Fancy seats, a buffet, and a glassed in view of the game. I'm not a sports enthusiast but anyone would have enjoyed this! Captured a bit on video...

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Co-op barns: Why aren't there more of' them?

When I lived in North Carolina, I boarded Harvey at a co-op barn. In a co-op barn -- at least the one I was at -- there is no one profiting (or losing money) by operating the barn. Members ran things by consensus, pitching in on barn chores and in looking after each others' horses. The informal management (no one in charge!) was crazy at times, but for the most part it worked. The horses there were the most closely watched and cared for of anywhere I've boarded. Here is how it worked...


Facility
The property was rented from an 80 year old man (Mr. T) with a sixty acre farm. He had bought the farm for his young daughter to keep horses, but she had long since married and moved away. Mr T. remained in the farmhouse and rented the facility. The farms was run cooperatively by fourteen boarders who agreed to help with feeding and turnout one day a week. One of the boarders, who was a friend of Mr. T's daughter, was the spokesperson for boarders on the rare occasions where we needed to speak with him. He was your basic old codger who didn't want to be disturbed -- frankly, that was a blessing, since one more opinion may have sunk us. He left us alone, and we left him alone for the most part.

The farm included the main barn (an old dairy barn with ten stalls), another eight stall barn, an oudoor ring, an "indoor" that was really just an empty barn, and about 50 or so acres of pasture divided into two fields. It was run down, but it was a lovely rural setting and the pastures were nice. The farm was only eight miles from where I lived.

How we managed
All the boarders were women, ranging in age from teens to over 50. Most of us responded to ads in the paper for a co-op barn arrangement. When we joined there was no written agreement, boarding contract, or proper "vetting." If you agreed to the verbal terms and your horse checked out healthwise, you were in. It happened that the boarders included an equine vet and two vet techs that worked at a local university's equine facility. The general rules were...

• Each boarder was responsible for mucking your her horse's stall.
  
• Each of the fourteen boarders was responsible for am or pm chores on an appointed day. This was basically bringing in, feeding/watering, and turning back out. The horses were on 24 hour turnout in good weather.
  
• Each boarder provided turnout and feeding instructions for their horse. Boarders depended on one another to follow instructions closely. I personally was very aware that the boarders who left hard-to-follow instructions were the folks taking care of Harvey and following the sometimes complicated instructions that I left.
  
• Each boarder paid $80 a month to rent the facility and paid for all food, hay, and shavings individually.

What worked and didn't work
The volunteer spirit was alive and well. One boarder lived in trailer on the premises (she was the vet tech!) and she checked the horses before work and at night. Another boarder whose horse was navicular dragged the ring regularly to keep the footing soft. There was a boarder who liked to work on landscaping and drainage, and one who addressed safety issues. I set up appointments with the farrier and organized some group hay purchases.

Debate is healthy and consensus building is a learning experience. There was regular, usually friendly discussion over the best management practices--feeding, turnout, blanketing, vaccinations, etc. And with a barn full of experienced horse people, I learned a great deal as a first time horse owner. C is for cooperation. Most of us were middle aged women on a budget. This co-op arrangement made horses affordable, and the facility itself was a great value. Everyone at that barn brought something to the table -- added something, through expertise, labor, or spirit de corps, that made the barn special.

Sometimes you do need someone in charge. For example, one of the new boarders brought a mare that kicked. The mare had been abused, so everyone was sympathetic at first -- but after the mare kicked the crap out of a pony clubber's pony, and the parents went into debt to pay the vet bills, sympathy dwindled. After a few months the mare did calm down, but with no one "in charge" it's hard to see how this would have resolved otherwise.

I miss it...
I was a brand-spanking new first time horse owner then, elated to have my dream horse and great digs, surrounded by helpful, involved horse people. The barn was so near where I lived, I used to go out early before work (right at sunrise) just share my breakfast with Harvey. I gave him his hay in the paddock, sat at a nearby picnic table in my work clothes, and ate my yogurt and apple. We munched together. I seldom encountered anyone, but if I did, there was no scolding (breach of barn protocol!), and no one thought it was weird. I miss that barn.

Hoof sealants: How do they work?

Hoof products seem to work on several (seemingly contradictory) principles. You can buy creams, oils, and moisturizers that supposedly moisturize; or you can go the sealant route which would seem to toughen, or maybe lock moisture in. As a 46 year old woman, I get the concept of moisturizing. But sealants? Not so obvious. So I read this article with interest, hope you find it interesting too....

clipped from www.infohorse.com

The Science Behind Modern Hoof Sealants!

by Dr. M. J. Pautienis and Dr. Richard Shakalis
researchers for

Coffin bone fractures: What to look for...

