Laminitis Research Highlights Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Research Lists for 2012

The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced today that the charitable organization will fund 16 projects in 2012, totaling $845,646. The research includes the launch of eight new projects, continuation of eight projects entering their second year, and the Storm Cat Career Development Award.

Of special interest is the announcement that a project on laminitis has received the Elastikon™ Equine Research Award. This is funded in part through a contribution by Johnson & Johnson’s Consumer Products Company, manufacturer of Elastikon tape and other equine products.

Of particular interest are the following projects:

LAMINITIS STUDIES

1. Digital Hypothermia in Laminitis: Timing and Signaling
Dr. James Belknap, The Ohio State University (Second Year)

Dr. Belknap

The most recent figures from a study involving the USDA and State Veterinary Medical Officers project that at any given time laminitis affects 8 of every 1,000 horses in the United States. Based on the American Horse Council survey that there are 9.5 million horses in the nation, that would indicate 76,000 horses being affected at any given time. Of those affected, the USDA survey found that 4.7% died or were euthanized, or about 3,572 deaths from laminitis annually.

The authors of this project report that “an integrated research effort over the last decade has enhanced the current understanding of the pathophysiology of equine sepsis-related laminitis (one of numerous causes of the disease). This has mirrored progression of sepsis research in human medicine by moving from (an earlier) concept . . .to determining that a marked inflammatory injury takes place and is likely to play a prominent role in tissue injury and subsequent failure.” However, there have been persistent failure of systemic therapies for organ/laminar injury in both human and equine medicine. One advantage laminitis presents is that it effects the hoof rather than visceral organs, lending itself to artificial cooling more readily.

In a present project funded by the Foundation, digital hypothermia (cooling of the hoof) prior to onset of carbohydrate overload-induced equine sepsis resulted in dramatic decrease in laminar inflammatory signaling. The next goal is to find pharmaceutical therapies which can accomplish the same without the cumbersome aspects of maintaining constant hypothermia to the equine hoof (hooves).

2. Laminar Energy Failure in Supporting-Limb Laminitis
Dr. Andrew Van Eps, University of Queensland (Second Year)

Dr. Van Eps

A frequent and disheartening result of injury repair is that the leg opposite the one injured develops laminitis. This is known as supporting-limb laminitis and is what eventually caused Barbaro to be euthanized. Although it is a common occurrence, the mechanisms of the malady have not been established.

Dr. Pollitt

This project is headed by a young researcher, Dr Andrew Van Eps, but the co-investigators are world renowned Drs. Dean Richardson and Chris Pollitt.

The project involves testing the hypothesis that supporting-limb laminitis is a result of reduced blood supply to the connection between hoof and bone (lamellar tissue). Further, that the blood supply in normal circumstances is encouraged by a regular loading and unloading of the legs and hooves (alternating which one is bearing the most weight). Injury to one leg interrupts that alternating pattern.

Dr. Richardson

The researchers will test the hypothesis with a state of the art, minimally invasive technique known as tissue microdialysis in conjunction with three dimensional computed tomography to develop effective methods of preventing or minimizing lamellar tissue energy failure. Comments in the Research Advisory Committee evaluations included “may well provide immediately applicable strategies to prevent supporting-limb laminitis” and “really nice grant, new idea about a devastating problem.”

Support-limb laminitis is a special area of research interest for the researchers funded by the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation. It is believed to be a unique form of the disease that is precipitated by prolonged weightbearing on one hind limb or one front limb, caused by the opposite (injured) limb's inability to bear weight after surgery or injury. Tragically, the overburdened "good" or "supporting" limb develops laminitis in this scenario. (Hoofcare + Lameness photo)

3. Laminar Signaling in Supporting-Limb Laminitis
Dr. James Belknap, The Ohio State University– First Year (2 Year Grant)

A recent USDA study indicates that approximately 1% of all horses in the USA suffer from laminitis at any given time, and approximately 5% of those animals die or are euthanized while many others remain crippled. Of the conditions which create laminitis, the development of the disease in the supporting limb of an already injured horse is one of the worst, since it is believed that 50% of those cases result in euthanasia.

The author reports that while there are hundreds of published papers in the literature about other forms of laminitis, reports on supporting-limb laminitis are restricted to clinical reports and case studies.

This project will “introduce a novel, non-painful model of supporting-limb laminitis and will allow for cutting edge bench research techniques to not only (1) test the current hypotheses on the cause of laminar failure, but also (2) provide an unbiased technique to determine the cellular events that occur . . .”

