The Last Set: Bob Agne, DVM, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital Podiatry Veterinarian, Killed

If you live in New England and turned on the news today, you heard about a cyclist killed by a car on a Vermont road yesterday. You might not pay much attention, it's one of so many accidents that happened over Labor Day weekend.

But that one news story was different. The victim was Bob Agne, DVM, an equine podiatry veterinarian at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's new satellite hospital in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Rood and Riddle equine podiatry veterinarian Bob Agne, DVM was killed on Monday, September 7 in Vermont

Bob was cycling on a Vermont highway on Labor Day afternoon when a motorist driving in the opposite direction fell asleep and lost control at the wheel, according to news reports, which added that Bob was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Bob loved his work with horses and was dedicated to improving care for horses with hoof problems, especially with respect to laminitis prevention and treatment.

Rood and Riddle's Scott Morrison, DVM, shared his thoughts on the loss of his colleague and friend on Tuesday:

"On September 7, 2015, the equine community lost a most valuable, skilled and compassionate equine podiatry veterinarian. Dr Robert Agne was the first podiatry intern at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's podiatry center in 2003 and was then hired on afterwards as a podiatry clinician.

"He was a valued and much-appreciated colleague, who was adored and respected by his clients, colleagues and the Rood and Riddle staff. He cared for many cases with unyielding commitment, patience and integrity. 

"Dr Agne was a dear and true friend to all those who had the privilege to know him."

Dr. Bob Agne graduated from both the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's Farrier Program, where he studied under Michael Wildenstein, FWCF (Hons), and the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he received his DVM degree. In 2003, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky and became the first staff member to augment Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's fledgling but growing podiatry clinic's original staff of farrier Manfred Ecker, now retired, and veterinarian Scott Morrison.

Twelve years later, Dr. Agne and his wife, Carrie Crowley Agne, moved to the Saratoga, New York area, where he headed the satellite Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's equine podiatry services. Included in his recent clients was the undefeated three-year-old Thoroughbred filly Lady Eli, who suffered from laminitis following a foot puncture wound this spring at New York's Belmont Park. 


On Thursday, the Daily Racing Form published an unusual article (for that publication). It reported Bob's death from the point of view of his work helping Lady Eli with her laminitis, and included an update on her condition.

The Form interviewed Lady Eli's trainer, Chad Brown, about his relationship with Bob, who would drive all the way from Saratoga down to Long Island's Belmont Park for the filly. This is what Brown said:

“For him to drop what he’s doing and come down and try to first save this filly and then continue to check on her and be available whenever you needed him to come down, I can just tell for a guy like him it was never about the accolades or the money, it was about trying to help this horse,” Brown said. “For the short time I knew him, it seemed like that’s what he was all about, the horse.”

Dr. Agne spoke at many conferences and his writing on laminitis and foot infections was published in journals and books in the United States and Japan. He was especially devoted to following laminitis innovations and research and in 2014 was a founder of the Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group.

The wonderful poem, "The Hoofs of the Horses", is posted here in Bob's memory.

I often share the poem "The Hoofs of the Horses" at times like this. I think horseman/poet Will Ogilvie wrote these words long ago because he knew we'd need something like it for a new generation of people who are stirred by hoofs. Bob Agne is quietly, and with his characteristically understated dignity, at the head of that line. If you can ever get your hands on a book of Will Ogilvie's poems, do it. And don't ever let it go. The same goes for knowing people like Bob Agne.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing 2015.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Hoof Blog (Hoofcare Publishing) has not received any direct compensation for writing this post. Hoofcare Publishing has no material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned, other than products and services of 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.

Video: How Does Dianne Volz of Equine Therapy 502 Help Keep Top Thoroughbreds Running?

Equine therapist Dianne Volz serves top Thoroughbred racehorses on the East Coast. A new video in this article explains some of the services she and her assistants provide and the tools they use to keep horses supple and comfortable during training. (photo © Fran Jurga/Hoofcare Publishing)

Paynter Laminitis Watch: Podiatry-Vet Fraley Amazed at Progress Since Hoof Casts Applied

Paynter's Hoof-Specialist Veterinarian Fraley "Amazed At His Progress"

Paynter models his hoof casts: The colt is almost as big a star on Twitter as he was on the racetrack. This photo was tweeted by owner Justin Zayat yesterday and shows the three-year-old Thoroughbred colt outside the Upstate Equine Medical Center in Schuylerville, New York where he has been a patient since late August. He is wearing hoof casts to stabilize his feet after being diagnosed with laminitis in three of four hooves. (Justin Zayat Twitter image)

The Thoroughbred world has been enraptured by the cryptic Twitter messages chronicling the condition of 2012 Haskell Invitational winner Paynter. The three-year-old colt is recovering from colitis at the Upstate Equine Medical Center in Schuylerville, New York after becoming ill while training at nearby Saratoga Racecourse.

