The University of Tennessee (UT) College of Veterinary Medicine is inviting farriers and veterinarians to attend the third annual Equine Podiatry Conference to be held in Knoxville on Saturday, May 21.

Topics include body condition scoring, palmar foot pain, and farrier techniques for managing the condition. A preconference workshop covering the anatomy and physiology of the foot will be held Friday, May 20 from 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

One of the speakers, Scott Plesant, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, is a professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Virginia Tech’s Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM). He is a board-certified surgeon and currently serves as director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s Equine Podiatry Service, as a member of the Equine Field Service Section, and as the college’s Equine Extension Liaison. His clinical and research interests include equine podiatry, lameness, and nutrition.

Another speaker, Travis Burns, CJF, TE, EE, AWCF, is a lecturer and the chief of Farrier Services at VMRCVM. He attended farrier school at the North Carolina School of Horseshoeing and received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Carolina State University. Burns worked at the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine before entering into a one-year internship program at Forging Ahead, an elite multi-farrier practice in Northern Virginia. Upon completion of the internship program, he was retained at Forging Ahead as an associate farrier until joining VMRCVM in 2010