Shoeing for the World: Two Tons of Horseshoes for Hong Kong

Two tons of horseshoes were ordered for the farrier clinic at the Olympic stabling center adjacent to Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong. The shoes were primarily shipped from the warehouses at Mustad and Kerckhaert headquarters on the European continent. 

Head Olympics Farrier Ian Hughes of Wales said that the containers were filled this spring, and that he included "everything I could think of that anyone might need", including plenty of glue-on shoes and adhesive.

South Asia is not a remote outpost for farrier and vet supplies. Martin Draper's Tallahesse company is based in Singapore but has a branch in Hong Kong. He imports most of the farrier supplies used at the racetracks and in horse breeding and showing, including Victory, St. Croix, and Kerckhaert shoes.

Ian and two assistants will serve the horses at Hong Kong, along with the official "team" farriers dedicated to countries like Great Britain, Holland, Germany and the USA. In addition, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said that the 22 farriers at the racetrack are serving in a standby capacity.

The Legacy of A. Smith

Allen Smith, a farrier from Marion, Massachusetts died this afternoon. His friends will want to know, so I am posting the sad news here. He died at his home near Buzzards Bay.

Because he was such a private man, I'll leave it there. Most of us didn't even know he was sick until very recently. Those who know him understand.

But for those who didn't know him: Allen Smith was always a bit amused and intrigued by the ironic fact that his trade matched his name. He was "A Smith". And he was proud of it.

Back in the days when farriers were called horseshoers and drove trucks with smokestacksfor their coal forges sticking up into the air, Allen had the word "horseshoer" written in big letters on the side of the wooden "cap" on his truck.

I remember one night at a Southern New England Farriers Association meeting, someone asked him why he had the word painted so large, instead of his name. Allen didn't hesitate for a second. He answered that you could read it from a mile away and wherever he went, people would walk by his truck and make a comment or tell a story about how their grandfathers had shod horses, or something they remembered from a blacksmith shop in their towns growing up. 

In this way, Allen was a catalyst. He worked that same logic (or was it magic?) in many ways in his many roles in the farrier world, from shoeing my old horse Jasper (with concave, of course, that he imported as bar stock from England) on an island enclave off Cape Cod that he had to sail his boat to, to being the president (more than once) and peacemaker (perpetually) of the American Farrier's Association. He showed up at my house for a meeting one night on his motorcycle...but still wearing his trademark bow tie (from his "part-time" job as a professor of library science) under his leather jacket.

Allen may have wanted to leave this world privately, but it would be important to remember how strongly he believed that the proud traditions of farriery and smithing should be honored as long as any one of us remembers what a real blacksmith shop looked and smelled and sounded like. May our eyes and noses and ears never forget that combination.

Back in 1989, Allen sent me a poem written by the highly-regarded poet Edward Kleinschmidt called "Katzenjammer", in which the poet explained in lovely verbiage that in spite of the word "schmidt" in his last name, he was certainly not a smith, and that all the real smiths were dead anyway.

Allen objected. And wrote this poetic answer to Kleinschmidt: 

Smith y Gwf

And while you write, a smith

Tends fire, takes heat, and turns a shoe

To burn the balanced coffin horn

Among the bones of the limb,

Pacing the day, breaking steel

Across the anvil devil,

In back of behind.

--A. Smith

I believe there always be A. Smith among us, wherever horses are shod.

Racing Commissioners Rules Committee Agrees to Recommend Banning Toe Grabs, Educating Trainers

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) met in Saratoga Springs, New York on Friday. On the table: recommendations from the Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, which includes urgent action on recommendations for more states, racing meets and individual racetracks to ban toe grabs on front shoes of Thoroughbreds. (See previous posts for recent bans on shoe modifications at certain tracks around the country.)

According to a memo received today from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the RCI Model Rules Committee met in all day session Friday at the National Museum of Racing and has made the following recommendations to the RCI Board for adoption:

• Impose further restrictions on the use of toe grabs in Thoroughbred racing, limiting their size to 2mm.