Colitis is an acute inflammation of the bowel and/or gastrointestinal tract, generally associated with a bacterial infection. According to Robinson's Current Therapies in Equine Medicine (2009), 90 percent of horses stricken by colitis will die if they are not treated.

Each Twitter message is like a cyber-message in a bottle. The air inside the bottle has inflated and deflated as the horse's illness waxed and waned. Hundreds of tweets and re-tweets punctuated with the hashtag "#Poweruppaynter" flooded Twitter over Labor Day weekend.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of colitis is often laminitis, and Paynter's case was no exception. The diagnosis tweeted by the owner stated that the horse had laminitis in three legs. The Twitterverse shuddered.

Bryan Fraley DVM

Kentucky veterinarian Bryan Fraley is serving as equine podiatry consultant on the case and attended to the colt, including applying casts to the affected hooves. Fraley heads a consulting equine podiatry practice in Lexington, Kentucky; his firm is an affiliate of Hagyard Equine Medical Center there.

Within a few days, optimistic reports started to chirp out of the owner's Twitter account. Apparently, Paynter liked the hoof casts.

Zayat posted--in short bursts via Twitter--that he had sent Paynter's radiographs to Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky for a second opinion.

"He confirmed to us what other vets have told us," Zayat tweeted. "That he believed, based on what he saw, that if the colt continues to improve, there is no reason why he shouldn't return to a full recovery as a racehorse...in his opinion that he has all chances to race again at top notch level."

Zayat's quote sent a surge of enthusiastic rapture through his fans. But if you've ever danced with the dreaded disease of laminitis, you know that the song is far from over yet.

Sometimes, life imitates Twitter. Dr. Fraley attempted to report on the horse's condition, but had to make three or four calls. His report is scattered across phone message sheets on the desk, much as the owner's tweets break each report into short bursts.

A blog post to follow will explain more about this type of laminitis, but first, the good news.

Dr. Fraley on September 12: "The colt’s out grazing in hand this morning...He continues to do well and (has) overcome some pretty amazing obstacles recently...

"From a foot standpoint, he appears to be quite stable at this moment. He is due for a foot cast change at the end of next week and I’ll have another report for you then.

"We’re just continuing to be amazed at his progress and hope for the best."

Note to readers: Dr. Fraley will be the featured speaker at a full-day "Standards of Hoofcare" seminar co-hosted by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the Southern New England Farriers Association on Sunday, November 18, 2012 in North Grafton, Massachusetts. His scheduled topics include his work on laminitis.

To learn more:

Paynter Watch: Top Thoroughbred Colt Diagnosed with Post-Colitis Laminitis in New York

Fraley Equine Podiatry web site

How to apply a (plaster) cast in case of acute laminitis by Hans Castelijn

Click this text to access full ordering information; in stock, immediate shipping

© 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.

Paynter Watch: Top Thoroughbred Colt Diagnosed with Post-Colitis Laminitis in New York

Paynter in his stall at a vet hospital near Saratoga. (Zayat Twitter photo)

You could hear a collective moan rise from the world of Thoroughbred racing today.

Paynter has laminitis.

For the past month, the racing press has been reporting on the condition of top three-year-old colt Paynter, trained by California's Bob Baffert. Paynter is owned by Zayat Racing Stable.

After winning the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on July 29, the colt was transferred to a New Jersey vet clinic, then released a few days later. Few details about his condition were available but it was clear that both his connections and his fans hoped to see him run in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Paynter was sent to Belmont to recover and then moved to Saratoga, where he was reported to be in light training.

Paynter (turquoise cap) finished a game second in the Belmont Stakes in June and then went on to win the Haskell Invitational on July 29. (Mike Lizzi photo)

However, last week Paynter was admitted to the Upstate Equine Medical Center in nearby Schuylerville, New York. It was confirmed that the horse was suffering from colitis, a severe infection of the horse's digestive tract that involves extensive and debilitating diarrhea. Severe and sudden laminitis is a common side-effect of colitis in horses.

A moving tribute to the colt spontaneously erupted on Twitter as hundreds of people tweeted the mantra-like hashtag, "#PowerupPaynter" throughout the weekend.

It seemed like a miracle when, on Monday, the owners tweeted that the horse was improving.

In what might be a new trend for news gatherers in horse sports, the horse's condition has been reported via the Twitter accounts of Justin and Ahmed Zayat.

Earlier this afternoon, Justin's flying fingers tweeted, in poignant 140-character bursts:

"Unfortunately we have a very sick horse who has developed serious complications in the last 24 hours. 

