De moeite van het Engels waard!
This is a copy of the letter that I sent to WSU. Thanks for the heads-
up. I sure hope that others will take a minute to send their own
thoughts. This is the URL of the study:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/researchVCS/navicular/+++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Dr. Sampson,
In traveling your University website I came across your study on
Navicular Syndrome. You see, a couple of years ago, our breed of
dogs, the Silken Windhounds, was instrumental in helping to develop
the DNA test for MDR1 gene and WSU was the main researcher on this
study. This will be the first time that a breed can be cleared of a
negative gene without loss of genetic diversity. Within just 2
generations, we have nearly wiped the syndrome from our breed and it
was all with the help of WSU.
So, it was a surprise to me to see your research on the horses with
Navicular, as this problem is nearly as important to me as the MDR1
study. We personally have more than 100 horses including nearly that
many of the endangered species of Caspian Horses, but also Friesians,
Tennessee Walker Horses, Thoroughbreds, Paints, Arabs, Appaloosas and
some that are of mixed breeds.
When we got the Caspian Horses in 1995, their standard required that
they never be shod. They have incredibly good feet and it is not a
surprise that the DNA testing is showing that they are in fact the
precursor of the Arabian Horse, who are also famous for having great
feet, and coincidentally being able to go barefoot.
We decided to learn how to trim our own hooves, as the number of
horses that we have would break us if we paid an outsider to do it.
We went to Virginia when Dr. Staussrer traveled from Germany to train
barefoot trimmers in the science of horse's feet, and also studied
under Martha Oliva who is renowned for her work with hundreds of
horses. There are several other experts who have much to share in
getting horses back to the wild model that are capable of walking on
their own feet.
Involved in learning to trim barefoot, we were
introduced to studies of the equine hoof including numerous
dissections and intense examination of the function and form of the
horse foot. My head was swimming when I learned of the enormous
strides had been made in treating previously fatal problems of
founder and your issue of Navicular.
The logic of the development of Navicular Syndrome being caused by
incorrect, but commonly used, shoeing was a real eye opener. The
higher heels and deadening of the sensation of the hoof from shoeing
helped me to understand how these problems, like Navicular can get
out of hand. We came home and over the next few months pulled the
shoes on the many horses at our ranch that we had formerly kept shod
including a TB that I swore could never walk without the aid of metal
shoes. For some of our horses, it took as long as a couple months of
rehab to redevelop the natural strong walls and thick souls that had
deteriorated with years of shoeing. But we hung in there and at this
time, no horse of any breed from pony to Friesian wears shoes here
and they are all healthy and totally sound.
After years of trimming our own horses, while watching other horses
deteriorate and ultimately be put down from founder and Navicular, I
could not stand it any longer. Like you, we reached out for Navicular
cases that the authorities (farriers and veterinarians) had given up
on as incurable. Since we are not vets, our arrangements had to be a
bit different than yours. Legally, we can only work on our own
horses, so the owners had to sign the horses over to us for a small
sum and after rehab, they could buy the horse back for the cost of
rehab if they desire. This has worked well for us and for numerous
horses, who are alive today because of good quality barefoot trims,
and usually a change of lifestyle from stalls to being able to move
at will.
A couple of cases are notable. The first is an Irish Draft mare
imported from Ireland named Athena. She did a lot of winning at 3 1/2
feet jumping, but ultimately started to go lame at about 8 years of
age (which is typical of navicular horses -- they are diagnosed at 8-
10, treated to worse and worse applications of bigger and bigger
shoes that buy them some numbness for a while as the circulation is
cut, until maybe 12-13, but finally are declared incurable usually
before 15 years of age.) The owners of Athena, who paid a big price
for her in Ireland, decided that perhaps they could breed her, but
she was in so much pain, that she tried to kill the TB stallion that
they had chosen for her. If she could not be shown, and could not be
ridden, and could not be bred, she had no options but to be
euthanized to put her out of her misery.
We paid slaughter price for her, brought her home and pulled her
eggbar shoes. She turned out to be one of our most impressive cases.
With a lifestyle change from being stalled 24 hours a day to protect
her from pain, to running in an enormous pasture of rocks, hills,
gullies and grass. You can see her now here:
http://www.friesian.info/athena.htmAnother example was Scout, a chestnut super trail horse of well over
16 hands tall. By the time his owners had spent all of their money
and love to have him cured with bigger and nastier shoes and
veterinary treatments, he was not even able to walk from the stall to
our trailer when we went to get him. My husband pulled his shoes
while lying down and took nearly an inch off of his heels in an
effort to get his coffin bone back toward ground parallel. He was
able to get up and walk to the trailer and never look back. After a
longer rehab, he is back to being a super trail mount. He is barefoot
with good concavity, uncontracted heels, and the ability to go over
any terrain with ease.
All of this is a long winded way to ask that you consider helping the
sponsors of this study to honestly find the cure to Navicular
Syndrome by giving a good barefoot trimmer the opportunity to prove
that Navicular is not a Disease, but a human caused Syndrome. In
every case that I have dealt with (and we have made no effort to be
selective in the horses that we take in) it is a function of poor
hoof shape caused by classic hoof shoeing and confined lifestyle.
While it is true that the American Quarter Horse Assoc. will not want
to hear that their shoes are a major cause of Navicular and for sure,
a drug company will not want to see the result that these horses do
not need drugs, but simply good hoof care and a more natural
lifestyle, if you really want to see results that can be duplicated
and measured, you need to make your "untreated" group taken barefoot
to prove that a horse in his natural state is worse off than a horse
with surgery, drugs and metal shoes nailed to his feet.
If you can prove that, then their money will be well spent.
BUT if as I can guarantee, the "control" group of barefoot horses are
all "cured" and the other horses are still lame, you will have made
history. I can also guarantee that thousands of barefoot converts
will sing your praises and countless horses will be spared the
horrors of man-made pain and early death from such a simple and
commonly believed "treatment." And once again, their money will have
been well spent.
Please understand that I am sincere in my wish to help the horses and
see them relieved of their pain and problems. I would be happy to
supply you with well documented case studies to base your request for
a barefoot control group.
Sincerely,
Francie Stull
with degree majors in Genetics, Anatomy and Physiology
founder of Silken Windhounds
maintainer of the entire genetic base for the Caspian Horse on the
North American continent
barefoot trim student and advocate
Piet
The opposite of positive reinforcement is no reinforcement, not correction
Warboel
