Hoofcare History: Japanese Hoof Sandals Gave Horses Removable Traction

This amazing photo from Japan shows the traditional straw sandals worn by horses there. The sandals attached with straw ties around the pastern. Notice that this horse's hind feet are left alone. (T. Enemi image courtesy of Rob Oechsle)

As much as I love reading the history of hoofcare and lameness from British and American historical perspectives, it's the other countries and other parts of the world that keep my reading lamp on at night. There is so much we don't know about how hooves were cared for in other cultures.

From my reading, it almost seems like horseshoes were one of the things that European merchants and explorers brought with them to new lands--and left behind, along with Christianity. They converted the people to Eurocentric religions and their horses to iron shoes.

But what were they using before the Europeans showed up, and is there something that we can learn from them?

Farrier Image in Charity Print Auction for Japan

The auction has now ended. Thanks for your support of the people of Japan during this terrible tragedy.

For more information on the auction:

CPA - CHARITY PRINT AUCTIONS - JAPAN

www.flickr.com/groups/charityprintauctions/

Poetry in Motion: The Japan Racing Association Captures the Simple Beauty of a Galloping Racehorse...in a Commercial

I think if I could just keep this YouTube video on a continuous loop and keep watching it, I'd have no problems keeping stress at bay. There is something very relaxing about watching these Thoroughbreds stretch across the black-and-white frame of this film, as the lovely music plays.

It's not real, of course.  This is a sort of "greatest hits" reel of slow-motion galloping horses from a series of Japan Racing Association (JRA) commercials; someone has kindly edited the slo-mo galloping sequences together for us.

I'm quite often asked for slo-mo galloping clips that do not have distracting backgrounds so for all of you who have asked, here you go. I see footage like this and can only hope that Disney did as well when shooting Secretariat (which will be out a month from now, as a matter of fact).

The original JRA commercial was quite nice and it dovetails with the melancholy I feel each September when Saratoga is over and the Breeders Cup isn't really here yet. Thank goodness for the World Equestrian Games this year.

And, for those of you like me who want to know such things, here's how they filmed the horses galloping (and the rest of the original commercial):

I've always been a fan of the rousing instrumental musical equestrian commercial genre made famous and perfected by Rolex, but I think the JRA has done something very special here. It's a commercial that conveys a reverence for horse racing and horses.

Imagine that.

Indulge yourself by watching the gallopers as many times as you please. I know some of you will be able to use these horses in your teaching. Be sure to thank the JRA the next time you see a representative at a conference. They do wonderful things.

PS As a post script, I am really happy to see that this article has been near the top of the most popular posts on this blog for the past month or so. I'm not the only one who likes it! Or, someone is watching it over and over and over again! Thanks again to the JRA.

© 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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