"Other than fighting bravely his colitis, he continues to have diarrhea as well as his protein blood level is very low. We continue to give him plasma to help him out. His blood work continues to be good as well as his temp so on a standalone basis he is fighting bravely and hard...

"...He is developing a new issue about his veins being swollen, a disease that is called DIC which stands for 'disseminated intravascular coagulopathy'.

"...The most concerning news is as of last night he started becoming sore on his left foot and was scared to turn around and walk on it..unfortunately we only thought it was some swelling...but it has worsened because today he has been diagnosed with our nightmare scenario of laminitis.

"...It seems it is rapidly progressing after...additional x-rays of the foot and discussing with some foot experts, Dr. Laura (Javsicas) (has) found out that he has developed it in three of his four legs, which is heartbreaking. 

"...Poor Paynter, I don't know how long he can fight this out so bravely without having pain and suffering. So far (Dr. Laura) is very conscious of that and having his pain under control. 

"But we need to look at all these problems. My deep concern is that if he is a healthy horse he can fight laminitis since it is the beginning but to be a sick horse and fight all these issues all at once, it is asking for too much. 

"We need to be compassionate and merciful and treat our star with the respect and love that he deserves while giving him the best chance in fighting for his life."

The prognosis for horses suffering from colitis is grim. Acute post-colitis laminitis can be especially sudden and severe and bears little resemblance to laminitis seen in otherwise healthy horses.

Ice baths have been documented in Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit studies to prevent laminitis in horses with colitis. As described by Mark Andrews MRCVS in Equine Sciene Update, 

"One treatment that (Dr. Chris) Pollitt has shown to be effective in preventing laminitis is cryotherapy, using iced water....

"'It is important that the ice water comes up to just below the knee. If only the foot is cooled laminitis still occurs.

"'We don't yet know how long this protective effect would last. But horses with toxic colitis (which often causes laminitis) have been treated successfully with an ice-water bath. The clinicians involved believe that it has prevented laminitis.'"

Paynter appears to be wearing ice boots on his legs.

To learn more:

Laminitis: What treatment at what stage? by Dr. Chris Pollitt (sign-in required)

Pharmacy sued over horse deaths at Saratoga

Veterinary Report for Miners Frolic: European Champion Event Horse “Stable But Seriously Ill” (London Olympic silver medalist event horse Miner's Frolic survived colitis a year ago and returned to competition)

Slide show of a post-colitis laminitis case in the care of farrier Adam Whitehead

Good article explaining colitis

Brush up on equine foot anatomy with innovate 3-D animated images. Order now!

© 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

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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.

Travers: Shackleford Sticks with Glue-on Shoes for Summer's Biggest Thoroughbred Race; Horseshoe Technology Exciting Area of Track Safety, Health Innovation

The feet of a survivor: Shackleford ran in all three Triple Crown races in 2011, and provided some exciting memories. He won the Preakness in May wearing polyurethane glue-on Polyflex shoes, thus becoming the first Triple Crown winner to cross the finish line first in non-metal glue-shoes. The shoes appear rather amber-colored in this photo taken by Sarah K. Andrew (Rock n Racehorses) last week at Saratoga. The urethane is transparent, and shows a thin metal wire embedded in the plastic; the shoe also has a wear plate at the toe. Shackleford is shod by New York-based horseshoer Brad Dewey. The whitish patch on the colt's heel quarter is adhesive. Shackleford is a very large colt, an imposing equine specimen who could have a second career as a photo model. His face is marked by a wide white blaze with a triangle at the top, giving his face the appearance of a arrow pointing to the sky. He's easy to spot in a race. His namesake, an island off North Carolina populated by wild horses, is probably underwater right now.

News just in: That handsome Shackleford will race in today's Travers Stakes at Saratoga in his favorite high-tech run-a-red-streak horseshoes. Trainer Dale Romans confirmed this morning that his big red colt will stay in his Polyflex glue-on shoes, in which he won the Preakness Stakes in May. That was the first win of a Triple Crown race by a horse in plastic glue-on shoes. Let's look at it again:

2011 Preakness Stakes: first Triple Crown race won by a horse wearing glue-on and/or plastic horseshoes; Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with his aluminum shoes glued on.

There was some uncertainty, apparently, in the Roman camp that Hurricane Irene might arrive in time to turn the Spa to soup, but Irene is busy elsewhere and the rains aren't predicted to begin until long after the sun sets in upstate New York. A wet track, however, didn't impede Curlin when he won the Jockey Club Gold Cup in the same type of glue shoes in 2008. I still miss that horse. Just for old times' sake, watch him win that race, which catapulted him into the #1 spot in all-time money-earning racehorses:

2008 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Belmont Park won by Curlin in plastic glue-on horseshoes over an off track; Curlin also wore the shoes when he won the Woodward that year.