• Impose a new requirement on licensed horse trainers to undergo at least four hours of continuing education each year as a condition of maintaining a current trainer’s license. The continuing education program would be required to be approved by the ARCI or the commission in a particular jurisdiction.

Regulatory jurisdictions with representatives present and participating in the Model Rules meeting included: California, New York, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, Indiana, South Dakota, Ontario, Jamaica, Trinidad/Tobago, Delaware and Minnesota.

It will now be up to the RCI Board to approve or deny the committee's recommendation.

Here is the text of recommendations that were given to the Rules Committee; the toe grab and continuing education for trainers seem to be the only points that received action.

THE JOCKEY CLUB THOROUGHBRED SAFETY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
JUNE 9, 2008


Recommendation #1: – Shoes and Hoof Care

Based on published research*, prior considerations and recommendations brought forward from the 2006 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee and recent discussions with persons with expertise in shoeing matters, The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee (“Committee”) calls for:

“An immediate ban on toe grabs with a height greater than two millimeters, bends, jar caulks, stickers and any other appliance worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces.”

Further, the Committee calls for:
1.  All racetracks to immediately implement this ban by “house rule.”
2.  The Association of Racing Commissioners’ International and all North American racing authorities to implement this ban by rule as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2008.

In addition, the Committee encourages:
1.  The development of educational guidebooks and DVD’s on proper hoof care and shoeing for trainers and owners.
2.  Racing authorities to establish requirements for continuing education on the proper care and welfare of the Thoroughbred racehorse in order for trainers to renew their license.
3.  Racing authorities establish certification criteria for farriers practicing within the enclosure of licensed race tracks and training facilities.

Finally, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee hereby requests that proposals for research on the effects of toe grabs and other appliances on rear shoes on Thoroughbred racehorses on all racing surfaces during racing and training be developed and submitted immediately (or no later than October 1, 2008) to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

________________________________________________________________________
* Kane AJ, Stover SM, Gardner IA, et. al. Horseshoe characteristics as possible risk factors for
fatal musculoskeletal injury of thoroughbred racehorses. Am J Vet Res 1996; 57:1147-1152.

New Video: High-Speed/Slo-Mo Treadmill Gallop Strides

Motion Imaging Corporation (MIC) is headquartered in Minnesota, and the company must be thrilled that the University of Minnesota has built a state-of-the-art equine sports medicine center right in the neighborhood. This week, MIC gave us a peek at their motion capture analysis system in use at the center. What you see here are a few strides of a horse on a treadmill. MIC also makes a system called Equine Gait Trax that captures motion to aid in the evaluation and assessment of gait in horses. The high speed ratio of the camera allows great detail to be seen when the speed is slowed down. Next month, the University of Minnesota will host the 5th International Symposium on Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine in Minneapolis. Speakers include Dr. Hilary Clayton.

Farriers: Send a Note to an Old Friend

Sometimes, it's a good idea to turn off the computer and get out a pen. Rummage around until you find a card or go buy a post card or find a sheet of letterhead or nab a placemat from the diner where you're going to have lunch today. And write a note to a friend. Just say hello and tell your old friend what you're doing, where you are, even what the weather's like in your part of the world.

In the world of one good farrier friend right now, it might be a great diversion to hear from old friends.

Please send cards, letters, and good thoughts (but no phone calls or emails, please) to:

Allen Smith
31 Cross Neck Road
Marion, MA 02738

He'd do it for you, and probably has.

Thanks.

Clog on Clog: Removable System for Laminitis

The Steward Clog is less of a product than a concept. Dr Michael Steward in Oklahoma has created a unique, affordable and simple system for helping foundered horses. We hear about good results with the system from vets and farriers all over the world.

The idea of a pivot point rather than a supportive platform is a leap of faith that is difficult for many to make. And we usually don't make those types of leaps until we've tried everything else. If there is one thing that the last ten years of experimental farriery has proven it is that removing resistance can have as therapeutic an effect as adding stability, which was the old-school 1990s way approach to laminitis (and still works for a lot of professionals).

