Shoeing under the microscope: Much ado about Justify's shoe as the Preakness looms

It should be part of the winner's circle ceremony. If you win the Kentucky Derby, they award you three things: First, a blanket of red roses to drape over your withers. Next, a gorgeous trophy for your owners to hoist in the air. And last but not least, there's a microscope, which you will live under for the next five weeks of your life.

Shoeing for the Roses: Girvin's Kentucky Derby Quarter Crack and New Horseshoe Details

Photos and text © Fran Jurga and Dr. Raul Bras

Note: This story was updated to reflect the latest changes made on May 3.

There can be speed bumps on the road to the Kentucky Derby. There can be detours. And there can be road blocks.

The trick is being able to tell which one you're facing when a problem threatens to disrupt your colt's chances to run for glory on the first Saturday in May.

Sometimes a little detour can actually pay off, and one of this year's runners is out to prove that it pays off to take the scenic route.

For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow: Sarah Brown Passes Britain’s Highest Farrier Examination

Scotland's Sarah Mary Brown joined the small rank of farriers worldwide who have earned the right to add the letters "FWCF" after their names. This means that they have been through all the examinations of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, including the highest level, the Fellowship exam, which Sarah passed on October 12, 2015. And yes, if anyone is counting: she is the first woman in the world to do it. (2014 Aaron "Cowboy" Kampfer portrait of Sarah)

Breeders Cup Classic: Will It Be a Battle of the Specialist Horseshoes?

Will it be 3/4 shoes by a head? Nailed on glue-ons by three lengths? Or tabbed glue-on shoes in an exciting photo finish?

Video: The Hammer of God: A Classic Blacksmith Detective Mystery, Courtesy of "Father Brown" on the Hoof Blog

In this mystery of riddles, a man lies dead in the churchyard. The blacksmith's hammer is found nearby. Surely he committed the murder.

But not so fast...

Results: English Farrier Steven Beane Wins His Fifth (and Final) Calgary Stampede World Championship in 2014

Steven Beane practicing at home before Calgary. Photo by Aaron Kampfer, used with permission.

Unofficial news from the Calgary Stampede has placed English farrier Steven Beane in the enviable position of having just won his fifth--and no doubt last--world championship at the Calgary Stampede.

Triple Crown Hindsight: California Chrome's Hoof Bulb Injury in Pictures

The dream is over, and that's horse racing. The champion is just a horse, after all. But a special one.

Raceplates and Horseshoers in Preakness Stakes History

In this ad from the Daily Racing Form in 1931, Victory proclaims that racehorse Mate ran in the Preakness wearing the new-fangled aluminum raceplates--and won! It took a lot of years to convince trainers and horseshoers to switch from steel to aluminum. In 2011, Shackleford won in Polyflex glue shoes. 

It's Preakness Stakes day, 2013-style, in the USA! Whether you think Kentucky Derby winner Orb is a shoe-in to win in his Jim Bayes Jr. crafted raceplates or if you like California's Goldencents, shod by Jim Jimenez, today's the day they line up at the Baltimore, Maryland track affectionately known as "Old Hilltop" for the second leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing.

What is it about Maryland? Why are there so many connections to the Triple Crown that pass through this state?

Badminton Horse Trials' Farrier Prize to the Best Shod Horse 2013 Won by David Smith

There might not be much left of a pair of shoes by the time the horse has made the circuit of the world's most challenging cross-country course, which is just one phase of the Badminton Horse Trials. Video of horses in this year's event courtesy of Centaur Biomechanics.

Each year, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials presents a "Farriers Prize" for the best shod horse at the world's most prestigious three-day event. To most, it is an after-the-fact announcement on a loudspeaker as they make their way back to the parking lots.

But to others it is a big deal.

Derby Day: Thoroughbreds Start Running Toward the Roses From the Day They Are Born--If They Can, That Is

The foals in this video from Juan Carlos Blazquez, farrier at the University of Madrid 

in Spain, may not be American Thoroughbreds but that hardly matters. "JC" is
someone who obviously enjoys the challenge of helping foals in need--and the reward 

they give him when they respond to treatment.