The investigator has performed a number of laminitis project for Grayson and the USDA, and has a well developed set of tools and techniques including laser micro-dissection of frozen laminar cells and an advanced “functional genomic” technique called RNA-Seq. By applying these techniques that have previously characterized laminitis caused by sepsis or metabolic syndrome to support limb laminitis, we will get our first understanding of what kind of drugs and treaments might prevent it.

This grant was selected by the board to receive the sixth annual Elastikon™ Equine Research Award.

4. Stem Cell Homing after IV Regional Limb Perfusion
Dr. Alan Nixon, Cornell University (First Year of Two-Year Grant)

Dr. Nixon

“The initial fervor associated with stem cell therapies has been tempered by mediocre clinical results,” states Dr. Nixon, long recognized as a key leader in quest to maximize use of stem cells. “More can be done, including pre-differentiation, gene-directed lineage targeting, and more efficient delivery.” This proposal will deliver by “local vein injection, to back-flow to bowed tendon and other disease conditions such as founder and traumatic arthritis.”

Transplanted cells then exert normalizing and restorative effects . . .” The long-range goal is to provide a simplified approach to stem cell therapy. We cannot do this without verification of cell homing and impact. (The project) will map stem cell distribution in the tendons, ligaments, and joints of the forelimb after direct venous injection.”

LAMENESS STUDIES

1. AAV-IRAP Gene Therapy to Prevent Osteoarthritis
Dr. Laurie Goodrich, Colorado State University (Second Year)

Dr, Goodrich

Osteoarthritis is a common affliction in horses, and current methods of treatment are effective only in reducing the pain, at best. This proposal will utilize gene therapy, which is a technique in which cells can be genetically modified or “re-programmed” to produce beneficial protein that will allow cartilage to heal. The initials in the project title stand for Adenoassociated Virus and Interluken Receptor Antagonist Protein. If cells in the joint could be re-programmed to produce IRAP, the devastating effects of joint inflammation could be halted and the progress of osteoarthritis could be reversed.

These researchers’ preliminary work utilizing AAV-IRAP suggests that cells of joints are easily re-programmed to produce beneficial protein. The aims of this project is to define the most appropriate dose of AAV-IRAP that will result in effective levels and answer the question of whether this approach can prevent osteoarthritis in the horse.

2. Investigation of Cell and Growth-Factor Dependent Tenogenesis
Dr. Martin A. Vidal, University of California-Davis (Second Year)

Dr. Vidal

The crux of this study is to test preliminary indications that a newly developed in vitro tendon/ligament culture model will prove effective at determining the optimal cell type from bone marrow, fat tissue, umbilical cord, tendons, ligaments, and muscle to use in tendon and ligament repair. The model also will allow investigators to learn the early molecular and cellular signals in tendon and ligament tissue formation.

The author states that current methods of healing result in inferior scar tissue and re-injury rates ranging from 23% to 67%. Transforming growth factor (TGF) combined with platelet rich plasma will be utilized, and tests will be done on how they affect tissue growth, strength, and composition. ”

3. Stem Generation of Equine Induced Pluripotent Cells for Regenerative Therapy
Dr. Lisa Fortier, Cornell University (Second Year)

Dr. Fortier

Stem cell based therapies are among avenues being tested with the goal of tendon cell regeneration to address tendonitis. The types of stem cells used so far may improve the structure of tendon healing, but appear to have limited regenerative ability or are limited due to potential issues of immune rejection.

The author explains that, “ . . . this proposal is to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from equine adult dermal fibroblasts. iPS cells are the only stem cells that are both pluripotenent and autogenous, making them the most useful for clinical application. The expectation is that the results of the studies in this proposal will provide the first published description of the generation and characterization of equine iPS cells.” This is part of a process of testing the overall hypothesis that equine iPS cells will enhance tendon regeneration in cases of tendonitis.

Also, “the technical expertise gained in this study could be used in the future to generate autogenous iPS cells for use in equine cartilage and neuronal regeneration studies.”

Go inside the horse's hoof...you'll be amazed what you'll see--in 3-D, too!
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© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

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Racetrack Horseshoer's Survey Launched by Grayson Jockey Club's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit

The Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee of the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has compiled an online survey to collect data from horseshoers at US racetracks. Information from the survey will be used to assist the committee's efforts to study how horseshoers are licensed by states or racing jurisdictions, and what changes horseshoers feel may be warranted in the system to improve the education of horseshoers and the welfare of the horses in their care.