The first stakes horse to run in glue shoes was Afleet, back in the 1980s; his trainer opted for the Mustad Easy-Glu. Since then, horseshoers at racetracks have had success with a variety of raceshoes adapted for glue, and in even directly gluing aluminum raceplates to the foot. Experimentation with glue shoes (rather than nails) goes back to the 1800s. Most experimentation has been done in Germany, which also gave rise to the newest era of glue shoes when the Glu-Strider emerged there in the 1980s. That shoe was developed by a creative engineer and horse owner named Peter Steubbe; the technology was quickly purchased and continued in research and development of a full line of shoes by hoofcare giant Mustad International.

Asmussen horseshoer David Hinton working on Curlin's foot, shod with a urethane Polyflex shoe. (photo courtesy of Polyflex)

Glu-Strider technology was based on a Super Glue type adhesive, while the current generation of shoes uses two-part PMMA-type adhesives. PMMA is the family of adhesives that includes the glue used by women to hold artificial fingernails to their nailbeds. The innovation and experimentation in footwear is one of the most exciting areas of developing health and safety innovations in racing today. At the same time, the Association of Racing Commissioners International is considering a model rule to allow horses to run without shoes. Currently, barefoot racing is outlawed in about half the jurisdictions in North America. The Grayson Jockey Club Foundation's Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit has kept shoeing and hoofcare in its sights since the consortium was founded in 2006. The Summit has an ongoing and active Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee that meets regularly and consults on shoeing-related matters affecting Thoroughbred racehorses. A sub-committee is tackling the possibility of a uniform, nationwide racetrack shoeing licensing program and test, and is currently seeking input from the industry. Mucho Macho Man and Nehro are two other Triple Crown contenders who ran in glue shoes in 2011. Top older stakes horse and candidate for Horse of the Year Tizway, winner of the Metropolitan and Whitney, also wears the Polyflex shoes.

The racehorse Shackleford has probably never been anywhere near the Shackleford Banks off the North Carolina coast. And with Hurricane Irene in the neighborhood, he wouldn't want to be there. The area is famous for the wild horses, called Banker Ponies, that freely roam the dunes there. Photo courtesy of Kurt Repanshek and NationalParksTraveler.com.

Glue-on shoes are now so ubiquitous  at the track that it's hard to find out when horses win in them. We found out about Shackleford in the Preakness, after the race was over; he was shod by Brad Dewey. Horseshoes aren't as visible as a tack change or new style of blinkers or Zenyatta's ear plugs, so the news of innovative horseshoes isn't always obvious.

Here's a partial list of stakes horses who won their races (some set track records) wearing the Polyflex glue shoes: Ambitious Cat, Bargain Baby, Big Booster, Brother Derek, Buzzards Bay, Charitable Man, Cry and Catch Me, Cowgirls Don't Cry, Cubera, Divine Park, Dream Play, Eldaafar, Essential Edge, Ever Elusive, Foxysox, Fredaville,Golden Yank, Greeley's Conquest, Hold the Salt, Hot Dixie Chick, Indian Blessing, J Be K, Kandar Du Falgas, Kensai, Lantana Mob, Little Belle, Lucky Island, Luna Vega, Major Rhythm, Malibu Mint, Mo Cuishle, Mr Fantasy, Nehantic Kat, Noonmark, Octave, Osidy, Pray for Action, Present Danger, Pyro, River's Prayer, Roses 'n' Wine, Secret Gypsy, Set Play, Seventh Street, Shaggy Mane, Silent Name, Sok Sok, Stormin Baghdad, Stream of Gold, Student Council, Total,  Teuflesberg, Uno Mas, Wow Me Free, and Zanjero. (Names harvested from the Polyflex web site.) Favorite little known fact about Polyflex glue-on shoes: Both Curlin and his beloved stable pony Pancho wore them! Nothing but the best for the champion's best friend! Watch Shackleford and all the top three-year-old Thoroughbreds entered in today's Travers Stakes at Saratoga on NBC Sports at 5 p.m. Lots of news about the race and the track on www.nyra.com. To learn more about Polyflex shoes, visit www.noanvil.com. Photo of Shackleford's feet courtesy of Sarah K. Andrew and Rock 'n Racehorses. Sarah is a frequent contributor to the Hoof Blog and keeps a key eye on the hooves at the track. Her track and sport horse photography is nothing short of phenomenal; Sarah is also a key ingredient in the success of Camelot Weekly, the all-volunteer program at the New Jersey horse auction that channels racehorses, sport/recreational horses, and companion horses into new homes instead of the killer pen--via Facebook! Sarah photographs the horses available each week, without compensation, and I wish a book publisher would make a coffee table book of these portraits of horses in need. They have saved thousands of horses from slaughter; not one horse from that auction has been re-routed to slaughter since they began.