It happens every year: thousands of Thoroughbred colts and fillies hit the straw bedding of foaling stalls in breeding farm barns across the United States. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 future racehorse foals are bred each year, according to Jockey Club statistics.

This year, 21 of them made it to the Kentucky Derby.

Today, when the Kentucky Derby comes on tv, think about the foals eligible to race in 2015. They're on the ground now, although some just barely are.

And some are on the ground, literally, because they can't get up. Maybe they can barely stand to nurse. Their spindly little legs give way beneath them like rubber stilts. They walk on the fronts of their fetlocks, or the backs of their pasterns are on the ground. Their hind legs might cross when they try to walk forward. They stand bow-legged. Or even cross-legged.

At most farms, foals go through periodic evaluations by the farrier. Their legs change as their bodies develop and change--for better or worse--can be rapid. (Richard Clay photo)

Phones ring in equine clinics and farrier shops around the country. "Can you come out and take a look?" There will be x-rays, there will be examinations. Decisions will be made based on dollar signs and question marks that will hang in the air.

Some will be sentenced to an early and perhaps merciful death, in spite of their expensive breeding.

The fate of others will be left to the "wait and see" approach.

Some will respond naturally--and positively--to the forces of weightbearing and increasing maturity. A tendon will almost overnight go from lax to taut, while its opposing tendon will go from taut to lax. The foal is soon not only standing, he's walking and jumping around just like the rest of them.

For others, especially those whose problems are in the bony column and joints rather than in the tendons, there will be weeks of splints on, splints off, braces on, braces off. For some, surgical intervention will be needed; for others, the prescription is for special shoes, glue-on levers, massages.

Some foals respond naturally, by themselves to the forces of weightbearing and simultaneous growth. (Richard Clay photo)

More x-rays. More evaluations. As with the tendons, sometimes the legs will start to straighten as the chest develops and the weight changes the pressure of gravity on the tiny hoof at the bottom of the column. Maybe he doesn't toe in so badly after all.

For others, the newborn foal looks fine and a problem in the limb will only become obvious after a week or two. Or a kick in the pasture creates a pain reaction that in turn leads to a club foot.

Heads will be scratched. Tears might be shed.

Foals may only need to wear splints or bandages briefly. (Richard Clay photo)

Maybe while we're all watching the Derby, the potential winner of the 2015 Derby will be trying out a new set of glue-on baby shoes that re-direct its weight down the leg where the foot should have been. An extension will stabilize the tiny hoof and it won't buckle anymore. Maybe it will never buckle again.

It is possible: each year we hear about colts running in the Derby against the odds. Colts so crooked they never made it to the sales. Colts who grew up in a vet clinic. Colts who defied the odds. And each year that goes by, the body of knowledge of foal deformities expands. New products come on the market. This might work...

People try new things. People try old things. They look in the historical books by breeders and vets and farriers and re-try methods that have been forgotten or ruled out of date. Everyone knows Assault had a club foot. And Big Brown won the Derby with a wall separation. Mine That Bird toed out as a yearling. Swaps had a chronic hoof infection. Sir Barton, the first winner of the Triple Crown, was as famous for sore feet and lost shoes as his racing ability.

Removing the bandages is a suspenseful moment. Did the plan succeed? (Richard Clay photo)

The horses running in the 2012 Derby weren't all born with perfect legs and feet. They don't all land flat, some of them wear bandages because they need to protect their front legs from hooves that don't land exactly where they should. The old timers used colorful terms like cross-fire, scalp, paddle, dish, forge, interfere, over-reach, brush, wing, rope walk,  step on themselves--all descriptive terms to put a word on a horse's not-quite-straight path through life.

Splints and bandages and shoes are worthless without people who know how to use them--people who also know and care about a foal. (Richard Clay photo)

Against all the odds, some of those foals grow up to be racehorses. Some grow up to be extremely fast racehorses. Sure, they're always pulling shoes and whacking themselves. And there's a good chance their careers won't be as long as the straight, strong and truly conformed Thoroughbreds they race against.

Two years from now, their first foals may be on the ground.

