The aim of this conference is to "To
engage veterinarians, farriers, caretakers and the greater equine
community in a collaborative effort to advance, expand and disseminate
knowledge through research and collective experiences to effectively
prevent and treat Equine Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot."
Dr Carrie Finno will be presenting a paper on HWSS at the Laminitis Conference
Here you will find the programme for the conference.
In association with the conference the Journal for Equine Veterinary Science publishes the abstracts for the conference.
The speaker immediately prior to Dr Finno is Dr David Hood. Dr Hood will be talking about how the hoof capsule is formed and details the interactions between the protein layers and the lipid layers of the hoof wall. The process of hoof formation is known as cornification.
"Cornification and physiology of the foot: As indicated
above, cornification makes important contributions to the
physiology of the normal foot. For example, the specific
variations in cornification are responsible for establishing
the regional differences in the relative strength and elasticity
that exists between, and within, components of the
hoof capsule. These regional differences are critical to the
normal biomechanics of the hoof. Additionally, as cornification
involves forming attachments between the extracellular
matrix lipids and the cell envelope, as well as
between the cell envelope and the proteins of the intracellular
matrix, it is a major factor in maintaining the
structural integrity of the hoof capsule. As the lipids of the
extracellular matrix organize during cornification, they
decrease the ability of water to migrate through the wall
and allow the hoof capsule to adapt to different
environments."
Hood, D. (2013) Hoof wall cornification and its significance in disease conditions. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 857
The work of Dr Hood is highly relevant to HWSS as it explains why the interactions of the lipid and protein layers are so important in maintaining hoof integrity.
Dr Finno will discuss the clinical signs of HWSS and explain how the genetic testing has been performed.
Take-home message: Hoof wall separation syndrome is
an autosomal recessive condition in Connemara foals. A
genetic test will allow accurate diagnosis and prevention of
future cases.
Finno,C., Bannasch,D., Stevens, C., Young, A., Ramsay,S. (2013) Clinical and genetic investigation of connemara hoof wall separation syndrome. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33 (2013) 857
Other speakers of note are Drs Chris Pollitt, Fran Jurga, and James Orsini.