A sub-committee of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit's Shoeing and Hoof Care committee will use the results of this survey to gain information on topics, ideas and structure for a uniform national racetrack horseshoer test for state licensure. The committee feels that this step, which is similar to the Jockey Club's efforts in unifying Thoroughbred racetrack trainers' tests, will raise the bar of horseshoer qualifications and thereby boost the overall safety of the racehorse.

Hoofcare Publishing and The Hoof Blog have been asked to help disseminate news of the survey into the Thoroughbred racing shoeing community.

The survey is primarily an online questionnaire, and should only take a few minutes to complete.

To preserve the integrity of the survey, only those directly involved with racetrack horseshoeing should fill out the survey. This means: professional horseshoers who earn part or all of their living at the racetrack and are affected by state or track licensing.

An alternative path through the survey is available for trainers, owners, stable employees, racing officials, veterinarians, non-track horseshoers or others who are interested in expressing opinions about the practice of racetrack horseshoeing, but only racetrack shoers should answer the shoeing questions to preserve the survey's validity.

The committee has been collecting information for the past few years on state licensing and tests administered, and has sought the input of racetrack shoers in improving the process of testing new farriers. It is hoped that this survey will be able to reach many more horseshoers at tracks across the country.

A word about the survey: it is an automated program. Once you start to take the survey, you should finish it; you cannot go back and finish it later. The program will also prevent you from answering the survey more than once.

While the survey is anonymous, the Committee would like to hear more opinions from racetrack shoers, and has provided a comment section at the end of the survey for general feedback. Horseshoers are also invited to contact the committee directly to become involved in the efforts of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit and the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee.

Please click on the red survey badge to open the survey:

If viewing on a text-only or mobile device, the direct address of the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/farriersurvey

If you have any questions before you attempt to complete this survey, please contact Cathy O'Meara at comeara@jockeyclub.com. If you know someone who does not have Internet access but who should take the survey, Cathy will be able to help.

The Foundation has not provided a deadline date for completing the survey, but you should not delay in submitting your answers if you want to have an impact on the decision-making process.

Notification of this survey is provided as a public service by Hoofcare Publishing. Comments left on this blog post, by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of this article, once published, will be visible to anyone visiting this blog but will not go directly to the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation, so please make comments on their survey feedback area as well.

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
 

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

¿Habla usted del casco? Grayson-Jockey Club DVD on Thoroughbred Hooves Now Available in Spanish

The DVD is one segment of the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee's efforts to study and improve the safety for racehorses through hoof-related education.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee has released a Spanish-language version of its educational DVD, The Hoof: Inside and Out, entitled, El Casco: Por Dentro y Por Fuera.

“Spanish-speaking individuals constitute a significant percentage of our horses’ caregivers, so it is only natural and in the best interests of the industry to provide a Spanish-language version of our hoof care DVD,” said Bill Casner, Thoroughbred owner/breeder and chairman of the Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee. “We hope the Spanish-language version is embraced as enthusiastically as the original, because it will further enhance the care our horses receive on a daily basis.

The Hoof: Inside and Out was released in June 2009. Since then, more than 1,000 copies on DVD have been distributed and the online version has been downloaded more than 2,500 times by individuals in 57 countries.

Both the English- and Spanish-language versions can be downloaded at no charge at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitDisplay.asp?section=39; or a physical copy can be ordered through that website for a $5.00 shipping and handling fee.

The 65-minute DVD includes seven segments:
* Introduction and Overview
* Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit
* Physiology — The Equine Limb
* Basic Hoof Care and Trimming
* The Basics of Horse Shoeing
* Types of Shoes
* Farrier’s Role and Communication (with trainers and owners)

The DVD features the insights of a number of hoof experts and industry professionals, including Mitch Taylor, director of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School; prominent Kentucky-based farriers Steve Norman and Colby Tipton; Dr. Scott Morrison of the Podiatry Center at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission; Kentucky Derby winning trainer John T. Ward; champion Thoroughbred owner and breeder Bill Casner; and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation President Ed Bowen.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, convened a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing, and veterinary community for two-day workshops in October 2006, March 2008 and June 2010.

The Summits, which were hosted by Keeneland Association, have been the catalyst for many initiatives that improve the safety and integrity of the sport, including the Equine Injury Database, the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, recommendations concerning traction devices on front shoes, and bloodline durability indices.

Additional information about the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is available on the summit’s website at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp.

Springs in the Bluegrass; Fine-tuning a Thoroughbred Yearling's Hooves 30 Days Before the Sale

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport.