Click on ad for easy ordering of this spectacular, award-winning graphic reference poster featuring image from the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine's Equine Foot Laboratory, Dr. Robert Bowker, and Dr. Lisa Lancaster.

 TO LEARN MORE

Hoof Blog coverage of Shackleford's Preakness victory and shoes

Hoof Blog: Laminitis-survivor Overdose sets European track speed record wearing American-made glue-on shoes

Hoof Blog: Shoes for Thought: Prototypes Put to the Test (introduction of Polyflex shoes in 2006)

Glue-on shoes at the 2006 Breeders Cup

The Unshod Racehorse: Racing Commissioners Table Model Rule on Barefoot Racehorses

Hoof Blog article on barefoot horse racing during California rule change 

Research: Clayton and Bowker's “Effects of Barefoot Trimming on Hoof Morphology” Focuses on Incremental Heel Recovery

Click on this link to go to the licensing survey for racetrack horseshoers.

© 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.

Lisa's Booby Trap: Sort Out the Feet, You've Got a Racehorse

Lisa's Booby Trap is a horse for anyone who has given up on horseracing. Or life. 
Photo courtesy of New York Racing Association.

Saratoga. Playground of the rich and famous. Well-bred people, better-bred horses. They check your pedigree at the city line.

But on Monday night, the best pedigree in the world couldn't get you to a new home; svelte yearling after svelte yearling went unsold at the Fasig-Tipton Select Sale, or sold at prices below what was expected, and hoped for.

The buyers turned up their noses at the yearlings. The hottest horse in town, instead, is none other than a $2000 freakishly-fast-finishing Florida-bred Finger Lakes filly who is trained by Tim Snyder, a guy from Maine who normally wouldn't be able to even get a stall at Saratoga.

The racing secretary at Saratoga does not have Tim Snyder on speed dial. The guy has one horse in his stable. But, this year is different in a lot of ways.

You see, Tim seems to think the horse may be the reincarnation of his wife, Lisa, who died of ovarian cancer in 2003 and vowed she'd "come back as a horse". And then this horse showed up in his life.

Lisa's Booby Trap. That's her name. The whole thing reads like a script for a video that plays inside a Hallmark card. Except it's really happening, right here in Saratoga, of all places. He was broke, and didn't even have a horse trailer to go pick her up when he bought her. She was club-footed, and only had one eye anyway. But, the way people tell me the story, she had not just a bad club foot but a flat pancake foot too and she needed someone to pay some attention to her hooves. According to NYRA, she wears a hind shoe on the flat front foot now. And she no longer hits herself when she runs. Tim found a horseshoer to get the job done. And now it is just a matter of waiting for Oprah to call.

Here's their story, though we don't know yet what her feet look like. (I'm on it, though.) This TVG segment was made when she had won her first three starts this spring and summer at Finger Lakes, which is sort of the "outback" of New York racing, out in the middle of the state.

So Tim must have borrowed a trailer or begged a ride for the filly across New York State to Saratoga. She made her workout debut during the morning trackside breakfast on the main track. The announcer didn't notice her streaking by, but the timer certainly did. That was a fast work. Lisa's Booby Trap had arrived.

Tim Snyder had never even entered a horse in a stakes race before. Not even at Finger Lakes. His filly was entered against a full card of Kentucky-breds. Two were conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. One was owned by Stonestreet Stables, owners of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. Speed demon Stormandaprayer is owned by chef Bobby Flay. And than there's Lisa's Booby Trap at 12-1, the only longshot on the program. Here's what happened:

According to NYRA and the Albany Times-Union, Lisa's Booby Trap will probably run next on Travers Day, which is Saturday August 28, in the Grade 3 Victory Ride.

I can't wait.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. 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). 
 

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Favorite Video: New York Racing Association Salutes Racetrack Horseshoers

What makes a racetrack a racetrack? Horses running. And horses won't be running without a legion of horseshoers swinging their toolboxes down the shedrows each day. They squeeze in their hoof duties between a horse's  hotwalking and feeding and vet treatments and gate schooling and all the other important appointments in a Thoroughbred-in-training's day.

But the horseshoer's visit is important. It's the one that aligns the wheels of the runner, fixes the flats, re-balances the imbalances, patches the punctures, checks the valves.

