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Program enhances veterinary student, farrier relationships

Buddy pairs gathered in the small animal surgery lab to do an anatomy wet-lab with a twist.  Dissections were completed in 20 minute blocks, with surgical demonstrations performed by Dr. Andrew Smith and Dr. Brent Barrett between each block. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Regan)

By Sarah Carey

Over the past year, equine-oriented University of Florida veterinary students started a unique program they now hope will become a model for enhancing awareness of the veterinarian-farrier relationship in veterinary schools nationwide.

Known as Blacksmith Buddies, the program came about last spring when the UF’s Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners began organizing a farrier “short course.”

“We had to find local farriers to help teach the course,” said Blacksmith Buddies coordinator Stephanie Regan of the college’s Class of 2015, an active UF SCAAEP member.

Enter Billy Bishop, web-lab coordinator for the Florida State Farriers Association. He attended the course, where he met and chatted at length with Regan.

The two had a meeting of minds.

“In a true embodiment of farrier-vet relations, we began to brainstorm how SCAAEP and FSFA could pool resources and integrate our learning experiences,” Regan said. “We agreed that in learning side-by-side, farriers and veterinary students could better understand  each other’s  strengths and weaknesses, and innovate ways to collaborate that could be carried forward throughout our careers.”

From farriers to apprentices, from surgeons to veterinary students; all ages and experience levels were able to join the creative process together to successfully shoe and treat their mock cases during an event held Oct. 4. From left to right: Tanner Wingo (farrier), Katelyn Sheppard (freshman veterinary student), and Kyle Bozeman (apprentice). Kyle Bozeman and his buddy Kimberly Herron (senior veterinary student, not shown) went on to win the day’s Golden Hoof award, presented to the team with the overall best communication and teamwork. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Regan)

Playing on the name of a training tool — known as Blacksmith Buddy — which is used widely by both farriers and veterinarians, the two came up with the idea of creating a continuing education system through which participating FSFA members could be paired with a veterinary student “buddy” for a variety of educational exercises in the course of the academic year.

The concept started with three specific components: wet lab, a dinner meeting with a veterinarian speaking on the topic of laminitis, and a regional farrier’s competition.

At the wet lab, held Oct. 4, students and farriers jointly performed a dissection of an equine limb, made a shoe to address an injury, and created a treatment plan.

“Farriers created the therapeutic shoe, vet students drafted the treatment plan, and each presented the other’s work, ensuring that each pair of farrier-student ‘buddies’ had to communicate and teach each other beforehand,” Regan said, adding that Dr. Brent Barrett, an area equine podiatrist, and Dr. Andrew Smith, a former UF large animal surgery resident who is now a Ph.D. candidate at the college, were instrumental in the wet lab’s success.

“We hope very much to have them involved in Blacksmith Buddies events in the future,” Regan said.

Barrett also gave a presentation on laminitis to farriers and veterinary student on Oct. 28, and in November, students volunteered and cheered on their farrier buddies during the last leg of the Southeastern Triple Crown Competition.

Building on the success of the wet lab, the students came up with a fourth event: Depot Day, which will be held Jan. 31 at the Farrier Depot in Ocala. The venue, a supply shop for farrier tools, will feature a scavenger hunt, presentations, and case studies.  Depot Day will also be sponsored by The Sanctuary and Longwood Arenas.

“I hope to send a full report of the Blacksmith Buddies program to the American Association of Equine Practitioners and to the American Farriers Association to help provide a model for other student and farrier groups if they are interested in starting their own programs,” Regan said.

Dr. Sarah Reuss, a clinical assistant professor of large animal medicine and advisor to the UF SCAAEP, said it was exceedingly important for veterinarians and farriers to work well together.

“This program shows our students at an early age how beneficial a good working relationship with a farrier is and how much they have to offer,” she said. “The farriers have so much knowledge to share with our students but they also appreciate the opportunity to see deeper into the foot with imaging and dissections that the veterinarians have to offer.”

Reuss said to her knowledge, Blacksmith Buddies was unlike any other program currently offered at any other university or veterinary college nationwide. She hopes to see the program continue, and said horses would benefit in the long term from enhanced communication between veterinarians and farriers.

“Both veterinarians and farriers are trying to make and keep horses sound,” Reuss said. “But sometimes, some of the terminology is used a bit differently or ambiguously.  The better the two groups can communicate, the better the outcome for the horse. So establishing a good relationship where you can talk about a case and both know that you are seeing and hearing the same thing is invaluable, and developing a respect for what each profession has to offer is key.”

Added Bishop, the farrier, “For two industries that have been historically divided, Blacksmith Buddies brings them together, regardless of experience level.”

He said grassroots collaborations substitute innovation for innovation in the new program.

“Ultimately, the true benefit is felt by our horses,” he said.”