Foals soon catch up when the bandages come off. (Richard Clay photo)

Sometimes it gets really crowded in the winner's circle after the Kentucky Derby but there are always a few people in a horse's past who deserve to be there, but never are.

You know who you are. Your work and care put these colts on the road to the Derby, whether they were--or are--crooked or straight. They're running for the roses today because they can, thanks to you.

If the crowd only knew, 100,000 or so Derby hats would be rightfully tipped to you.

Note: Richard Clay's beautiful photos were taken in Virginia on May 5, 2009. That's right: three years ago today. Is that little black colt running in the Derby? He could be. If so, it's because the people you see in these photos gave him extra attention and care and concern. Thank you, Richard, for documenting that foal and his people.

About Juan Carlos Blazquez: In his notes to this video, he remarked that he had donated his services to one of the foals. He said that he hoped that someone somewhere might see this video, realize how many lives of horses have been wasted, and be moved to work for the betterment of future horses; if knowledge can be shared, he will be satisfied. I think he speaks for all of us.

© 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.

Hoofcare Product Development: For Want of A (Glue-On) Shoe, A Horse Is Scratched

The process of modifying prototypes is complicated when even a small change requires creating a new mold, but that is the reality of designing with plastic. But horseshoe entrepreneurs may spend as much time with lawyers, patent drawings and getting approval from show organizations and track officials as they do around horses. (© Garrett Ford photo) 

The Hoof Blog's ongoing series of occasional "guest bloggers" continues today with a timeline narrative about product development, based on a series of correspondence over the past few weeks from our friend Garrett Ford.

I've watched Garrett Ford build an empire based on the original EasyBoot over the last 25 or so years. His company, EasyCare, now makes 18 different kinds of hoof boots and, perhaps more importantly, sets a standard for continual innovation and product development. I can't keep up with their new products.

Invention is part of being American.

Over the years, EasyCare has probably inspired hundreds of people to try their hands at building a better mousetrap, hoof boot, horseshoe or some piece of tack that will help a trail horse move more comfortably or safely across the landscape.

This summer, Garrett moved his company into new territory: he pursed his desire to race a horse in a product his company could design and manufacture. What started out as a curious R+D project led him to tinker with a lightweight hoof boot until it ceased being called a boot and for all intents and purposes became a glue-on shoe.

The problem: the racing stewards at the track vacillated over whether or not it was legal racing equipment.

There's no question that the decision must be respected, but sharing this story will show everyone what entrepreneurs go through and what some of the upfront costs and time expenditures are in getting a new product to the market.

The tester of Garrett Ford's new shoe was an Arabian racehorse named Clunk. The plan was to pull his aluminum raceplates, glue the new urethane cuff boot/shoes on him, condition him in the hills in the shoes, and then bring him back to the track to train and race in the shoes there. Like many entrepreneurs, Garrett was sure that his new product would be welcomed at the track: it would be simple to use for the farriers, economical for the trainers and beneficial for the horses. (© Garrett Ford photo)

When Garrett told me the saga of his shoe, I smiled because I wasn't surprised. Almost every hoofcare innovator runs into a brick wall of some type sooner or later, when and if the product is to be used on certain types of show horses or at the track.

I've seen some people sail over the brick walls, and I've seen others bang their heads against them time and again. I've also seen wonderful products abandoned, never to see the bright lights of a store shelf, simply because the developers didn't have the resources to jump through the hoops that lay waiting for them on the other side of the brick wall.

Unfortunately, Garrett ran into his brick wall sooner instead of later. Fortunately, he is not building these shoes one at a time in his basement. He's not mortgaging his house to finance an injection mold modification. He has the means and the resolve to keep modifying and keep trying until he really does have his own unique type of all-plastic glue-on boot/shoe.

If you ask me, the brick wall was a blessing. Had Garrett Ford merely whipped up four prototype glue-on shoes, glued them onto a racehorse and proceeded to the owner's enclosure at the track, that might have been the end of it. He might have rested on his easily-earned laurels and retired the racehorse to become an endurance horse, as was his original plan. And he might never have thought about turning his prototype into a truly usable product that could potentially be of value to horses all over the world.

