Leading equine veterinarian and farrier Dr Luke Wells-Smith is just at home treating a racehorse from Randwick to a showjumper from Kuranda.
At the weekend, the Hunter Valley-based vet passed on his words of wisdom to a group of farriers and horse owners in a rare opportunity for Far North Queensland’s horse industry.
Hosted by the Tableland Veterinary Service’s (TVS) North Queensland Equine Clinic, Dr Smith, who owns Motion-Equine Podiatry, is no stranger to the region, having done several stints of practical work at TVS’s Malanda headquarters during his university studies.
Dr Smith, who has been shoeing horses since he was 15 years old and consults all along the eastern seaboard, said North Queensland’s climate presented unique challenges for horse owners.
“Being in a humid environment is different from dealing with horses from southern states, especially in the wet season with the humidity and high moisture content in the ground,” Dr Smith said.
“We start to see a few issues and one of the cases we saw today had really bad thrush, an overgrowth of bacteria.”
Dr Smith, who was part of the first intake of veterinary students to graduate from James Cook University in Townsville, said having a good relationship with a farrier was important for horse owners.
“I think having a good relationship with your farrier and making sure you have your horses feet trimmed regularly is a really good thing,” Dr Smith said.
“These guys I dealt with today are all astute horse owners and have identified their horses have a foot problem and are getting their horses feet shod and trimmed regularly.
“But I think it’s important for every day horse owners to have a plan and make sure their horses are having foot care on a regular basis.”
Dr Smith was impressed with the group of farriers who took part in the clinic.
“What I learnt here today is that they have a group of guys that are motivated and want to learn new stuff and want to be involved,” Dr Smith said.
“This is an environment where vets and farriers can come together, have a good discussion, talk about each other’s experiences and what works and what doesn’t work.”
Dr Smith, who was lecturing at a student conference in Townsville this week, said podiatry vet work was challenging but rewarding.
“You get to see a result in a short period of time in a lot of cases,” Dr Smith said.
“Horses feet, in terms of education for vets, has been neglected over the years.
“It’s hard when you deal with a teaching program that encompasses all animals.
“Vets continually say I don’t know enough, I want to know more.”