I had a chance to look over the shoulder of Dr Scott Morrison of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Clinic, and who would turn that down? The patient was a perfectly healthy yearling colt being prepared for an August sale. But with 30 days left until the sale, the growing colt was showing a slight tendency to be "a bit upright" and some finetuning was in order.

Make no mistake: this colt’s hoof conformation wouldn’t be of much, if any, concern other than the fact that he’d be under the microscope at the sale and every detail has to be considered. Every detail, after all, can make the difference in a bidder's enthusiasm for a horse and where the colt would be ranked on a bidder's wish list. In the end, it comes down to dollars and cents but in the climate of recent yearling sales, it could be the difference between a sale and no sale.

Dr. Morrison’s solution to this horse’s problem was at once right out of the textbook and equally unorthodox in that it might have come out of two different textbooks. He arrived with two spring shoes, which would be on the menu of recommended shoes for a case like this. But the shoes for this horse were made of two different materials.

The solution to working on two front feet with different levels of contraction? 
Spring shoes made of two materials, one more flexible than the other. The aluminum 
shoe also had a hinge in the toe to open the right front more.

On the left front, which had the least amount of deviation, the horse now wears a Burns Polyflex shoe, into which Rood and Riddle added a spring wire, which is a v-shaped wire roughly the size and shape of the frog. The wire, however, does not touch the frog.

Polyflex spring shoe glued on, before cutting the horizontal keeper wire and adding
Equipak to fill the sole. The spring (frog-shaped wire) does not touch the frog.

The Polyflex shoe is made for glueing; it is composed of nearly-transparent polyurethane with a wire spine inside. The shoe was glued on with Equilox  hoof adhesive and then the sole was filled with Vettec’s Equipak, a clear cushioning urethane. Before pouring in the liquid padding, Morrison clipped the temporary horizontal keeper wire to release the spring action of the wire.

The Polyflex shoe did not have a hinge, but the spring action of the wire and the forgiving material of the shoe would help keep the foot open, Morrison believes.

Completed left front foot with polyurethane shoe after Equipak is solidified. Just to clarify: soft urethane-based Equipak fills and cushions the sole and frog; harder PMMA epoxy-type adhesive Equilox glues on the shoe.

On the right front, which was slightly more problematic, Rood and Riddle’s shoe fabrication specialist Manuel Cruz created an aluminum hinged shoe with a spring wire. The hinge was in the center of the toe, as typically described for hinge shoes to relieve club feet and contracted heels in more advanced cases. Equilox, the clipping of the horizontal keeper wire, and Equipak again followed.

Shoe fabrication specialist Manuel Cruz fabricates a vast repertoire 
of shoes and devices for the vets and farriers at Rood and Riddle.

Aluminum hinge shoe fabricated back at Rood and Riddle by Manuel Cruz. 
The spring is the same as in the Polyflex shoe, but the shoe has a 
hinge in the toe to open the foot. 

I asked Manuel about the discrepancy in thickness between the two shoes but he said that it was an illusion and that they were almost the same.

Morrison and McAninch tackled the application of these results-oriented horseshoes to the colt's front feet as if it was routine; with yearling sales season approaching, that may be the case. The organization at the clinic to prepare what's needed for supplies and to fabricate shoess must be impressive when you see how easily the work gets done without searching for things.

The case itself was intriguing but equally interesting was the process, especially the speed and efficiency with which Morrison and his technician Loryn McAninch completed the job. I know from my travels that this would have been a half-day job at most clinics but the feet had been traced and trimmed in advance, the shoes fabricated to the tracings, and the adhesive and support materials were ready to go.

Another good point about the way this case was handled, from an outside observation, was that the young horse had to stand for a minimal amount of time since the measuring, tracing and trimming had already been done. The unorthodox unmatching spring shoes may have been an insurance policy on this horse's value. We'll never know what his feet might have looked like without this intervention but prospective owners will appreciate the picture-perfect feet that they will see on this horse at the sale.

Thanks to Dr Morrison, Loryn, Manuel and the farm staff for allowing me to observe this procedure and photograph it. Good luck to the colt!

To learn more: A valuable detailed reference paper by Dr. Morrison, Foal Foot Care, is available for download from the Proceedings of the 2009 CanWest Veterinary Conference.

All photos © Fran Jurga | Hoofcare Publishing.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com
© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing


Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Safe and Sound: All Eyes on Keeneland for Tomorrow's Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit

Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Dr Larry Bramlage will be a key speaker at this week's third Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky as racing experts gather to address concerns inherent to racing. Chief among these concerns will be racing injuries and the choice of surfaces.