What is the coffin bone?
The coffin bone goes by several names, including the third phalanx, PIII, distal phalanx, or pedal bone. It is a half-moon shaped bone completely encapsulated by the hoof (P3 in the cross sectional photo on the right). This bone, which is rough and pitted in texture, is surrounded by the delicate tissue called the laminae. The laminae and digital cushion support and protect the pedal bone. There are many tendons/ligaments attaching to the coffin bone (particularly in the back of the hoof), as well as a network of blood vessels surrounding it. Within this support structure, you also find the navicular bone nestled in the back of the pedal bone. The deep digital flexor tendon passes over the navicular bone and attaches to the bottom of the pedal bone. An excellent article from Healthy Hooves can be consulted for more information about hoof anatomy.

This structure of bones and tissue supports the weight of the horse and absorbs the impact of forces acting on the legs from walking, trotting, jumping, etc. Anything compromising this support system can jeopardize the soundness of the animal and possibly its life. The pedal or coffin bone is the centerpiece of this complex structure.

Injuries to the pedal bone
What kinds of horses are vulnerable to pedal bone fractures? The problem is most commonly diagnosed in race horses and other performance horses, as it is an injury that stems from stress and abnormal force acting on the hoof. Young horses also seem to be at risk, in part because they are so active and their bones are not fully developed. Pleasure horses can also sustain a pedal fracture from such mishaps as kicking a wall, stepping on a rock, or running on hard ground. Over 90% of coffin bone fractures occur in a forelimb.

What are the signs of a coffin bone fracture?
The signs of a coffin bone fracture are similar to such common problems as a stone bruise, abscess, or laminitis (except that laminitis occurs in both feet). The symptoms present can include:

• Sudden onset of lameness in one leg, usually a front leg though not always
  
• Severity can range from moderate to non-weight-bearing pain
  
• Heat
  
• Digital pulse
  
• Swelling in the coronary band

Often only a few of the above symptoms are present, and in varying degrees. The cause is often mistaken for a stone bruise or abscess. How is it diagnosed? The best, most definitive way to distinguish between a coffin bone fracture and other ailments is to take radiographs. If a suspected abscess or bruise does not progress as expected, it may be safest to a) call the vet and b) limit the animals exercise until a definitive diagnosis can be made. The veterinary evaluation Vets have their own routine for evaluating lameness and I won't try to list the various tests they might do -- after all I'm not a vet! I will mention some tests that seem to be important for diagnosing a pedal bone fracture according to the reading I did. Hoof testers seem to be a good tool for targeting the source/location of hoof pain. If a pedal bone fracture is suspected, the location of pain might suggest the type of fracture. If the center of the pedal bone is cracked, testers would show pain generalized across the surface of the sole. Sometimes the outline of the crack can be traced with the testers--the horse will react most strongly along the crack line. If the wings/edges of the pedal bone are fractured, the horse would show more pain in one heel. Manually squeezing the heels together would also elicit a pain reaction. Radiographs/x-rays Radiographs provide a definitive diagnosis. However, a crack may not show up on x-rays for a week or so after the injury. It may be wise to either delay x-rays for a week (keeping the animal on stall rest). This gives the body time to remove some of the bone from the fracture line, making it more visible. Alternatively, the horse can be transported to a facility for a bone scan, which is far more sensitive and can detect subtle/hairline cracks.

A note on nerve blocks: Some veterinarians like to do nerve blocks as part of diagnostic testing. A horse that is nerve blocked will not "protect" the compromised bone when trotting, since the pain is gone; this could worsen the injury. If this type of test is used, experts strongly recommend that the nerve block be postponed until x-rays are performed on a horse that has been stall-rested for 10 days or more, so that the injury has the best chance of showing up. In other words, nerve blocks should be done after a pedal bone fracture has been ruled out.

Types of fractures There are actually seven kinds of pedal bone fractures as shown in this graphic from a super article in The Horse. Generally speaking, any fracture that involves a joint interface will be more serious. Types 1 and 2 are most likely to heal well without lasting negative effects.