People call here and ask "Where can we buy those Steward clogs?" The answer is the whole point: you can't. Dr Steward has nothing to sell. The Steward clog is an idea, a system that you can probably make yourself out of scrap materials found in any barn or garage.

The "system" is actually just a block of wood. Period. You use screws or glue to attach it to the foot. Period. Dr Steward says that the bottom of the clog needs to mirror the shape of the coffin bone (P-3) and be correctly positioned beneath the bone. Period.

It's been five years now since Dr Steward presented the concept at the 2003 AAEP Convention in New Orleans and in that time, a lot of clever people have put their minds to ingenious ways to use or attach the clog. As long as you keep it simple, it seems to be a viable option for lots of horses, and sometimes the only option for people without the budgets for designer heartbars and rainbow "packages" of impression material.

EDSS, makers of the Natural Balance shoe, originally introduced me to the Steward Clog, and then they went one step further and started "manufacturing" a plastic clog.

Now our British friend David Nicholls AWCF has gone a step further. Perhaps some owners would balk at allowing a farrier to twist screws into a horse's foot, or perhaps the sole needs to be cleansed or medicated. In that case, David's clog:clog solution was to screw the plastic EDSS version of the Steward Clog to a Dallmer clog, which is sort of an exterior-strap plastic hoof boot. No doubt, the clog could probably be attached to any hoof boot, if you remember that the placement of the clog is critical. Normally, the clog is a 24/7 sort of a regimen, not something that is put on or taken off, but Dr Steward would have great advice there, I'm sure. Strapping on a laminitis support device gives you a test phase that allows you to go to Plan B if the horse doesn't like it.

David writes, "This equine patient did not respond well to wearing glue on heart bar shoes and the veterinarian cut a hole in the sole of this foot. He wanted a removable system so he could continue to treat this foot.The pink EDSS Impression Material is placed into the least painful areas of the rear of the foot. The other foot had a clog nailed on. Once the sole issues had been dealt with, I removed the Dr Steward EDSS clog from the Dallmer clog (too many clogs here!) and nailed it back onto the now-healed foot. The equine patient never looked back and has returned to its previous job as a riding horse. This case was a referral so once it was sound and shod I did not see it again."

Thanks to David and TFP for these photos and for having such an innovative shoeing practice, thanks to Cody at EDSS for introducing me to the clogs at the Equine Affaire in Ohio a few years ago, and especially thanks to Dr Steward for spending a lot of time on the phone with me...and for having a great idea, one which he is happy to share. And that great idea is one that anyone with the most basic home-maintenance tools, even in the most remote part of the world, can use to help a horse, once he or she grasps the concept. (And until or unless you do, don't try it!)

TO LEARN MORE, read "How to Construct and Apply Atraumatic Therapeutic Shoes to Treat Acute or Chronic Laminitis in the Horse" by M. L. Steward in Proceedings of the 49th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, 2003 or read the "Going Dutch" article by Holly Clanahan about clogs used by Dr Steward on foundered Quarter horses in the January 2008 edition of America's Horse, published by the AQHA.

Olympics' Head Farrier Is On His Way to Hong Kong

It's a long, long way from Mold, Wales to Hong Kong, China. But Welsh farrier Ian Hughes already knows the way. (University of Liverpool Equine Hospital photo)

Lameness specialist Ian Hughes of Wales is farrier at the Ashbrook Equine Hospital in Cheshire, England, as well as the farrier and lecturer on farriery at the University of Liverpool's equine hospital. It wasn't easy for him to take nine weeks out of his life and head to Hong Kong...but he's now on his way! 

Ian left on a long, long flight today and by tomorrow will be setting up the forge and shoeing clinic where he  will be working as official farrier for both the Olympics and Paralympics. British farrier Kelvin Lymer and the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Greg Murray will join Ian during the Games, but Ian will also be staying on to be the farrier for the Paralympics in September. 