This Reuters video was made back in the spring, before the 2010 Kentucky Derby. Dr. Bramlage enjoys--or endures--a flurry of interviews and activity at Derby and Breeders Cup time, or whenever racing comes into the consciousness of the media.

Dr. Bramlage is the principal spokesman for the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) "On Call" on-air media-consulting program. He routinely answers questions for NBC, ESPN and newspaper journalists at Churchill Downs, and other tracks; who could forget his as-it-happened commentary on Barbaro's breakdown?

This year, Dr. Bramlage provided the Associated Press with essential information about steroid use in horses. The article, Racing Seeks Balance in Regulating Some Steroids, ran in over 200 newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and USA Today during Derby week. The article addresses the current ban on anabolic steroids and the uses of corticosteroids, which can have many beneficial effects, but can potentially be more dangerous than anabolic steroids if misused.

Just as the media turns to Dr. Bramlage to put it all together, the industry will do the same this week at the Welfare and Safety Summit.

The Keeneland Association will provide a live video stream when the Summit is held on Monday and Tuesday. All of Monday’s sessions and one session on Tuesday will be open to the public and available by video stream at keeneland.com.


The Hoof Blog will be quiet for a few days; Fran Jurga is a delegate to the Summit and will be working hard in Kentucky.

Information from Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Reuters, and the Associated Press was utilized in the preparation of this blog post.

Racehorse Deaths in USA Continue to Exceed UK and Australia; Did Banning Toe Grabs Have Any Effect?

24 March 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

A racehorse gallops on the artificial surface at California's Del Mar racetrack. Photo by Nathan Rupert (thanks!).

Yesterday the Jockey Club released numbers for the North American fatality rate for Thoroughbreds. The number is based on a preliminary analysis of data collected over a one-year period in the Equine Injury Database, the North American database for racing injuries.

The statistics were collected beginning November 1, 2008. From 378,864 total starts in Thoroughbred flat races at 73 racetracks participating in the Equine Injury Database, 2.04 fatal injuries were recorded per 1,000 starts.

Eighty-one racetracks and the National Steeplechase Association participate in the Equine Injury Database, representing 86 percent of the flat racing days in North America. By agreement with the participating racetracks, from time to time The Jockey Club may publish certain summary statistics from the Equine Injury Database, but will not provide statistics that identify specific participants, including racetracks, horses or persons.

According to the New York Times, the fatality rate is nearly twice as high in the United States as in the United Kingdom or Australia. Both of those countries race predominantly on turf.

The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, through its Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee, works on hoofcare projects to improve all aspects of safety for horses on the racetrack. The attempts at changing rules for toe grabs and other traction devices during the 2008-2009 racing season were part of an overall program to decrease injuries and breakdowns that might lead to fatalities that would appear in this database.

The period of time covered by the statistics released yesterday includes some months when most states were observing a ban on toe grabs, but not all months of the study. Anecdotally, racetrack shoers at some, but not all, racetracks report a marked decrease in the use of traction-equipped horseshoes in the past five years.

One of the projects of the database is to collect more data on the types of shoes that horses wear when racing. Data from a necropsy project at the University of California at Davis was published in 1996 and was able to document what types of shoes were worn by horses who died while racing and training there.

Ongoing hoof research in the Wheat Orthopedics Laboratory at UC Davis by researcher Susan M. Stover, DVM, PhD, ACVS and colleagues adds documentation to the body of evidence that hoof conformation and shoeing affect risk for injury because modifications can amplify loads to bones, tendons, and ligaments. Race surface characteristics, in turn, affect the magnitude and nature of load transferred to the hoof.

While separate tracks and states cannot be segmented from the national study, California does keep its own records. Accord to Dr. Rick Arthur, Equine Medical Director of the California Horse Racing Board, that state has seen a 40 percent reduction in racing fatalities on its new artificial surfaces when compared to statistics for the dirt surfaces in that state going back to 2004. (Plans are, however, for Santa Anita to return to a dirt surface next year.)

At Santa Anita in California and at some other tracks, the meet's horseshoe inspector has started keeping records of the various types of shoes worn by horses as they reach the receiving barn in advance of a race. This practice will hopefully become a national standard, so that shoeing information correlated to racing injuries on a much larger basis.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Rethinking Toe Grabs? Model Rule Adjustment Recommended to Allow 4mm Grabs on Dirt Racetracks

(Statement from The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee issued 22 July 2009)

"After discussions with industry participants and a review of all scientific research available on the use of toe grabs on the front shoes of Thoroughbreds, The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee recommends adjusting the current RCI Model Rule on horse shoes to allow toe grabs up to 4 mm in height on front shoes on dirt racing surfaces only.

