Two shakes of a dog's tail: Gyro locomotion of animal skin

What if scientists took the same tools they use to analyze how horses walk, trot, canter and gallop and turned it to how they use their bodies?

Forget the legs and hooves (or paws).

Most mammals have a quantity of loose skin that they can move. That looseness gives the skin a locomotion all its own and now scientists are measuring it and trying to understand how and why animals are able to shake as much as 70 percent of liquid off their bodies.

It's not a linear locomotion; it's a gyro, or rotational movement around the animal's axial skeleton.

It's a good thing they can do it. If they couldn't, chances are the water would freeze, and they might get hypothermia, according to David Hu, PhD at Georgia Tech University. Or maybe the weight of the water would slow them down in their hunting--or fleeing from being hunted.

It's a shame the study doesn't include an analysis of horses shaking. I think they do more of a whole-body shudder than a rotational loose-skin shake like a dog or other mammals. Maybe it has something to do with the way they can involuntarily twitch their skin to get rid of a fly. Their shake is powerful but unique, I think.

And horses shake off dust as well as water. Shaking is all part of rolling.

This weekend, media like CNN aired segments with commentator Jeannie Moos plugging humor into the research, including an interview with Dr. Hu at Georgia Tech via Skype, who was previously featured on ABC's Good Morning America:

Read the abstract of Dr. Hu's paper. Visit the web site for Dr. Hu's lab at Georgia Tech. Before he became fascinated with shaking dogs, he researched how mosquitoes fly in the rain.

Click to go to easy ordering page; this poster can soon be hanging on your wall!

© 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.

Hoofcare at the Super Bowl: Have the Commercials Gone to the Dogs?

I have a feeling this will be my favorite commercial during the Super Bowl on Sunday. This is just a preview. Quigley is a French bulldog and he reminds me of an ad we ran in Hoofcare + Lameness years ago. Mustad's ad agency, Scott Inc. of Milwaukee, put red high-top Keds on a horse. It is possibly my all-time favorite hoof ad.

So far, I haven't seen any Super Bowl commercials with horses. But rumor is that the Budweiser Clydesdales are scheduled to have a brand new commercial, as has been the custom for many years.

If my sources are correct, this one from the Budweiser Super Bowl commercial archives should be a clue to what you'll see in the Clydesdale commercial this year:

Has the Super Bowl gone to the dogs? It seems like most of the ads either feature dogs or are about cars. Volkswagen probably wins there, by combining cars and dogs in the same commercials. They are sticking with the Star Wars theme introduced last year, but even the galactic empire has gone to the dogs this year.

Audi has a terrific spoof on vampires, which you might not get if you aren't a Twilight fan.  Do you have a favorite that you've seen previewed? Are you as interested in the commercials as you are in the game? Share your favorites!

 Watch a great preview of many of the Super Bowl commercials on Adweek's web site.

I'd like to see Quigley in the Budweiser hitch...photo links to Adweek Magazine.

© 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 of content 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.

Dogs in Motion: An X-Ray Video With a Cold Nose

Here's some eye candy for a summer's day: video x-rays of a dog...share this with your friends who love Dachshunds! Thanks to New Scientist for this video.

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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.  
 

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.

MSNBC Salutes Molly, the Three-Legged, Dog-Bitten, Katrina-Surviving Wonder Pony!

To launch the video, just click on the "play" icon. It will play right in the blog window.

As marketer of the book MOLLY THE PONY, Hoofcare and Lameness is tuned in to the story of the spunky little New Orleans pony who survived being abandoned in a collapsed barn during Katrina, didn't die after an attack by pitbulls, and finally, made a huge comeback from rare amputation surgery that left her hobbling around the bayou on three legs.

Molly has a safe new home now, and a new job in life as a therapy pony visiting hospitals and schools.

And we have a hit book on our hands!

Enjoy this little video about Molly, and thanks to everyone out there who helps ponies and horses like her! Molly is giving back a lot to the world that saved her life, more than once.

Thanks also to the Soft Ride hoof boot company, for their donation of a support boot for her "good" front leg. So far, Molly has not developed laminitis in the 18 months since her surgery, but we do want to keep it that way. Donations of products and techniques to keep her comfy or offer support are most welcome; Molly now has her own tax-deductible charity, called "Kids and Ponies".

To order a copy of Molly's book, go to Molly's web page on hoofcare.com.

Live from Lubbock! It's the Brice Chapman Coloring Book...

Hoofcare & Lameness is happy to share news that farrier and rodeo trick roping performer Brice Chapman of Lubbock, Texas has published a coloring book for children. The 28-page fun-filled book is almost as entertaining as watching Brice perform. It teaches children about caring for their horses and especially about hoofcare and horseshoes.

Brice is the look-alike, talk-alike, make-them-smile-alike son of famous farrier and heartbar shoe pioneer Burney Chapman, who died in 1999.

Brice Chapman never runs out of ideas to make people laugh and feel good.

When Brice isn't performing, he visits elementary schools and works with children, many of whom have already endorsed the coloring book with a high-pitched "Yippee!". Brice travels with two sidekicks, a Border collie named Sooner with a very high IQ, and a trickster Paint horse named Crossfire. I expect they will have their own TV show soon.

You will be able to order the new coloring book through Hoofcare & Lameness Journal. The cost will be under $10...it's for the kids, after all!

I hope you will join me in helping children everywhere have some educational fun with horses, dogs, and friendly people. This coloring book is a big step in the right direction!