Pinpointing and treating the injury The best case scenario is an injury to the outer wing with no joint involvement. This type of injury is less severe at the outset (most pain is on the affected quarter of the hoof). While a fracture in this location is harder to immobilize, motion is less detrimental than on a joint. This type of injury tends to knit together with flexible cartilage and carries the best chance of the horse returning to its former level of work. Injuries involving the joint surface have a more guarded prognosis. Immobility is critical because the bone reforms with more bone that is brittle and inflexible. with a joint surface fracture, surgery to immobilize the bone (with screws) may be necessary. Surgery is used to compress and fix the fracture gap. Surgery helps to minimize defects in articular cartilage of the coffin joint that occurred as a result of the fracture. Large defects in the articular cartilage may lead to the development of arthritis. Invariably, a horse with a coffin bone fracture will require therapeutic shoeing, usually bar shoes with quarter clips and padding. The goal is to prevent expansion of the back of the hoof, thus limiting motion/action on the coffin bone. The horse should be shod this way for 3 to 6 months. The shoes are typically in place for 6 to 8 months. Some horses may return to light work after this, while others may be on stall rest for a year. Prognosis Young horses with fractures often do quite well with conservative treatment (non-surgical) because their coffin bone is not fully developed until the age of theree. For older horses are better candidates for surgery, and they are more likely to have subsequent arthritis. In one study of hundreds of horses with fractures, about 1/2 return to their former level of work. RESOURCES The Racing Journal, Jan. 5, 2006 Dealing with a broken foot, The Horse Magazine, Nov. 1 2004, by Katherine J. Meitner Coffin bone fractures, advice article from the AAEP. Section of coffin bone fractures in Practical Guide to Lameness in Horses by Ted Stashak Coffin bone is susceptible to concussion injuries, The Thoroughbred Times, Sept 7, 1996 Dealing with a broken foot, The Horse magazine, Nov. 1, 2004, by Katherine J. Meitner Veterinary Topics: A hard and fast injury , Thoroughbred Times, Sept. 6 2003. A longitudinal study of racehorses with coffin bone fractures. Most returned to racing. UC Davis Book of Horses: Complete Medical Reference Section on coffin bone fractures Coffin bone fractures in young horses from the NCSU Vet School (examines the incidence of fractures of the wing of the coffin bone in young horses)

The vet visit: Yes, we have no CBF

Note: CBF=coffin bone fracture
My vet came out this afternoon. She's known me for years, and knows my foibles as a horse owner. She knows I'm a worrier and that where horses are concerned I don't have a tolerance for health mysteries. I imagine her briefing her intern and assistant as as they come up the driveway: "Be careful what you say to this client, she panics easily."

I'd called that morning requesting hoof x-rays for an acute lameness. Yes, it probably was a little brassy to tell the vet what services are needed, but I wanted the x-ray machine in that truck! Riley's lameness just wasn't looking like an abscess (no heat, only a tiny digital pulse, and no change in days).

Dr. M arrived with her technician and an intern. She started with a hoof exam and hoof testers, watched him on the lunge (very lame), and did some flexion tests. As she picked up his foot to flex the shoulder, she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, he's bleeding. She found gravel halfway popped out of a slit in the bulb of his heel. She dug a little and found more. We put him on the lunge line. Nearly sound. We guessed that the trotwork helped to pop the gravel that must have travelled up through a crack at the base of the bulb. I've read a few articles that say this is unlikely, and that the term "gravel" usually just means an abscess. But there was no abscess here.

In any event, there is no coffin bone fracture (CBF), the scary possibility. My vet was also able to tell my why she could tell it was not a CBF -- very educational! In my next entry I'll write more about CBFs.

Harried horsecare part 1: Treating abscesses

So a lot of you know that Riley has a likely abscess. In the past I've done the daily 30 minute soak in epsom salts and packing the hoof with ichthamol or betadine solution and sugar. I was spending at least an hour a day, and Riley's first abscess lasted about a week before it broke out the coronary band. I thought about buying Old Mac boots but they are very expensive and his foot may grow out of it. I don't really like the idea of a 24/7 poultice anyway. Whatever packing I manage to keep on him needs to come off for turnout, and I don't like to ask the workers to wield scissors around my wiggly and sometimes obnoxious horse.


An in-stall hoof poultice
As of today, I have a solution that works for me. It's a little slapdash, but I thought I'd share it. Try it at your own risk -- let me know if it works for you!

Needed:

• Ichthamal jar (you'll need a generous amount)
  
• Small amount of vet wrap or strips of duct tape
  
• Small transparent plastic bag, grocery size or smaller (ideally it should be the size used for Hallmark cards
  
• Sandwich bag or spatula (optional)
  
• Scissors

How to poultice

1. With your horse tied safely in his stall, assemble the items needed and clean the sole of the affected hoof.
   
2. Take the transparent grocery bag. and turn it inside out over your hand.
   
3. Using your fingers or a spatula, scoop out a generous amount of icthamol and spread it into the hand covered with the bag--about the size of a hoof, the thickness you would spread peanut butter.
   
4. Pick up the hoof (wipe free of shavings/straw if necessary) and place the icthamol bag over the hoof, centering the icthamol over the sole.
   
5. Press the icthamol into the sole and spread so all parts of the sole are covered. The ichthamol and bag should be squished hard to adhere firmly inside the cup of the hoof.
   