Parts of this post in the Hoofcare and Lameness Hoof Blog were published in a different form in the EasyCare newsletter and/or on the company blog under the title The Horse That Wasn't Allowed To Race. Dual copyright from both companies protects this post.

The prototype “Easyboot Race” is an all-synthetic, one-piece glue-on cuff and shoe. It will remain a prototype until it is approved for use by racing jurisdictions around the world. (© Garrett Ford)

EasyCare hoof boots have been used in almost every horse sport, but have yet to make an impact in racing. Until recently, hoof boots have been much too heavy and bulky to allow a race horse to be competitive. So when the Easyboot Glue-On was developed, Garrett decided to campaign an Arabian racehorse in a modified version of it. And that's where our story begins.

What Could the Glue-On Do for Racing?
Why bother, you ask? Life on the race track presents challenges to the equine hoof. Many racehorses have challenges with brittle walls, quarter cracks, tender feet, lack of support, and contracted heels from continuous shoeing and training stress. When a racehorse rips off a shoe and loses hoof wall, that wall has a difficult time holding nails and, as a result, may miss conditioning and races. Track horses are subjected to pounding workouts and as a result are prone to injury.

For these reasons, and probably many more, the idea of a better shoe for racehorses is fertile ground for any innovative thinkers who spend much time at the racetrack.

Garrett believed that his prototype, which he called the “Easyboot Race” could potentially be the mortar in some of these gaps of the hoofcare needs of a race horse. Some of the objectives the R+D would set out to accomplish would be to design a shoe that would:

• 1. allow the hoof to expand and contract as nature intended;
• 2. provide support and comfort for quarter cracks;
• 3. allow farriers and trainers another tool for problem feet that will not hold nails;
• 4. allow farriers and trainers an option that flexes and absorbs concussion to extend the horse's health and longevity;
• 5. be capable of being trimmed and modified to suit a specific horse, track or surface;
• 6. be less likely to hurt horses, jockeys or spectators if they do come off;
• 7. allow trainers to train the horses harder and on less than perfect surface conditions;
• 8. bring an affordable glue-on solution to the track.

The Easyboot Race plate next to an aluminum racing plate. Garrett: "(Initially) the stewards said there was no difference between the products and the Easyboot Race did not violate the rules. The Easyboot Race could be glued and nailed in this configuration." (© Garrett Ford photo)

In the past, Garrett has tried unsuccessfully to convince racehorse trainers to use hoof boots for flat track training. To set his program in motion, he purchased a racetrack Arabian named Clunk. His plan had four steps: 1) to pull the aluminum racing plates he was wearing when purchased; 2) to improve the trim on his feet; 3) to condition him in the hills and then 4) to take him back to the track and race him in the new Easyboot Race shoes.

Weight of the Prototype

Weights of the aluminum race plates and the modified Easyboot Race shoe were taken after the Race shoes were modified. The average weight of the aluminum plate was 4.5 ounces. There were variances of + .1 ounces and - .1 ounces. These shoes had been worn in one race, on a soft racing surface, and exhibited little to no wear and tear. They were removed within three hours of finishing the race.

The Easyboot Race with sole intact next to a standard aluminum race plate with pad. Garrett: "(Initially) the stewards said there was no difference between the products: the Easyboot Race with sole plate did not violate the rules.  Our Easyboot Race shoe could be glued and nailed in this configuration."  (© Garrett Ford photo)

The average weight of the reconfigured EasyCare Race shoe was 5.5 ounces. After adding the appropriate amount of glue for proper adhesion, the final weight was 6.0 ounces. The variance was + or - .15 ounces.


Preliminary contact
During this process Garrett met with the stewards (race officials) at the racetrack. They discussed the new shoe and the prospect of racing Clunk in the new design on August 7th, 2011. Garrett said that the stewards were initially very receptive to the design and thought it could be beneficial for many reasons; they asked to see Clunk do an official workout the week before the August 7th race.