No one knows that better than the shoers at the New York Racing Association tracks. They drive back and forth across the intersection of Long Island and Queens as the meets move between Aqueduct and Belmont. These are suburban blacksmiths, who are more likely to shoe a horse in the shade of a highway overpass instead of a chestnut tree. That is, until July comes and they move to bucolic Saratoga.

What you don't see in this video is the ghosts. The ghosts of horseshoers past. New York has a great tradition of fine horseshoers, solid craftsmen who shod the best racehorses in American history for the best trainers who based themselves at Belmont to be close to their wealthy New York owners. The legends range from John Dern who flew around the country working on horses like the tender-footed Assault with legendary trainer Max Hirsch (who actually lived right on the grounds at Belmont Park), to Elmer Campbell who shod the last winner of Triple Crown, Affirmed, back in 1978. Going back even further would be the ghost of Irishman Andrew McDermott, who shod the horses of August Belmont, including Man o' War. And hundreds more, each a legend in his own way, as horseshoers tend to be.

The nonchalant attitude of the New York shoers in this video belies the high-pressure stakes that are played each day with valuable horses and a year-round racing schedule that is breathing shallow breaths, exhaling toward Albany with a cough now and then.

At the top of the politicians' heap, with the power to influence the fate of hundreds of horses as well as the jobs and livelihoods of many hundreds of people and entire communities, sits Governor David Patterson. If you think New York's first African-American legally-blind governor is out of touch with New York racing and the important role it plays, think again: Patterson is the grandson of a New York racetrack blacksmith. His grandfather's skill and hard work helped him to an advanced degree and a career in politics.

Would he know a Queen's Plate from a Clydesdale shoe? Maybe not, but maybe it's not too late to teach him, either. Wake up some repressed genetic memory code and Governor Patterson could build a new plan for New York racing starting on the backside, with the welfare of the horses and the people who care for and about them at the top of the list. He might feel right at home.

A morning on the backside with the horseshoers might put the whole thing in perspective. It always works for me.

15 May 2010 | © Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com

Rachel and Kensei: Footwear of the Fleet and Famous during Travers Week at Saratoga

by Fran Jurga | 24 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

With legs like these, you can understand why champion racehorse Rachel Alexandra was chosen to model for a portrait in the August issue of Vogue magazine. She posed for fashion photographer (and horse owner) Stephen Klein soon after winning the Preakness Stakes in May. Sarah K. Andrew snapped this shot in Saratoga a few weeks ago, when Rachel was awaiting a visit by horseshoer David Hinton.

Note: the double or bonded shoe on her left front is an optical illusion; it's a reflection in a puddle on the stall mat. Rachel wears flat made-in-the-USA raceplates in front, according to Hinton and is so well mannered that when he accidentally dropped her foot once, she delicately picked her foot back up and placed it right back in his hand.

What's the definition of pressure in horse racing? Hinton knew he might need to shoe Rachel Alexandra after she was purchased in early May. When the decision was made to run her in the Preakness, it meant that she needed to be shod that day. That's right: the morning of the race. Each nail driven into the hoof was a chance to draw blood; one jerk, one rear and a rasp might scrape her coronet. But nothing went wrong. Nothing has gone wrong, that we know of. She just keeps on running.

Comparing this photo to the Vogue shot, I'd say the combination of a Saratoga lifestyle, Asmussen training, Hinton's hoofcare and Jackson ownership are all agreeing with the filly; her hoof walls look much better after a couple of months at the Spa. Maybe Rachel should consider permanent residence!

NEWS FLASH! Trainer Steve Asmussen announced this morning that Rachel Alexandra will run against older horses in the Woodward at Saratoga on September 5th. The Grade 1 Woodward is a 1 1/8 miles and on dirt, of course. Now, if it could just be on television...


Rachel's stablemate Kensei is headed to Saturday's Traves Stakes for three-year-olds, where he will face Quality Road, Summer Bird and Mine That Bird, among others. Kensei made winning the Jim Dandy Stakes look easy; he did it wearing these Burns Polyflex glue-on shoes. They have the square-toe polyurethane design made for another Asmussen trainee, Curlin, when he was training at Saratoga last summer. Kensei is still carrying some of the racetrack around with him as a souvenir.

Athletic footwear is a big deal in other sports, why am I the only one who seems to care about what these horses are wearing? It does make a difference: just like a basketball player prefers a certain brand of shoe or height of shoe, these horses must have preferences. They just can't tell us. But they can tell a good horseshoer, and they do.

A good horseshoer can see in the way the shoe is worn, and where it is worn and not worn, whether the horse is using the shoe and landing in a functional way, and using the shoe to push off. You can read a horseshoe and you can read a foot, and if you're good at it, you can help keep a horse comfortable and safe on its feet. It's an important job. And it matters. Boy, does it matter.

