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H & L Online News A collection of informal news from Hoofcare & Lameness: The
Journal of Equine Foot Science USDA Publishes Statistics on Shoeing and The report is a compilation of information gathered from large and small horse operations in about 28 states. Reported statistics tell the reader everything from whether a male or female makes healthcare decisions about the horses on a given farm to who actually administered wormers and vaccinations. A special section of the study is dedicated to hoofcare practices, although other statistics relevant to our field are scattered throughout the study. A complete report on the “Equine 98” statistics will be published in Hoofcare & Lameness, The Journal of Equine Foot Science. Of primary importance to those who shoe horses, make products for horses’ hooves, or who may aspire to a career in the hoofcare field are the following statistics: 1. TRIMMING: About 70 percent of farms employed a professional
farrier to trim hooves.. Trimming was done by personnel, a veterinarian, or “another
outside person” at about 20 percent of farms. 5.5 percent reported that they did not
trim hooves at all. For other professionals, 78.3 percent of farms reported using a veterinarian at least once in the previous year. When it came to dental care, 36.8 percent had their veterinarians perform the service, 4.8 percent used an equine dentist, and roughly 55 percent provided no dental care for their horses. 96 percent of responding farms found veterinarians to be a very important or somewhat important source when making equine healthcare decisions. Farriers were second on the list, at 77.4 percent; feed store personnel were third, at 64 percent. When it came to the internet as an information source, 38.1 percent of farms had access to the internet; 11 percent of all farms rated the internet as having a very important or somewhat important role in their decision-making process about healthcare of horses, comparatively, reference books and magazines were valued by 55.2 percent of all farms. (Please note that most of these number are percents of FARMS reporting, not percents of HORSES. Horse operations ranged from single horse residences to breeding farms.) Later in the study, the tables were turned for a different way to look at hoof and leg care. At 2.8 percent of all farms reporting, one or more foals under six months of age could not be used for their intended use without special treatment of leg or hoof problems. A related statistic was that, of all horses in the study (as opposed to all farms), 4.8 percent of horses over the age of six months could not be used for their intended use without treatment for a foot or leg problem; colic was the second leading problem, for 4.6 percent of horses. Respondents from 30 percent of horse operations had not heard of EIA (Equine Infectious Anemia) before being asked about it in the survey. Another 16 percent had heard of it, but weren’t sure what it was. On roughly 40 percent of horse farms in the US, no horses received any vaccinations. Vaccination percentages were highest in the western US. On almost 15 percent of farms, no deworming was performed on any resident horses. 50 percent of foals born at these farms last year were born in the pasture, not in a barn. Only 33 percent of newborn foals were seen by a veterinarian in the first 48 hours of life. And at 37.4 percent of farms, no written or computerized horse healthcare records, including of vaccinations, were kept. 25 percent of farms depended on notes kept on calendars and in checkbooks. All statistics quoted are subject to varying standard rates of error. We will all hear a lot more about these statistics in the months to come; they are probably most applicable to people marketing healthcare products, since a large percentage of horses in the US are obviously not being shod, wormed, or vaccinated regularly. However, these statistics do show that there is room for the farriery profession to better promote the need for its services and to educate the horseowning public of the importance of professional farrier care. If as many farms used the services of a farrier once a year as do a veterinarian once a year, a tremendous leap in demand for more farriers, or more employment for existing farriers, would result. Perhaps veterinarians and farriers can work more closely together to educate horse owners on the need for regular care of horses by both professions. Let’s hope, for these unshod, untrimmed, unvaccinated, and unwormed horses’ sakes, that better care is taken when it comes to feed, water, pasture management, stabling, and grooming than to routine health practices. To read more about how these fascinating new statistics may affect you or your business, subscribe to Hoofcare & Lameness, The Journal of Equine Foot Science. Visit our web site at http://www.hoofcare.com. Newly posted on our web site: “Horse Owner’s Guide to Egg Bar Shoes”, including many quotes and comments gathered from farriers and veterinarians on this e-mail list! Many more quotes are in the more technical version published in Hoofcare & Lameness’s print edition. By the time you read this, our report from August’s Saratoga Grayson Jockey Club’s conference on the use of toe grabs on Thorougbreds should also be posted. Our featured new book of the month: “New Hope for Soundness” by Gene Ovnicek, a detailed “how to” guide for the natural or “four point” trim. Books are $12 each plus $3 postage in the USA. You may order by email, phone, fax, or mail. Many, many more videotapes and books can be found on our website (http://www.hoofcare.com) along with detailed information on foot problems in horses. PS Your ad could be here...Hoofcare Online will soon accept sponsorships from commercial vendors. We'll do all the work, and tell our vast Internet audience about your product or service. Reach hundreds of vets and farriers directly! Call or email for full details! Call, write, e-mail, or visit our office if you are in the area (bring your life jacket, we're out on a dock). Thanks for keeping me inspired! Your friend, Fran Jurga Publisher Hoofcare & Lameness Hoofcare & Lameness About H&L Publishing Hoofcare & Lameness, The Journal of Equine Foot Science, is a professional journal of technical information related to the prevention and therapy of performance-related injuries, conformational challenges, and diseases of the foot that affect the world's horses. H&L is read by veterinarians, farriers, therapists, and owners/trainers/riders around the world and is the leading resource for the dissemination of new research, technologies, and ideas about the soundness of horses. H&L is published four times in each subscription period and is sold by subscription only. Cost is $50 in US, $55 in Canada and Mexico, $70 elsewhere in US dollars. H&L's print edition is supplemented by a reference book resource center, events listings, newsletters and press releases available on the Internet's World Wide Web at http://www.hoofcare.com. © 1997 Hoofcare & Lameness |