W.Robert Cook F.R.C.V.S., PhD.,
Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Tufts University, School of Veterinary Medicine
206, Birch Run Road, Chestertown, MD 21620
Telephone:(410) 778 9005. E-mail: drwrcook@aol.com
American Farrier’s Journal
Attn: Hall of Fame
PO Box 624
Brookfield, WI 53008-0624
To: The Chairman and members of the Nominating Committee
Date: 1/28/02
Subject:
NOMINATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL EQUINE VETERINARIAN’S HALL OF FAME; CLASS OF 2002
I am hereby nominating Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, once again, for the above award. I would like it to be considered in the category for researchers. Members of the Nominating Committee who served last year will remember that I nominated Dr. Strasser for the first time last year. In support of my present nomination, I am attaching a copy of my last year’s letter and would like to add the following additional comments by way of yet further recommendation.
In September 2001, in co-authorship with Sabine Kells, Dr. Hiltrud Strasser published her third book. This is a comprehensive textbook that considerable expands on the material covered in her previous two excellent books. The new book is entitled "The Hoofcare Specialist’s Handbook: Hoof Orthopedics and Holistic Lameness Rehabilitation" (Published by Sabine Kells at email: textorder @ shaw.ca). This masterly production consists of 800 pages of text and is generously illustrated with high quality reproductions in full color. Most of the illustrations are the work of Dr. Strasser herself. The book is handsomely produced and bound. It represents the summation of over two decades of research and clinical experience. It is intended to serve as a textbook for students enrolling in the Strasser Specialist Certification Course but is also available to members of the public.
This book is a spectacular piece of research and scholarship. It is undoubtedly destined to become a classic reference book for future generations and will assure the authors of a position among the immortals of veterinary science. By degrees (and it may take a little time before the sheer immensity of this work becomes absorbed, understood and recognized) it will become apparent to the veterinary profession worldwide and the horse industry in general that the publication of this book at the beginning of the new millennium represents a watershed in the history of the horse. Strasser and Kells have succeeded in writing a scientific book, in the best tradition of German scholarship, which both veterinarians and non-veterinarians can understand. Furthermore, they have taken immense trouble to write in English, in order that it is available to the widest possible audience.
If the certified Hoofcare Specialists of tomorrow succeed in transmitting the information in this book with the clarity and vigor with which it has been expressed, and in putting into practice the principles so well expounded, they will significantly advance the welfare of the horse worldwide. Every University library will be adding one or more copies of this book to their collection, as it will undoubtedly become a required text for veterinary students and researchers. This Herculean achievement by Dr. Strasser and her non-veterinarian co-author puts us all in their debt. I urge members of the nominating committee to review this publication for themselves, as I feel confident they will recognize that such a contribution deserves the very highest commendation.
Apart from publishing this landmark book, Dr. Strasser has continued with and extended her educational contributions in this country and around the world. For example, she has recently returned from a lecture tour in Australia. In a few months she will be the keynote speaker at a two-day conference that is being specifically organized by Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine to serve as a forum for her work.
Finally, as a further support for this nomination, I am attaching a copy of an open letter to the veterinary profession that I wrote last year, as it sums up my respect for Dr. Strasser’s work. It was published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science and has also been published in a number of horse journals in the US and England.
Sincerely
Robert Cook
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