Many, many thanks to Sarah K. Andrew for her patience and effort in getting these photos and allowing The Hoof Blog to post them here. Sarah became intrigued with her own horse's shoeing and started to notice the feet of horses at the track, much to my delight. Most photographers don't even think to aim the camera at a horse's feet and legs, but there's a lot of information there that a good photograph can convey, as well as the beauty of one of nature's most amazing structures.

© 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).

Friends at Work: Ray Amato Intrigues the Press at Saratoga

by Fran Jurga | 21 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

"It's gotta be the shoes."

Todd Pletcher has broken nearly all the records for Thoroughbred racehorse trainers in the United States and what will he tell you is one key factor in his success? His horseshoer.

Approach Pletcher's Oklahoma training stable at Saratoga and you see what might be a little shrine, if you know where to look. Thick stall mats form a makeshift shoeing floor and big lights on stands are tucked away at the end of the shedrow during the day, but they come out so that the stable's horseshoer can get to work before the sun comes up.

That horseshoer would be Ray Amato, the 77-year-old secret weapon of Team Pletcher, and this week's darling of the New York media.

As Quality Road preps for the Mid-Summer Derby, The Travers Stakes, at Saratoga next Saturday, Ray is sure to attract a lot of attention. Quality Road missed the Triple Crown races while he recovered from front and hind quarter cracks, but he's come roaring back with a track record-setting prep race and is the favorite of many for next week's big race, though he will face Mine That Bird, Summer Bird, Kensai and perhaps even Rachel Alexandra.

Everyone wants to know how Quality Road's feet are...and they'll get a good story from Ray Amato.

Click here to go to the Albany Channel 9 television station to see the first of two interviews with Ray conducted by sports reporter Joe Calderone. Actually, Joe just let the camera roll and Ray just was himself.

And that's something pretty special.

When Upset Defeated Man o' War, A Future Governor's Family Didn't Look a Gift House in the Mouth

by Fran Jurga | 13 August 2009 | © Hoofcare Publishing

The horseshoer's great-grandson in the clubhouse at Saratoga earlier this month. Did Mr. Gibbs ever even set foot in that building, I wonder? Click here to read the New York Daily News account of Mr. Paterson's day at the races and why one of the current-day Whitney racehorses has a tongue-in-cheek link to the New York State House.

It happened 90 years ago today. Some call it the most monumental footnote in American horse racing history. Some call it the biggest mistake in the record books. Call it what you will: On August 13, 1919, a horse with the apt name of Upset scored a win against the mighty Man o’ War in the Sanford Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse. The defeat was Man o’ War's only career loss in 21 starts.

The historians love to dissect the race, partly because of its legendary botched start--was Man 'o War really facing the wrong way?--and partly because of it took place during the golden age of millionaires' racing stables. But there's more to this story. As so often is the case, there are some horseshoes buried in this legendary horse race.

From what we have learned in the past two years, it seems that the wealthy Mr. Whitney, the owner of Upset, was so pleased with his horse's victory that he rewarded his racing stable employees with real estate in some of the new housing he was building in the boroughs of New York. The crew would need to be close to his main center of operations at Belmont Park on Long Island and it would be in his interest to give them permanent homes nearby.

Among the beneficiaries was Mr. Gibbs, the blacksmith to the Whitney racing empire. He was given a home in Brooklyn, which stayed in his family for generations. And I hope he tacked a horseshoe over the door!

Someone who went in and out of that house was the great-grandson of Mr. Gibbs. Nowadays, the great-grandson goes in and out of another house, the State House of New York, where he serves as governor.

Governor David Paterson told the story of Upset, the horseshoe, and the gift house when he presented the trophy at the 2008 Belmont Stakes. He said that the gift house made a huge difference in his family's middle-class status and improved his chances for realizing education and career goals, in spite of his impaired vision.

And all because a horse named Upset needed horseshoes.

I tried to get through to Governor Paterson this week for a quote for this article about this auspicious anniversary but his aides said he was too busy. I hope he knew what day it was. He might be Upset to have missed it.

Click here to read more about Governor Paterson's link to Man o' War, and about the horseshoers who served both horses 90 years ago today. An African-American and an Irish immigrant held the all-important hooves of those two horses in their hands, and made sure they were well shod and sound to run the race of their lives--a race we're still talking about, and learning about, 90 years later!

Click here to read the original New York Times account of the race.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. But if you ask...

News from Hoofcare + Lameness may be read online at this web page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page).

Mine That Bird's Hooves Experience One of Saratoga's Most Famous Traditions

Saratoga is a star-studded place this summer. While the grandstand seemed a little empty this afternoon, and Broadway clears out much earlier at night than in years gone by, it's clear to see that the celebs on the backside are getting all the press and are the center of all the gossip. 

