The Horse Doctor

Here are the links to some YouTube videos I posted from our trip to Peru. They were shot with a GoPro Silver 4 and edited down to about 20 minutes each. There are broken down by days on the trail and there is an extra one from out days in the Ica desert. Inca Trail Day 1 Inca Trail Day 2 Inca Trail Day 3 3 days in the desert with Penny Cabrera

For many years I like many other scientists have had to deal with the newly minted Google graduates. Don't get me wrong, the massive amounts of data that is available now at the touch of a button is nothing less that astounding. Google can be a powerful tool much like PubMed when searching for scientific articles but there is a drawback....just because someone publishes it (book,journal,lecture,blog post,twitter) doesnt make it true. We all still suffer somewhat with our early educational training in school where what we read and were told was known to be true. Now when you read something there is still that default position that "it must be true" as opposed to being a healthy skeptic and asking " can that be true". This leads me into the current internet/and public media battle over "The Food Babe" and her campaign against "Toxins".  Dont get me wrong here....I'm a firm believer that as a society we are eating the wrong stuff. We now co...

There has been a serious viral problem in Australia since 1994 but now there is a new problem occurring. There is an anti-vaccination movement that is causing many many problems. Heres a link to a recent article forwarded from a friend in Oz about the problem. http://m.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/anti-vaccine-hendra-scare-campaign-causing-horse-deaths-on-the-gold-coast/story-fnj94idh-1227397685547 The virus is a flu like disease that can also cause neurologic signs and is highly fatal. It can be spread from horse to humans as well which makes this a serious public health concern for those in the Equine industry ...including Veterinarians. There is a vaccine available but it is expensive and many think that it is unnesessary and as a consequence are putting their horses ,themselves and their Veterinarian at risk. While Hendra isnt a problem in the US it highlights the "anti-vaxer" movements here as well. While we always needs to shine the bright light of scienti...

Avian Influenza has been on the radar for quite a while as it has shown transmission from birds to humans and there have been minor outbreaks in several countries in Asia. Influenza virus is typically classified by the 2 major surface antigens H and N . There is a strain currently causing a major problem in the US bird and poultry population that may lead to problems at your grocery store. While infections in people make the news ,infections in chickens and turkeys usually dont. Here is an update on the current outbreak in the US that you should follow. Heres a link to some data on the latest outbreak  http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/avian_influenza/ " 7 additional cases of the highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza virus have been confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  Outbreaks occurred in Iowa at turkey farms in Hamilton County (19,600 birds) and Sac County (42,200 birds).  In Minne...

Ill be talking tonight at the Clay County Fairgrounds about Hurricane Preparedness. Here is my Check list and a brief synopsis Disaster preparedness for horse owners As Hurricane season is upon us here in Florida it is past time to seriously address the task of preparation. Efforts taken today can save a great deal of anxiety and heartache in the future. Unfortunately, many of us are procrastinators by nature and wait until the news reports of the approaching storm prod us into some form of action. Every year when this happens you find yourself frantically wandering the isles of your local store searching empty shelves for bottled water and batteries with several hundred of your closest friends and neighbors. This doesn’t need to happen. With just a little time and effort now you will find yourself much more prepared and not just another aimless zombie in the golden hoard. Even if you are like me and lack the “organizational gene” you will find that following some simple guidel...

 On the 4 th day of our Machu Pichu prep we hiked Mt Sanitas in Boulder Colorado. We were tod by friends that if we could do this then we passed the fitness test. Not super high 6800 feet but 1350 elevation gain ( not 135 feet) A great workout.   Here's a Go-pro clip of the hike.

Several years ago Beth came across a list of the 10 greatest hikes in the world. At that time we began contemplating a trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu while we are both still physically fit. As I'm sure you are thinking....just how fit do I need to be and I would guess like me, you have read quite a few blog posts about undertaking this venture. When you watch the clips on YouTube of people on the Inca Trail you will be struck by 2 things (1) a lot of them are not in the best of shape and (2) most of them are wheezing. Since you need to book your trip about 6 months in advance you will have time to get yourself more than ready...Tip #1...start walking now. Beth has already done over 300 miles as we get ready for our trip in two weeks. She has used the "map my Run" app and it will keep track of just how far you have gone. Tip #2....if you are over weight ,remember it will be a lot easier going up and down if you dont have to carry extra weight. I suggest looking...