Official Workout with Shoes On
Clunk's race shoes were applied (glued) Tuesday August 2, 2011, in anticipation of a workout in front of stewards on Wednesday August 3rd. Garrett reported that Clunk did a flawless workout in front of the stewards, track vet and several jockeys; Clunk’s jockey was reported to be very impressed and said the horse felt more confident and stable. The track vet had no objections and saw many benefits that could help track horses.

The stewards, however, subsequently changed their opinion, informing Garrett that Clunk would not be able to race on August 7th if wearing the Easyboot Race Shoes. They were unable to give a reason or cite a rule in support of their decision.

The Easyboot Race plate with sole intact and including the cuff system next to an aluminum racing plate with clips.  Garrett: "(Initially) the stewards said there was no difference between the products: the Easyboot Race with sole intact and including the cuff system was no different than an aluminum racing plate with clips.  Therefore it would not violate the rules.  Our Easyboot Race shoe could be glued and nailed in this configuration.  The cuff system allows for a very large gluing surface and a very secure bond." © Garrett Ford

Rule Violation
On Friday August 5th, Garrett filed a formal appeal and asked the stewards and director for a reason and rule that would not allow Clunk to race in the new EasyCare hoof wear. The director responded with a written response, stating that our new shoe went against rule number 7.608: "7.608 - Bar plates may be used only with the consent of the Division Veterinarian. The commission may limit the height of toe grabs for any breed at a live race meet. Toe grabs with a height greater than the maximum set by the commission, bends, jar caulks, stickers and any other traction device worn on the front hooves of horses while racing or training on all surfaces, are prohibited. The horse shall be scratched and the trainer may be subject to fine for any violation of this rule."

After the decision, Garrett could have simply removed Clunk's Easyboot Race shoes and raced him in aluminum plates but decided instead to scratch him and stick to what he had set out to accomplish. He quickly finished a new mold that was exactly the same shape of the aluminum plate removed from Clunk's hoof after he was purchased.

Although Clunk was not allowed to race on August 7th, he remained entered in the August 21st feature race. Garrett believed that he could modify the Easyboot Race to be an exact copy of an aluminum plate and the stewards could not say it violated the 7.608 rule.

Apple's marketing celebrates invention.

During the mold process Garrett presented photos and drawings to the track’s race director and the racing stewards. He said, “To our disbelief, (he) and the stewards said the new racing plate still violated the 7.608 rule as it was a ‘Traction Device’ and they would not allow Clunk to race in the new design despite the fact it was an exact copy of an aluminum plate.”

On Wednesday August 17th the racing director informed Garrett via e-mail: "Please be aware that we will be unable to provide you with suggested changes to the product to get it to conform to Commission rules. No matter what changes you suggest, it will not change the fact that the device is a traction device prohibited under the Rule 7.608."

Unless EasyCare knows the portions of the shoe that the track officials believe don’t conform to commission rules, the email is correct: he is unable to make changes.

Polyurethane glue-on racing shoes are already out there and being used by some of the best horses and trainers in the sport. Breeders Cup races and major stakes races all over the world on all types of surfaces have been won by horses wearing next-generation glue-on hoofware. Big Brown ran to victory in the 134th Kentucky Derby wearing glued-on Yasha plastic-aluminum hybrid shoes. Shackleford won the 2011 Preakness Stakes wearing glue-on Polyflex shoes. Overdose set a track record on the turf in Germany wearing glue-on Sigafoos shoes.

Scratch
Clunk had been at the track and training in the Easyboot Race shoes since August 8th. Garrett decided to scratch Clunk from the August 21st feature race rather than change his equipment the day before the race.

State Racing Commission Presentation
Next, Garrett made plans to attend a September 13th racing commission meeting. “We have indicated that we would like to be part of the meeting as we would like to do everything possible to hit the ground running for the 2012 race season at this track,” Garrett wrote.

