Several people have asked if a particular type of shoe was used on the horses at the Breeders Cup. (see story further down on this blog) The answer is that there were as many shoes as there were horses..or as many different farriers working on them.
From what we hear, Round Pond (winner of the Breeders Cup Distaff, trained by Michael Matz) was wearing race plates with Sigafoos cuffs.
Thoro’Bred Racing Plate Company has a new “Sticky Shoe” that has generated a lot of interest, though I do not know if any horses were wearing it on that particular day. I heard about them from Fred Cleveland, a longtime farrier from Marshall, Virginia. (Fred, by the way, has subscribed to Hoofcare & Lameness since 1986!)
Most farriers start with a standard raceplate and add sometimes tabs over the bars, a la “onions”. Another technique is to add wings, or large clips of perforated aluminum, to increase the glue’s surface area. The Sigafoos cuff is another option.
In this photo, you see a large aluminum clip or “wing” welded to a raceplate. This photo was supplied by Raul Bras DVM of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