"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee believes the current elimination of traction devices on front shoes should be maintained and only the height of the toe grab should be adjusted in the Model Rule.

"In no case does the Thoroughbred Safety Committee recommend the use of toe grabs of greater than 4 mm on front shoes of Thoroughbreds.

"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee continues to believe that the recommendation limiting traction devices on front shoes of Thoroughbreds to toe grabs no greater than 2 mm is in the best interests of the welfare and safety of the horse.

"However, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee is sensitive to the concerns of the horsemen and recognizes that local circumstances such as dirt track composition and/or weather conditions might justify the racing commission and/or the racetrack to allow horsemen the discretion to utilize short toe grabs no greater than 4 mm on the front shoes of Thoroughbreds on dirt racing surfaces only."

The Hoof Blog will continue to keep readers updated on shoeing rule recommendations and changes as well as research that may affect decision-making about horse equipment.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Grayson Jockey Club Summit's DVD "The Hoof: Inside and Out" Ready for Free Downloading

(Continuing Education Announcement) Welfare and Safety Summit Committee Releases Free Educational DVD on Hoof Care

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee is now offering a free educational DVD. The Hoof: Inside and Out examines the physiology of the equine hoof and demonstrates proper care and shoeing techniques. “The hoof is the foundation of equine performance so it is imperative that those entrusted with the well-being of racehorses possess the knowledge necessary to properly care for and maintain this core component of equine locomotion,” said WinStar Farm co-owner Bill Casner, chairman of the Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee. “This DVD provides some basic information that will be helpful to owners, trainers, grooms, and anyone else involved with the racehorse, to have a better understanding of the hoof and its care.” The 65-minute DVD, which was produced by the Keeneland Association’s broadcast services department under the direction of G.D. Hieronymus, includes seven segments: Introduction and Overview Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Physiology — The Equine Limb Basic Hoof Care and Trimming The Basics of Horse Shoeing Types of Shoes Farrier’s Role and Communication (with Trainers and Owners) The video is available for download (at no charge) from the summit’s website at http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp. (Note: this is a large file download.) A DVD copy of The Hoof: Inside and Out can be obtained free of charge (limit one per customer) by contacting Cathy McNeeley, The Jockey Club’s administrative assistant for industry initiatives, at (859) 224-2728 or cmcneeley@jockeyclub.com. The Hoof: Inside and Out features the insights of a number of hoof experts and industry professionals, including Mitch Taylor, director of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School; prominent Kentucky-based farriers Steve Norman and Colby Tipton; Dr. Scott Morrison of the Podiatry Center at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission; Kentucky Derby-winning trainer John T. Ward; Bill Casner; and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation President Ed Bowen. The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, featured a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing, and veterinary community for two-day workshops in October 2006 and March 2008. Both summits were hosted by Keeneland Association. Additional information about the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is available on the summit’s website at http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp.

Note: Fran Jurga and Hoofcare & Lameness Journal were involved in making this DVD. Readers of the journal and blog will recognize authors, photos and video clips from Hoofcare projects. In addition to the "stars" listed above, the video includes still photos and clips by Sarah K. Andrew, Rob van Nassau and his Hoof Problems book, Michael Wildenstein and other sources. The 65-minute video is a large-file download.

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Hoof Blog contents © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute Donates $10,000 for Racehorse Injury Research

(based on a press release)

The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced today that the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, an equine veterinary practice and hospital in Lexington, Kentucky has made a $10,000 donation to the foundation to further research on racehorse lameness issues.

"We realize many people associate Hagyard with broodmare, foal management and reproductive issues," said Stuart E. Brown II, DVM, a partner in the firm. "But we also want to help the finished product, the racehorse."

Hagyard, formerly known as "Hagyard, Davidson and McGee" has founded in 1876 by Scottish immigrant veterinarian Edward Hagyard. The practice has grown to enjoy a worldwide reputation and now has separate sub-practices, including sport horse medicine, a fertility center, and a pharmacy. The sprawling campus on Iron Works Pike across the road from the Kentucky Horse Park employs 60 veterinarians plus a large support staff.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation annually funds projects covering a range of health and soundness matters affecting various breeds. Since 1983, the foundation has provided more than $15.5 million to some three dozen universities to fund 239 specific projects.

