GLOUCESTER,
MASSACHUSETTS, USA-"Difficult, but not impossible" are
the words that leading researcher Christopher Pollitt BVSc PhD
uses to describe his mission to solve the mystery of how the disease
of lamintiis affects horses.
Pollitt has compiled the latest information on the disease in
its many forms, from grass founder in ponies to full-blown systemic
laminitis as an adverse toxic reaction to medication.
"Equine Laminitis", a book first published in Australia,
is now available worldwide through Hoofcare Publishing, publishers
of the Hoofcare and Lameness Journal, and the web site www.hoofcare.com.
Funding for the volume was made possible by the Rural Industries
Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) in Australia, which
has been a key funding resource for many of Pollitt's research
projects in his Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit at the
University of Queensland. Hoofcare Publishing worked with RIRDC
to make the book available in North America and to customers in
other parts of the world.
In compiling the book, Pollitt created a well-rounded and objective
overview of the disease, including coverage of many theories of
laminitis that may be considered contradictory to his own research.
The book's eleven chapters include an in-depth look at the causes
of laminitis and the process by which the disease initiates a
painful structural breakdown of the horse's foot. Endocrine factors
in laminitis, including the role of glucose and the links between
chronic laminitis and the condition known as "Cushing's disease"
in older horses, are covered. In the practical section of the
book, Pollitt looks critically at how better radiographs may facilitate
laminitis therapy, and discusses different courses of medication,
and early intervention therapies such as intensive icing.
Therapeutic shoeing is a key chapter in the book, including important
points in the use classic heart bar shoes, the modular EDSS laminitis
shoeing system, and a hybrid shoe used in Australia that incorporates
a heart-bar shoe with a trimmable "silicone rubber support
cast" of the bottom of the foot.
"Equine Laminitis" is an in-depth but concise and objective
overview of what is currently known about laminitis, and will
serve as a catalyst for helping funding organizations or concerned
individuals realize all that is not known about laminitis, as
well as fully explaining what is known.
Owners of horses, ponies, and donkeys afflicted with laminitis
will find it comforting to know that researchers of Pollitt's
caliber are at work on this crippling disorder affecting thousands
of horses each year.
While the book serves as a "state of the art (or science)"
summary for the horse health community, everyone concerned with
the care of horses will find this book valuable in investigating
treatment and prevention options, and understanding this terrible
disease.
"Equine Laminitis" by Chris Pollitt is one of several
educational products marketed by Hoofcare Publishing. "Color
Atlas of the Horse's Foot" is a visual gallery of the diseases
and disorders of horses' feet, with 500 graphic color photographs
detailing every imaginable condition.
"Horse Foot Studies" is a 20-minute videotape showing
how a foot functions in terms of anatomy, circulation and weightbearing;
proceeds from the sale of the videotape go directly to support
further research in Pollitt's laboratory.
"Equine Laminitis" is 107 pages, with about 70 color
illustrations and photographs.
The introductory price for the book is $25 each, with postage
charges of $5 within in the US, or $8 to Canada, $10 overseas.
Customers are encouraged to order from Hoofcare Publishing's web
site, www.hoofcare.com,
or send orders to Equine Laminitis Book, Hoofcare Publishing,
PO Box 6600, Gloucester MA 01930 USA. Fax orders may be sent to
USA 978 283 8775; email inquiries to fran@hoofcare.com
Overseas customers may also order directly from RIRDC's web site
(www.rirdc.gov.au).
Dealer and bookshop inquiries are invited, as the author, publishers,
and Hoofcare Publishing wish to see this book reach as many concerned
professionals and owners as possible, wherever horses are affected
by laminitis and founder.
Dr Pollitt serves as an editorial consultant to "Hoofcare
and Lameness Journal". Updates to Dr Pollitt's research are
published regularly in "Hoofcare and Lameness: Journal of
Equine Foot Science" and in the news section on the web site
www.hoofcare.com. His latest
research details the process of how and why horses suffer from
grass founder when grazing on spring pasture.
www.hoofcare.com
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