Euro Farrier Champions: Top Ten Finalists and Meet Dutch Champion Gert-Jan Salm

The European Farriery Championship is in full swing this week in England; here's a list of the farriers and nations who made it through to the "Top Ten", and are competing today, Sunday.

Netherlands National Equestrian Training Center Closes Farrier School and All Equine Professional Education Programs

Is the worldwide economic slowdown in danger of jeopardizing educational opportunities for young people who would like to become farriers? Or does it depend on where they live? The Netherlands is the latest country to report a kink in the farrier educational system. (Photo of a farrier working in Dubai by Yousif Al Mulla, used with permission)

Friends at Work: Would You Put Yourself in His Shoes?

Photographer Arjan Haverkamp saw nothing unusual about this scene at the Dierenpark Amersfoort (zoo) in The Netherlands. I think he was curious about the donkey's hooves. When I saw the photo, all I could see was the farrier's shoes!

Theo Jansen's Anatomical Inspirations: Abstract Musing Can Help You Understand and Appreciate Hoof Design

Spring is in the air and a hoof blog editor's fancy turns to...kinetic sculpture. 

But you'll soon understand why.

To anyone who says we can't improve on the way that horses are trimmed or shod, or the way that lame and sick horses' legs are treated or cared for, I'd have to say we're just not trying hard enough. And the answer is not likely to come from tinkering with the designs and devices we already have in our hands.

Kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen builds 'strandbeests' out of PVC pipe and turns them out on the wild ranges of the sand on Dutch beaches. The goal is for his perpetual motion creations to become permanent, independent citizens of the sands.

Jansen's kite-like sculptures will trot along the beach on PVC legs and coffin joints.

That's right. He wants to turn them loose. It sounds like he's been watching some fantasy beer commercial where the wild horses run free forever.

You can't help but notice that his sculptures' legs and feet mimic the design of horse' limbs, right down to the single digit and breakover action of forward motion via a rotating distal joint.

I

Maybe Jansen's been reading the Hoof Blog and saw this extreme rocker rehab on a foundered foot from Loic Entwistle's photo files in Germany. I'm sorry I don't have more information about this photo. I don't even know if this is Loic's work. But the image has always intrigued me. It's a thought-provoker.

Think backwards for a minute. What if you could be Jensen and design a new hoof for the horse, one that would be easier to work on, to keep sound, to serve the horse on multiple surfaces, in multiple environments, under a rider's weights, in different sports?

What would your design parameters be for the lower limb and hoof? Where would you start--at the bottom? in the middle? Would you specify a model with replaceable (transplantable or implantable) parts?

There's no doubt that Nature designed an amazing structure that functions organically with perfection when everything's right. Humans just seem to muck it up, in one way or another. Bioengineering is on its way to being able to identify weak tissue structures; perhaps digital cushion implants will be possible soon, or coronary band grafting will allow rehab to be completed in six weeks instead of six months.

I suspect most of us would be happy to tinker with the parts to improve them, but we like the design just the way nature has given it to the horse, and to us to work on, to ponder, to study, to capitalize upon, or to admire.

Maybe we should invite Theo Jansen to watch our horses run on the racetrack. What we'd end up with in return might be a little different than what you''d see him sketch on a drawing board. Imagine a silky, kite-like kinetic sculpture floating around the infield of a dark racetrack at night, under its own perptual power, making eerie music like a chorus of call-to-the-post buglers playing a duet with every foghorn on the coast of Maine.

People would pay to see (and hear) something like that. I think they'd pay to see lots of things he does. Keep an eye on him, and his beests. I think he's trying to tell us something

© 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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Hoofcare@WEG: Rob Renirie's Dutch Gold Shoeing Keeps It Simple

The Dutch have dominated the dressage at the World Equestrian Games with a sweep of all three gold medals. In this photo you see Exquis Nadine, ridden by Hans Peter Minderhoud, giving an uncharacteristic bolt which showed off her front shoes. All the Dutch horses were shod with straightforward quite uncomplicated shoes applied by a highly skilled farrier. (Dirk Caremans photo courtesy of Alltech)

The star of the World Equestrian Games, so far, has been the spectacular black Dutch Warmblood stallion Moorlands Totilas. He won two individual Gold Medals and led the Dutch to a team Gold Medal. The Dutch have a good sense of humor so he trotted into the arena for the medal ceremony in "solid gold" bell boots. His shoeing is very straightforward. (Detail of a Dirk Caremans photo courtesy of Alltech)

The man behind the Dutch team horses' hooves is farrier Rob Renirie. He has been the team farrier for The Netherlands for many years. He's caring for the hooves of all the Dutch horses at WEG; this photo was taken at the endurance race. (Fran Jurga photo)

It was really quiet in the office last night. I was uploading photos from the camera and a farrier came in. He'd just arrived from out west and we chatted about what he'd missed. He said something that really surprised me; it stopped me in my tracks. He said he wanted to see the feet on the gold-medal-winning Dutch dressage horses, especially Moorlands Totilas, because he figured that they must have some special gaited-horse type shoeing to get them to move like that. (Totilas has a lot of expression and almost impossible joint extension.)