"The Hagyard veterinary team has long been one of the leaders in providing top-quality and state-of-the-art care for their clients' horses," foundation president Edward L. Bowen said of the firm, which was founded in 1876. "Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is proud that Hagyard views our efforts as worthy of its generous support."

The foundation's new slate of projects for 2009 will be established by mid-winter, and Hagyard Equine Medical Institute will be invited to select which project its grant will help fund.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Inset photo is a Thoroughbred racehorse on a treadmill at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, England; from the new book EQUUS by Tim Flach, sold by Hoofcare Books.

Choose Your Racing Shoes: Last Days to Wear Toe Grabs Before 2009 Rule Changes!

by Fran Jurga | 28 December 2008 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Observations and filming of horses on different surfaces and wearing different shoes has been convincing evidence of the variations of horses' running styles and their adaptability. High-speed videography by Mitch Taylor in Kentucky has been slowed down to detail the different phases of a horse's stride. He has filmed the same horses over different surfaces, wearing different shoes. (Mitch Taylor photo, still image captured from OnTrack video system, presented at the Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot.)

A major fashion change is due on most Thoroughbred racetracks on January 1, when the majority of racing states will change over to the outlawing of most toe grabs on the front shoes of raceplates.

The January 1st deadline is in compliance with a ruling by the American Graded States Committee that states would not qualify for graded stakes status unless the rule was adopted. It is feasible that some states may delay implementing the rule if the state does not have many graded stakes, or if the graded races are run later in the year.

In California, a rule began in February 2006 banning toe grabs higher than 4mm on the front shoes of Thoroughbred racehorses only; racing Quarter horses and mules do not run under that particular rule in California. At this point, it looks like California will hold with their original 4 mm rule, which may move it from one of the first to restrict toe grabs to being one of the most lenient.

At CDI tracks, owned by Churchill Downs, a new rule enacted this fall reads: “Front horse shoes which have toe grabs greater than two millimeters shall be prohibited from racing or training on all racing surfaces at all Churchill Downs Incorporated racetracks. This includes but is not limited to the following: toe grabs, bends, jar calks, stickers and any other traction device worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses.

"Any hind shoe with a turndown of more than one-quarter inch will not be allowed on the dirt courses. Hind shoes with calks, stickers, blocks, raised toes or turndowns will not be allowed on the turf courses. This includes quarter horse shoes or any shoe with a toe grab of more than one-quarter inch.”

CDI tracks include Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Arlington Park in Illinois, Calder Race Course in Florida, and Fair Grounds Race Course in Louisiana.

The CDI rule is an example of what is known as a "house rule", meaning that individual racetracks can create specific rules for horseshoes that are more strict than the rules of the state where the track is located.

Down the road from Churchill Downs, but also in Kentucky, Keeneland and Turfway Park announced a toe grab ban last fall on their artificial Polytrack and turf courses. The house rule there reads, "“No toe grabs, caulks, stickers, inserts, blocks, turndowns, trailers or heel extensions will be allowed on front or hind shoes. Only flat, Queen’s Plate, Queen’s Plate XT or equivalent may be used on the Polytrack or Turf.”

Horses training at Keeneland to race at Churchill had better check their shoes at the gate when they get back to Lexington, or else make an appointment with the horseshoer for race day in Louisville.

At the Penn National group of tracks, a house rule went into effect in October, stating "All Thoroughbreds competing or training at Penn National Gaming owned racetracks will not be permitted to use toe grabs in excess of two (2) millimeters in height. The use of bends, jar caulks, stickers or any other traction device on front shoes for racing or training will also be prohibited." Penn National in Pennsylvania and Charles Town in West Virginia are impacted by this rule.

Racehorse trainers will need to be conscious of both state and "house" rules at different tracks, and horseshoers will need to be prepared, although publicity about the rule changes has been widespread. Horses that ship between tracks may need to be reshod in some cases.

Shippers should be happy about the traction ban, since toe grabs and other protuberances rip up mats on loading ramps and in van stalls.

Some questions about special designs of shoes may be decided by stewards or horseshoe inspectors, depending on how each track or state designates the decision-making process surrounding shoes.

As you can see, some tracks will enforce the ban on the hind shoes as well as the fronts; some won't. Some allow two millimeters, some don't. The strictest rules of all, at Keeneland and Turfway, allow no traction at all on any feet.

While the arguments over toe grabs seem to have died down, the winter months are when trainers would naturally turn to traction devices, depending on the type of conditions at a training track or on the main track where the horse will be racing. While they may assert that they are using shoes to help the horse "get hold of the track", many feel that the safety of the rider is more assured if the horse is less likely to slip, especially around turns. Others feel that toe grabs are more dangerous to jockeys and exercise riders, in the event of a fall.