6. Put the hoof down.
   
7. Use scissors to cut the bag down to the fetlock area or coronary area (your preference).
   
8. Holding the bag material fairly taut, Wrap the vetwrap or duct tape strips over the bag and around the fetlock.
   
9. Cut off any excess bag above the wrap.

When I tried this with my stallbound shoeless 2 year old, the grocery bag didn't tear and was on securely for four hours (I left after that, so I don't know how long it stayed on). I used vetwrap, and was able to tell the barn workers to just pull the wrap off before turnout. The key is getting the bag and icthamol to really stick up in the hoof. Even if the bag tears around the edge of the hoof, the plastic will keep the goop stuck where it belongs. If the goop is really firmly adhered to the inside of the hoof you could probably just cut the bag away around the hoof. Things to watch:

• I only tried this with a horse bedded on straw.
  
• Some horses might be afraid of the bag.
  
• If you haven't worked with icthamol, it's messy. With this method the stickiness works to your advantage.
  
• It obviously won't last outside the stall very long. It can easily be pulled off and if no one attends to it the bag will slough off by itself.

These bags are thin and weightless -- they keep the goop inside the hoof, protected from straw (not so sure about shavings). So far, aside from being a time-limited poultice compared to a boot, there are no down-sides.

UPDATE: Riley is having x-rays this afternoon (9/8/08). Think good thoughts!

Head-bobbing lame: Differential diagnosis

The day after Harvey's "brush with death" (actually a moderate head gash), I got a call from Riley's barn manager. "Hi, Stacey, Riley is pretty lame. Are you planning to go out to the barn tonight?" My plans to check on Harvey went out the window. "Yes, I'll be there by 5:30." Riley is not Harvey. Harv has had two abscesses since the age of 10, and he is stoic about pain. Riley has now had two abscesses this summer alone, and he doesn't have the same pain threshold -- maybe even a little theatrical?

I hope it's an abscess or stone bruise, but you never know. There are four types of injuries that commonly cause head-bobbing sudden lameness, and they have similiar symptoms...

1. Laminitis. Okay, this is not the high order probability for Riley. Books have been written about it so I'll give it cursory treatment only. Laminitis symptoms include sudden onset lameness, strong digital pulse, heat in hooves, and reluctance to bear weight on the front feet. Laminitis typically occurs in the front feet. Rocking from one foot to another is common, as is a rocked back stance.
   
2. Abscess. Here's the likely cause of Riley's problem. Symptoms are acute onset lameness in any hoof, strong digital pulse, heat in the hoof (often), tenderness in a localized area (sometimes), or evidence of puncture wound or mushy area in the sole or coronary band (sometimes).
   
3. Stone bruise. Again, a rapid onset lameness in one foot and strong digital pulse are typical symptoms. Examination may reveal spots (areas of blood) in the sole. Stone bruises are more "subtle" than abscesses; there may or may not be heat present, and the lameness might not be as dramatic as an abscess.
   
4. Coffin bone fracture. Traumatic injury can cause a crack or fracture of the coffin bone. Sit up and pay attention to this one! The scary thing is, the symptoms are very similar to an abscess: strong digital pulse, heat, sudden lameness. It is less common than an abscess but the symptoms are similar, if not the same. I read an article by a vet that felt that pain/heat is toward the back of the hoof is an indication for coffin bone fracture (of course sometimes abscesses occur in the back of the hoof too). Coffin bone fractures near the joint interface are very severe and typically worse on soft ground, since this applies more pressure to the sole of the foot. Fractures of the wing tend to show up more when the horse is turning. The frightening thing about coffin bone fractures is that if they are not treated immediately, the prognosis is more guarded. Th pictured radiograph shows the internal structures of the hoof: A) coffin bone, B) navicular bone, C) third phalanx (P3), and second phalanx (P2)
   

So when I went to see Riley, his symptoms were:

• He's headbobbing lame on the right front.
  
• Strong digital pulse on RF only
  
• He's more acutely lame on a hard surface than a soft surface, and reluctant to walk down an incline.
  
• I could find no heat in hoof wall.

The first time he abscessed(left hind hoof), I happened to read an article that said coffin bone fractures are often misdiagnosed as an abscess. Primarily because of that article, I called the vet and shelled out $250 in x-rays to find out if he had a fracture in his hoof. The outcome? I'm now in possession of some radiographs of the abscess. There was some eye-rolling at the barn and a few people actually chided me for wasting money. Riley is a little bit better today (day 3), but Bob saw him for the first time and thought he looked pretty bad. He thought it was terrible that I made him trot even a few steps. We both took turns making him stand in Epsom salts. I'll probably have a vet out Monday. Regardless of what people may think -- people who have no reason to care one way or another--in the end he's my responsibility. The picture to the left is an older one but it captures Riley's present demeanor. This hoof pain is for the birds!