When and where will Rachel run next? Is Kensai the real deal? What giant slayers is Jerkens hiding? Will Quality Road's feet hold up? And everyone is curious about Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who pulled into town last week and set up camp. Yes, trainer Chip Woolley is still on crutches. 

Mine That Bird's hooves hadn't hit the shady Saratoga dirt for long before our friend and ace photographer Sarah K. Andrew hunkered down for a hoofcare-eye view while the champ enjoyed a bath. She knew you'd want to see his feet, which are pretty long by New York racetrack fashion but he just might like them that way. 

With luck, Mine That Bird will start in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 29, where he would meet (potentially) Summer Bird, Quality Road, Kensai, and maybe even Rachel Alexandra, among others. Birdstone, sire of Mine That Bird and Summer Bird, won the Travers in 2004 for his owner and Saratoga resident, Mrs. Marylou Whitney. Mine That Bird is usually shod by Mike Johnson in New Mexico. 

Saratoga is famed for its naturally mineral-rich spring waters. There are springs downtown and even one in the "backyard" of the racetrack. Mineral springs helped make Saratoga one of the first resorts in America. For 150 years or more, the public has come to Saratoga to take a bath in the waters, which are believed to have therapeutic effects. 

Horse races were started in the town as entertainment for the bathers; they couldn't spend all their time in the water. Mine That Bird certainly seemed to be enjoying his bathtime, in the Saratoga tradition. In a few weeks he'll put those hooves to work and do his part to entertain and possibly enrich the modern-day bathers and betters.

Curlin's Horseshoe Beat Him to the Hall of Fame

by Fran Jurga | 10 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

The square-toe glue-on Polyflex horseshoe design dictated by Curlin's 2008 campaign needs

A highlight of last week's Hoofcare and Lameness/Hoofcare@Saratoga reception for the Ride On! exhibit at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was a little piece of plastic with a big story to tell.

Oklahoma horseshoer David Hinton had been scheduled to be with us but had to change his plans; he will be with us this week at the Parting Glass at 7 pm (August 11) instead.

David shoes for the Asmussen Racing Stable and flies all over the country. Last year, he was working on Curlin when the champion colt was stabled at Saratoga and training for the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup as part of his campaign toward the 2008 Breeders Cup and becoming North America's richest-ever racehorse.

Trainer Steve Asmussen had success with the Polyflex shoe developed by Saratoga horseshoer Curtis Burns on other horses but he only wanted a square-toed "Silver Queen" type glue on for Curlin. The problem: the Polyflex shoe had a round toe.

Changing the mold for one horse in the middle of the busiest time of the year was a tall order for the Polyflex team but somehow, but mid-summer, a prototype was made and put in Hinton's hands to try on Curlin. Not only did it work, the company soon added the design as an alternate model and it is selling well.

Curlin went on to wear the shoes for the rest of his career. Asmussen starter Kensai wore Polyflex glue shoes a week ago when he won the Jim Dandy, although I don't know if they were square toes or round toes.

One of the square-toe shoes that Curlin wore in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, when he passed the $10 million earning mark, was presented with documentation to the National Museum of Racing last Tuesday, on behalf of Stonestreet Farms, owner of Curlin. Burns and Hinton worked behind the scenes with Hoofcare and Lameness to make this happen for the night of the reception, which was sponsored by Life Data Labs.

The shoe was presented to curator Beth Sheffer, who was thrilled to receive it. She said it was the first glue-on shoe the museum would have in its permanent collection, although they currently have on display Big Brown's Kentucky Derby Yasha shoe on loan from Ian McKinlay.

Sheffer revealed that the museum had received the extensive shoe collection of Calumet Farm in Kentucky and its late trainer Jimmie Jones. The collection is in storage.

The Ride On exhibit contains examples of horseshoes, hoof boots, and pads used to overcome different lameness problems, especially laminitis, in horses. Included in the exhibit are two handmade shoes by Michael Wildenstein FWCF (Hons), adjunct professor of farrier science at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, and a selection of rail and roller motion shoes by Dr. Scott Morrison of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital's Podiatry Clinic in Lexington, Kentucky. Also included is the Soft-Ride hoof boot, which Dr Morrison helped to develop for laminitic horses.

Dr. Morrison will speak on Tuesday, August 11 in the Hoofcare@Saratoga series at the Parting Glass, 40 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, at 7 p.m.; Michael Wildenstein will speak on August 18 at 7 p.m., with a farrier-only session in the afternoon. Admission to both lectures is free; seating is limited.

© 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).

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