The horses start arriving in Hong Kong later this week, and Ian wants to make sure that he has the forge up and operating in case he is needed. While some countries send a farrier, many do not, so Ian should have plenty to do, with 240 horses expected for the Games and 78 for the Paralympics.

Hong Kong has been getting ready for Ian, whose vast orders for supplies were shipped months ago from Europe. Ian was the farrier for the "Test Event" in Hong Kong last summer, so he has worked in the new forge. He has done some work on redesigning things, and expects that the forge will have air-conditioning on the shoeing floor this year, although not in the forge itself.

Getting on the plane for Hong Kong means a huge logistics task for Ian--not in relation to the Games, but in relation to his business at home. In addition to serving the vet hospital in Cheshire and the University's hospital, Ian has a regular client list based all over the countryside.

"Trying to organise your business and livelihood to withstand the main person to go away for nine weeks with no input at all has proven as difficult as organising the Farriery Department (for the Olympics)," Ian said yesterday in an email.

"At least with Hong Kong you are only dealing with half a dozen people and their ideas and thoughts," he went on. "With my business, we literally have hundreds of clients all concerned that their horse or pony will continue to get the best attention."

Security is very high in Hong Kong and Ian must be careful what he says by email and telephone, but you should be hearing from him and the other farriers from time to time over the next few months via the Hoof Blog. 

Ian is a specialist in lameness and does a lot of research, as well. He was a co-author of a paper published recently in the Equine Veterinary Journal on (hoof) wall strip surgery.

Congratulations to Ian and all the farriers who are making the trip to Hong Kong. Watch for more news from them as it comes in! Please understand that professional standards prevent them for discussing the horses they work on while the Games are on. Likewise, Ian is not open about the brand names of products that he ordered to be shipped over.

Newmarket Equine Hospital Rises on the English Heath as Thoroughbreds Gallop By

British horses are conditioned by long gallops on the hilly terrain of the "heath" that surrounds the town of Newmarket, the main training center for flat racing. Horses can gallop on the heath or on all-weather (artificial surface) strips, like this one. The heath goes on for miles and miles. So do the horses. (Greenwood Ellis photo)

The British equine veterinary practice of Greenwood Ellis & Partners is currently building a unique center of veterinary services just outside Newmarket, the Thoroughbred training capital in Suffolk. The practice claims that its new Newmarket Equine Hospital (NEH) will be "the largest and most modern private equine hospital in Europe ".

The hospital will gather all specialities of the equine veterinary profession in a purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility. Greenwood Ellis & Partners have been based at Reynolds House on Newmarket High Street since the early 1900s and have built up a world-class reputation for dedicated and high-quality equine veterinary care. The practice intends to occupy the new facility and expand within it by autumn of this year.

Located by the landmark of the "stallion statue roundabout" near the July racecourse, NEH will be at the center of the racing headquarters with the two racecourses, the training grounds, racing stables and stud farms all within close proximity and with direct access to the local major highways.

As part of the expansion of the practice, a new website has been launched, using the services of a consortium of talented people in and around the town, led by the Blue Lizard group. The new website outlines the current and future services and technologies.

The website features a hospital development blog, together with a photo gallery, to describe the progress of the new hospital as it progresses from a green field to its current state of near completion. Other sections outline employment opportunities, such as the internship program and veterinary positions available at NEH, as well as work experience and non-veterinary vacancies.

The full website can be viewed at www.newmarketequinehospital.com

Barefoot Racing in California? State Board Seeks More Time for Input, But Bans Heel Nerving and Steroids

A decision had been due in California last week about a proposed rule change that would allow Thoroughbred horses to race barefoot at the state’s tracks, all of which have recently been converted to artificial surfaces.

At yesterday’s meeting at Del Mar Racetrack near San Diego, the CHRB sent two the regulatory amendment back out for 15-day public notice with minor changes to the texts. The Board indicated it would suspend the portion of the rule that requires horses to be shod, as long as it is publicly noted in the official program. The memo from the CHRB indicated that a public hearing will be held.

