Newsletter April 2009

SEMINAR
The highlight of the last months work has been the Pollitt/Hampson seminars in Melbourne and Tasmania. There were 50-60 attendants at each seminar consisting of an even number of vets, farriers, hoof trimmers and horse lovers. Chris Pollitt stunned the crowd with his use of 3-D CT scan imagery to reveal the inner workings of the equine hoof in detail not previously presented.

Brian's Brumby work was presented for the first time and delighted the audience with its fresh approach and detailed analysis of horse movement and the brumby foot. Feedback from the participants suggested we need to extend the 1 day seminars to allow more high definition movie footage of wild horses and wild horse research.

Marg Richardson gave a presentation on the non-scientific side of the brumby bush trips with a funny and delightful dialogue and slide show. She also left the audience wanting more. It looks as though we may be taking the show further abroad to New Zealand and the USA in October.

We look forward to visiting more locations within Australia and overseas in 2010. Enquiries regarding seminars can be made to Marg

The team was able to meet up with Carol Ferguson, Jean Koek, and Greg Giles (Cavallo) while down south. These people have made significant contributions to the brumby research and we were able to extend our gratitude in person. We would also like to thank all those who attended the seminars and contributed financially to the brumby research.

April 2009
	SEMINAR: NUTRITIONAL STUDY: BRUMBY SWAP: UP COMIMG

PREVIOUS ISSUES October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 February 2009 March 2009	SEMINAR The highlight of the last months work has been the Pollitt/Hampson seminars in Melbourne and Tasmania. There were 50-60 attendants at each seminar consisting of an even number of vets, farriers, hoof trimmers and horse lovers. Chris Pollitt stunned the crowd with his use of 3-D CT scan imagery to reveal the inner workings of the equine hoof in detail not previously presented. Brian's Brumby work was presented for the first time and delighted the audience with its fresh approach and detailed analysis of horse movement and the brumby foot. Feedback from the participants suggested we need to extend the 1 day seminars to allow more high definition movie footage of wild horses and wild horse research. Marg Richardson gave a presentation on the non-scientific side of the brumby bush trips with a funny and delightful dialogue and slide show. She also left the audience wanting more. It looks as though we may be taking the show further abroad to New Zealand and the USA in October. We look forward to visiting more locations within Australia and overseas in 2010. Enquiries regarding seminars can be made to Marg The team was able to meet up with Carol Ferguson, Jean Koek, and Greg Giles (Cavallo) while down south. These people have made significant contributions to the brumby research and we were able to extend our gratitude in person. We would also like to thank all those who attended the seminars and contributed financially to the brumby research.
	NUTRITIONAL STUDY As I wrtite this newletter the nutritional analysis results of the stomach contents of 50 brumbies from 4 different locations in Australia are just comimg throught . It has taken a few months to raise the money to have these samples professionally analysed but it was well worth the wait. Full coverage of the analysis will be in next month Newsletter.
	BRUMBY SWAP The 2 desert mares were released in soft country in central Queensland on 28th April. We had the mares in captivity for less than 2 weeks but their feet had already begun to change as a result of the low mileage and soft ground during this time. It appeared that their hoof walls had a very fast growth rate but we will confirm this when recapturing them in July/August. All mares have had their hoof walls branded in 5 locations to allow us to record growth and wear rates. We look forward to analyzing GPS movement and behaviour (eg. watering frequency) data and comparing hoof morphology from repeat photographs and radiographs. This is the type of data we will be concentrating on in the next 12 months of the project.
	UP COMIMG The brumby research is not always exciting and adventurous. I am spending the majority of the next 4 weeks stuck in front of the computer using digital software to measure hoof shape and form from the hundreds of calibrated photographs and radiographs taken over the last few months. It is catch up time. The work is tedious but the spreadsheets at the end of each week are well worth the desk time. Catch you in early June. Cheers, Brian


	Brian Hampson Postgraduate PhD scholar School of Veterinary Sciences The University of Queensland Phone:(+614 1 772 1102 International 041 772 1102 Australia or Email:

	The Australian Brumby Research Unit NEWSLETTERS