I had to tell him that the shoeing doesn't have anything to do with that horse's animation, unless it is that the shoeing stays out of the horse's way. I hope that people watching the Games on video don't think that the horse is manipulated by shoes or pads or weights. The shoeing is surprisingly simple on these horses, although every aspect of the balancing and trimming of the feet is no doubt very, very carefully managed. The shoe is just the icing on the cake.

The man managing that hoof balance is longtime Dutch team farrier Rob Renirie. Having him in the United States for ten days is quite a treat. On Wednesday, he left the gold medal celebration in the Dutch camp (perhaps figuring there would be more champagne in the days to come--and if so, he was right!) to go to dinner with 16 American farriers, many of whom were from the local Lexington area. He was very friendly and generous with his information and encouragement for everyone. He hadn't met about half the farriers before, and met some of their spouses for the first time.


He also met Doug Watkins from Breeders Supply, the farrier supply store in Lexington, which he said he wanted to visit before he headed home, Mitch Taylor from Kentucky Horseshoeing School, and a delegation from Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Clinic, plus many others.

An article about Rob's presentation at the Global Dressage Forum in Holland last year, describes his basic shoeing philosophy as this: 

"The coronary band usually makes the shape of the foot and thus the shoe. For front shoes, he prefers a slightly rolling toe which covers one third of the hoof wall. He doesn’t use concave steel on dressage horses, preferring to use quite light flat steel (but not aluminum as it’s very slippery) front and back so that the shoe stays on top of the surface and allows the horse to turn easily. He thins the toe until it’s wider by about 3mm and then he lifts it a little bit, with no clips where possible, and small nails. He files as little as possible of the wall, wanting it to stay nice and straight and strong. For hind shoes, again, he hammers the toe of the shoe to create a rounded toe that so it rolls easily; he doesn’t take the toe too far back and leaves only 4.5mm over the shoe at the back. "

One of Rob's popular sayings is that "You can't make a Ferrari out of a Fiat" and that the horse needs to land on its entire foot. He believes in preserving the horse's toe and frog to absorb shock and create energy for the next stride.

He told me that he worries that single points from articles are often taken out of context and championed by horse owners who disagree with their farriers or veterinarians. He receives many emails and phone calls from U.S. warmblood owners asking for advice on horses he can't see and said he would prefer to hear from the farriers if they feel they need help.

Rob presented a masterclass in sport horse farriery at the Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2007.

Past Hoof Blog articles featuring Rob Renirie:
2009 Global Dressage Forum courtesy of EuroDressage
Rob Renirie at 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong

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Friends at Work: Holland's Rob Renirie Shoes for Anky Between World Cup Matches

Between World Cup matches, Dutch farrier Rob Renirie found his way to dressage star Anky van Grunsven's training center in Erp this week to shoe some of her horses in training; here you see him working on Nelson. Anky was impressed that he used a fan to keep away the flies. I was impressed that even Anky van Grunsven has flies. While Anky will not be competing for a place on the Dutch dressage team at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this September, she scored a personal-best 70.5 on her most recent reining test.  I believe two 68s are the requirement to qualify for WEG. Unfortunately Anky's low score didn't count since she rewarded her horse too soon and her score dropped to zero! Rob Renirie, on the other hand, should be a shoe-in to be the Dutch team farrier at WEG in Kentucky and we'll hope to see him there! Maybe the Brazilians will have recovered by then. Photo mirrored from www.anky.nl.

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.

Video: Watch Another World Record in Dressage Freestyle for the Dutch Black Stallion Totilas

by Fran Jurga | 16 December 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Everyone in the horse world will be talking about this little video...and if they aren't, show it to them! At the FEI Dressage World Cup Qualifier tonight at London's Olympia Horse Show, European champion Moorlands Totilas broke his own world record for highest score ever given. He racked up 92.30%. Ridden by Edward Gal of The Netherlands, Totilas has a specific goal: to come to America next fall and win the gold medal at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. That's still 282 days away but this horse is the one everyone will come to see, assuming he can stay sound and healthy. And until that day, he will be the one everyone analyzes. Watch the way he downshifts from a canter to a tight pirouette around the middle of the test and comes out of it. This horse knows where his feet are. And where to put them next. He's the one to watch.

© 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.

Video: Watch Elastic, Athletic Dutch Dressage Stallion Set a New World Record

by Fran Jurga | 30 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog



Just the other day this blog was quoting the superlatives coming out of the European dressage championships at Windsor Castle in England. Things went from the greatest to the unbelievable last night when, for the first time ever, a score above 90% was awarded in the musical freestyle to Dutch rider Edward Gal and the nine-year-old black stallion Moorlands Totilas.