The painting Men of Progress by Christian Schussele, completed in 1862, pictured the individuals who had "altered the course of contemporary civilization". Along with Cyrus McCormack, Elias Howe, Samuel Colt and others is Henry Burden, American horseshoe inventor and manufacturer. Also in this painting: Charles Goodyear, the inventor of vulcanized rubber, who died penniless. The Goodyear Rubber Company was named in his honor, as a consolation, years later. (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, courtesy of Clifford's Photography)

“The goal of the presentation is to go over the allowed hoof protection, compare to the current Easyboot Race shoe and discuss the ability to race at the track in 2012. If our current shoes does not fit into the current rules I would like to find out what portion of the shoe needs to be changed so it does conform.”

Moving Forward
On September 13th, Garrett reported in after the meeting, “I was told by the commission and the director of the track that regardless if the product complied with the rules (or not) that I would need to go through a process or testing with universities. They were unable to give me a protocol...

“I asked what they wanted to see, how many universities, what kind of studies etc. They had a hard time answering. They are asking me to collect different types of study data to prove our device but can’t document what types of study data they are looking for. All of their commission meetings and rule meetings since 2006 have minutes and I can’t find one mention of them asking another company or inventor to prove a new device used on the track in the same way. They don’t have a formal written process that stipulates the kind of testing a new product needs before being approved.”

"In the months to come, I hope to pull some of the horses with foot issues off the slaughter-bound truck at the track and fit them in the new Easyboot Race shoes. I would like nothing more than to show that a horse heading for a processing plant in Mexico was saved, turned around and could win races again in Easyboot Race shoes.

"We will continue to persevere and believe the track officials will accept the shoe.

"At this point in the process, I am turning to the Hoofcare & Lameness community of top professionals and the benefit of this blog's reach into the global mainstream horse industry to ask for consultation. Do Hoof Blog readers believe the racetrack industry could benefit from more choices in alternative hoof wear and more urethane shoe options? Do you have a horse or know of a horse that would be a candidate for the new Easyboot Race shoe?"

What are your thoughts about the process that inventors and entrepreneurs go through?  Please click on the comment button and leave your thoughts here. If you don't know how to leave a comment, send Fran an email and I will post it for you.

From Drs. Lisa Lancaster and Robert Bowker and the Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine: Just click to order yours today!

© 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.

Shackleford's Preakness is First Triple Crown Win for Synthetic Horseshoes; Dewey-Walters Shoeing Team Claims Two-Thirds of Crown, Going for Triple

Jockey Jesus Lopez Castanon had so many reasons to smile as Shackleford lunged across the finish line of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. Were you watching? Were you one of the millions of people who didn't notice anything unusual about this horse? UPI/Kevin Dietsch/Fotoglif image

"Oh well, another year without a Triple Crown winner," everyone said, as they turned off their televisions after Saturday's Preakness Stakes. Early speedster Shackleford had surprised everyone and held on as the late-charging Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom came from way behind and reached the chestnut's flank at the wire. But that's as close as he would come; the wire was over their heads too soon for Animal Kingdom to save his Triple Crown bid. It came just in time for Shackleford.

Click. So, what's for dinner? Do you want to go out or stay home?

But wait just a minute. Turn the television back on. Back up the DVR. Play it again, Sam.

There's another story left to tell here, and maybe this little story will help make the Belmont Stakes more interesting.

We saw Shackleford in the Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby, the Kentucky Derby. It's hard to miss him because he has a wide white blaze with an arrow's point at the top, like a wide white racing stripe on a Cobra. You could definitely find this horse in a field in the dark.

Maybe his big white face is so distracting that no one ever looks at his feet. And maybe they should. If they did, they'd do a double-take.

Exercise rider Faustino Ramos and Shackleford cast a long shadow during a workout just before the Kentucky Derby. Shades of things to come? Shackeford finished fourth in the Derby after leading most of the race. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes/Fotoglif

What no one picked up on Saturday is that Shackleford was wearing clear polyurethane "Polyflex" glue-on shoes, and he has been wearing them for the past three months. They were attached without nails, so his hoof walls were smooth as glass, without any telltale nail clinches.

Shackleford's victory in the Preakness marks the first Triple Crown race won by a horse in synthetic shoes.

Of course, Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in glue-on shoes, and they are pretty standard equipment these days, but no one we know of has done it since, and no one has done it in synthetic shoes. Ever.