Thoro'bred's new three-dimensional Turbo shoe is an interesting innovation, since it provides traction on the sidewall of the shoe, not directly on the ground surface and does not increase the angle of the hoof. The horseshoe is no longer a two-dimensional object.

If you are working with racehorses and are uncertain of rules, think of toe grabs as the equivalent of medication, and don't take someone else's word for what the rules are at a given track. Check with the racing secretary's office.

The Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has a shoeing and hoofcare committee that would like to have feedback about the rule changes and shoe designs. Call the Grayson-Jockey Club: (859) 224-2850

"The Snow Plow Effect" is a new commonly-used term to describe the displacement of the racing or arena surface as the foot lands. Since the foot basically disappears into a loose surface, the relative snow-plow effect is of interest to observors. (Mitch Taylor photo, still image captured from OnTrack video system, presented at the Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot.)

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. You only need to ask.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found.

Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.

Jockey Club Calls for Ban of All Traction Devices on Front Shoes of Racehorses

A press release from the Jockey Club yesterday calls for immediate action to change front shoe regulations of racehorses immediately. The edict was a result of research completed in the past few weeks by the newly appointed Thoroughbred Safety Committee.
Recommendations from the Committee will be reviewed by individual state racing commissions, who have the authority to adopt, adapt or reject the recommendations.

Specifically, the committee calls for:

• An immediate ban on toe grabs (other than 2-millimeter wear plates), turn downs, jar calks, stickers and any other traction devices worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces.
• The Association of Racing Commissioners’ International (RCI) and all North American racing authorities to implement this ban by rule as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2008, and for all racetracks to consider immediately implementing this ban by “house rule” in the interim.

Previous recommendations from the Grayson Jockey Club's Welfare and Safety Summit had included a model rule banning toe grabs greater than 4 mm; this recommendation was developed and passed at at the Racing Commissions International (RCI) Convention in April 2007, but is subject to adoption by individual states. Several states, including California, adopted that recommendation.

The new policy advisory is much stronger, since it lowers the toe grab from 4 millimeters to effectively eliminating it except for the wear plate seen in the toes of most flat shoes and outlaws the use of mud calks, jar calks, and stickers.

Turndowns and bends (angling the heels of the shoe toward the ground) are normally seen on the hind feet, as are most toe grabs and traction devices.

The Jockey Club policy advisory only addresses traction on front shoes.

Additional advisories recommend elimination of steroid anabolic medications in the race training and racing of Thoroughbreds no later than December 31, 2008.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee includes chairman Stuart S. Janney III, and members John Barr, James G. (Jimmy) Bell, Dr. Larry Bramlage, Donald R. Dizney, Dell Hancock and Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

The Welfare and Safety Summit includes a Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee, chaired by Bill Casner of WinStar Farms. The committee has been actively working on creating more information about racehorse shoes and their effects on horses and their interaction with different surfaces.

Read Tuesday's complete press release here.

UPenn Laminitis Research Project Hopes to Clarify the Mechanism of Developmental Laminitis

Dr. Hannah Galantino-Homer, senior research investigator of the newly created laminitis research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, is beginning her research in 2008 with a grant from Grayson Jockey Club Foundation.

“Molecular and Cellular Level Studies of Laminitis” is the title of the project.

Currently, laminitis still is so baffling to scientists that researchers tend to be split into two camps (theories) as to cause of the problem — vascular and enzymatic.

“The lack of agreement about the basic pathophysiology of laminitis explains why standard guidelines for therapy are not yet available,” noted Dr. Galantino-Homer in her research statement.

If this project can identify which specific genes and proteins are up-regulated or down-regulated during the first phase of the disease — when identifiable symptoms are not yet manifested — it “will determine the pathways of the disease and allow institution of preventive or interventional treatments sooner,” according to Galantino-Homer.

The first phase of laminitis, the developmental phase, is followed, of course, by the acute phase. One of the frustrations of dealing with the disease is that often by the time it is diagnosed, the horse may be gravely threatened.

Galantino-Homer believes the study “will provide information that we and other investigators can use to verify or elaborate on existing theories about laminitis, explore previously unrecognized cellular and molecular events during laminitis, and validate in vitro models of laminitis.” The latter will facilitate research projects that do not require laminitic horses.

Click here for information about Galantino-Homer's appointment at PennVet.