I don't know what sort of biomechanics study could be done on this horse to figure out how he does what he does. He doesn't seem large. Doesn't look massive in the hind end. He actually looks quite closely coupled, yet his strides in the extended trot and canter look to be ground-gobbling. I can only assume that all his parts are equally massive, equally developed in a harmonious unit and yet...how does he manage to be so light on his feet, so loose at the shoulder?

I know one problem with watching this horse is that the rider is a very tall man, so his frame gives the illusion that the horse is smaller than he probably is.

Maybe a scanning session would show that his tendons and ligaments are bionic, that he has the support system of a warmblood on the feather-light skeleton of a racehorse. Something's up with this horse--something wonderful.

Holland also finished in second and third place. I'm certainly not an expert or a dressage critic and nothing should be taken away from Parzival and Salinero, yet it is interesting to see how differently constructed they are, and how their frames appear larger and especially longer. These horses seem to be exquisitely (and successfully) focused in order to nail the exact movements, like a tennis player at Wimbledon taking exact aim, while the black seems to perform them in a more relaxed mode, a la Tiger Woods.

Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas performed to Celtic-type music, complete with echoing drums and ringing church bells, in the shadow of England's Windsor Castle. And it worked.(FEI photo by Kit Houghton)

With luck, Totilas will stay sound and remain in training for a trip to the USA next September for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. A lot can happen between now and then, including the return of the top Germans who were sidelined for this week's competition.

Share this video, savor this moment, and celebrate this horse. This is what a sound, healthy horse looks like at the peak of condition without a thought of resistance or tension on his mind.

Watching Totilas brings to mind the fleet-footed racing star of this year, filly Rachel Alexandra, who seems to win her races for the joy of running fast because she can. It seems 2009 is a year of at least two great horses at the pinnacle of their respective sports. Enjoy them while they are here with us; we all know that soundness can be fleeting and they are two of the legends we'll remember in the future.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. 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). 

Dutch Hoof Balance PhD Thesis "Distal Limb Development and Effects of Shoeing Techniques on Limb Dynamics of Today's Equine Athlete" by Meike Van Heel Published

"Distal Limb Development and Effects of Shoeing Techniques on Limb Dynamics of Today's Equine Athlete" has been published in The Netherlands! Dutch researcher Meike van Heel PhD has assembled her papers and dissertation on hoof balance into the pages of a lovely book. It is 174 pages, with color photos and art (though not enough of either).

Here's the blurb from our sale flyer on this book:

A landmark study of hoof balance and growth uses traditional and high-tech research modalities to bring new information to equine hoof science. Pressure mats, force plates, video gait analysis, radiography and keen observation of equine posture and behavior yield a document rich in the use of science to back up common sense. Studies examine the prevalence of uneven feet (so-called “high-low syndrome”). Documents how a horse compensates for hoof growth to maintain balance and how a rolled toe shoe aids in efficient movement and joint mechanics.

Chapters:

• Lateral grazing behavior induced by foal conformation 
• Potential consequences of uneven feet in foals 
• Effect of trimming on dynamic pressure measurements of hoof balance 
• Changing center of pressure and hoof-unrollment over 8-wk shoeing interval 
• Hoof growth effects on P3 vs P2 joints 
• Compensation for changes in growth between shoeing sessions 
• Rolled toe effects on breakover in sound warmblood horses 
• Discussion and Summary

Watch for Meike to be a lecturer at conferences later this year or next year. She will be consulting for Mustad on innovative development of products and trends from her base in Holland.

Meike was a featured speaker at the International Conference on Equine Locomotion, hosted by Dr Hilary Clayton at Michigan State University in 2004. Her research was featured in an article on gait analysis and videotaping of horse movement in Hoofcare & Lameness #78.

Note: Meike's book is no longer available for sale. If a new edition is printed, it will be announced on The Hoof Blog.

Text and photos © 2006 Hoofcare Publishing. Text and photos posted on “The HoofBlog”, a casual news source for subscribers and friends of Hoofcare & Lameness: The Journal of Equine Foot Science. Learn more (and subscribe online using our secure server) at http://www.hoofcare.com or write to Hoofcare Publishing, 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930 USA. Tel USA 978 281 3222; Fax 978 283 8775, or email hoofblog@hoofcare.com

Note: this blog is an interactive web page. By clicking on the envelope icon at the bottom of an article, you can instantly email that article to a friend. By clicking on the word “comment” after a post, you can leave a message, which may be viewed by future blog readers who click on the same “comment”. Commenting may require registering with Blogger.com. You may also comment by emailing the author, Fran Jurga, at fran@hoofcare.com and your comment will be posted for you, technology willing.