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

Racetrack horseshoers have several glue-specialty manufacturers' shoeing products to choose from, or they can glue normal race plates on with what is called the "direct glue" method. Using adhesive-impregnated tape, they can also put a virtual cast on the foot and nail or glue a shoe onto that, as well.

But the material that usually hits the dirt or turf or synthetic track surface in those cases is aluminum.

Shackleford wasn't the only one in the Preakness with high-tech synthetic sport shoes: third-place finisher Astrology wore them as well. And in the Derby, Nehro wore them. Perhaps others in both races did, too.

Shackleford wore clear nailless polyurethane Polyflex shoes like this one on his front feet

Shackleford's Shoer on Synthetic Shoes

"It's about time someone noticed!" laughed horseshoer Brad Dewey on the  phone today. "I could see them, even on television, in the post parade." The horse has been wearing the special glue-on shoes since before the Fountain of Youth Stakes this spring. That was three months ago." No one has brought it up.

Dewey said that he originally put a pair of the Polyflex shoes on the colt's front feet because he had an abscess that was going to blow out. "These shoes allow movement," he said, "it's sort of hard to explain but thanks to the shoes, the horse never had to take a day off. One day we noticed that the abscess had blown out, and he moved on but he was going well so we kept the shoes on."

Dewey mentioned that Shackleford's hind feet are shod with "regular" hind Thoro'Bred plates, nailed on.

I asked trainer Dale Romans today if the Polyflex shoes were a regular alternative for him to try on his horses. He sounded surprised, "No, no, this is a first," he said quickly, "and we're really thrilled."

Shackleford trained for the Kentucky Derby on a wet Churchill Downs surface in his glue-on shoes. In this photo you can clearly see the PMMA adhesive on the heels of his front hooves. Apparently no one noticed. Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Fotoglif photo.

Triple Crown of Horseshoes?

Last year, we noted Winstar Farm's Double Stetson; they won two of three Triple Crown races by book-ending Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby and Drosselmeyer in the Belmont. Bill Casner's Stetson in the winner's circle was a crown itself, Texas style.

But this year we might have a Triple Crown of a different sort. The New York and Florida-based horseshoeing partnership of Mark Dewey and Bernie Walter has scored a Derby win with Animal Kingdom, shod by Bernie. Now Mark's son, who works with the team, has shod Shackleford to win the Preakness.

Mark Dewey shoes Mucho Macho Man, so you have to like his chances in the Belmont. Mucho Macho Man also has glue-on front shoes, but they are applied by the "direct glue" method and, according to Brad Dewey, are No Vibe plates.

If they could pull off shoeing the winners of all three races within their own team, it would be a clever accomplishment.

About the shoe

The Burns Polyflex shoe (left) was developed by a horseshoer named Curtis Burns who, like so many others, lives and works in Florida and New York, according to the season. He and his wife Diane manufacture the shoes in a molding process that encases a metal wire that holds some shaping capability.

The shoe is typically applied by a horseshoer who has been trained to both use the shoe and to mix and apply the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) adhesive. The company has an instructional video on their web site, www.noanvil.com.

The Polyflex got its big break when it was adopted as the shoe of choice for all-time top money earner Curlin in his four-year-old campaign; in fact, a separate square-toe design of the shoe was developed just for Curlin. Since then the shoe has been worn by numerous stakes winners, record setters, a Breeders Cup winner, and show horses. It's also used in podiatry applications for yearlings and adults horses with special shoeing needs.

To learn more:

Springs in the Bluegrass: Finetuning a Yearling's Hooves 30 Days Before the Sale

Curlin's Horseshoe Beat Him to the Hall of Fame

Heel Bulb Injuries 101: Big Brown's Latest Hoof Malady

Greetings from the Gluegrass: Will Big Brown and Pyro Choices of Designer Footwear Turn It Into the Ken-STUCK-y Derby?

"Glue-y Ville" Hosts Breeders Cup: Shoes Stay On

Curlin Goes for Glue: Breeders Cup Favorite Sports High-Tech Urethane Glue Shoe

© 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.

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).

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.