Vice Chairman Richard Harris noted that while this proposal to allow horses to race unshod has been around for some time. He said that the installation of synthetic surfaces in California has helped push it forward because some horses appear to be training better without shoes on the new surfaces.

The amendment would allow a horse to race unshod if the trainer feels the horse might run better without shoes. Any changes would be noted on the official program.

According to the CHRB, the issue was first raised by the California Thoroughbred Trainers at a meeting of the CHRB Medication Committee last November. CTT Executive Director Ed Halpern indicated there had been sentiment among some trainers “for a long time to allow horses to race unshod, but with the introduction of synthetic tracks, the idea has gained support for moving forward. Some horses are more comfortable without shoes.”

Dr. Diane Isbell, one of the CHRB’s official veterinarians, provided some details during a special meeting on February 20 that focused on synthetic surfaces. Dr. Isbell was among seven veterinarians on a panel that discussed the safety of synthetic surfaces in terms of injuries to horses.

“We have much sounder horses (on the synthetic surface at Golden Gate Fields) and I’m finding that we have a lot less joint filling in the horses on pre-race (examinations) than we do when we have the sealed surfaces,” explained Dr. Isbell. She went on to say, “What we’ve found with the synthetic surfaces is the foot does not have the slip that it had with the dirt surface.”

Dr. Isbell continued, “A number of trainers in Northern California are starting to train their horses barefoot. There are an increasing number of trainers doing that (and those horses are) working as well or better as they did when they had shoes on. We do know from research work that the bare foot is better able to utilize the internal shock absorption system of the horse, which does help to take some of the stress off the legs.”

Dr. Isbell did not give a reference for that research.

If the regulation change passes, the official program will note when any horse adds or removes shoes. To date, the CHRB has heard no testimony in opposition to allowing horses to race unshod.

Written comments should be addressed to: Harold Coburn, Regulation Analyst, California Horse Racing Board, 1010 Hurley
Way, Suite 300. Sacramento, CA 95825.

For additional details, he can be reached at (916) 263- 6397 or Fax (916) 263-6022 or e-mail (harolda@chrb.ca.gov).

Most states and racing jurisdictions require horses to be shod. Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown recently spent a few weeks barefoot while in light exercise at Aqueduct, but has since had glue-on shoes re-applied, according to hoof repair consultant Ian McKinlay.

Standardbred farrier Conny Svensson recalled in an article recently that he pulled the shoes on champion Moni Maker in 2000 when she she raced in France. She went out and trotted the fastest mile in European history. A few weeks later, the trainer gambled and tried it again when she was racing in Italy. She broke stride and was eliminated.

Artificial arena surfaces have been detrimental to the hooves of some unshod sport horses, although ill effects of racing surfaces have not been reported, perhaps because horses in most states are required to be shod. Farrier Bob Pethick in New Jersey documented the deterioration of hoof wall thickness in a barefoot warmblood when it was moved to a new stable with a more abrasive indoor arena surface. The case was documented in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal, issue #78. Click here to read the article online.

In other news, California added horsewoman and celebrity Bo Derek to the Board, banned the four major steroids from use on racehorses in the state, and unanimously adopted a regulatory amendment prohibiting posterior digital neurectomies, or “heel nerving.” Any horse that undergoes such a procedure after October 1, 2008, will be prohibited from racing. This prohibition was opposed by the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which believes California should wait for a national policy.

Hoofcare at Saratoga: Calendar of Tuesday Events Beginning July 29th

Saratoga Springs, New York -- Beginning July 29 Please attend any or all of these casual, summer-style educational events. All events are on Tuesdays. Admission is free. Tuesday, July 29 (evening) RIDE ON Exhibit Preview at National Museum of Racing with speakers Donald Walsh DVM (laminitis) and Allie Hayes (anatomical aftermath of hoof and leg injury), who are featured in this new museum exhibit on horse health, lameness, and laminitis. Comments by trainer Michael Dickinson and farrier Michael Wildenstein; meet exhibit curator Beth Shaffer. The Parting Glass Pub will still be open for dinner after this event. Tuesday August 5 (evening) RACETRACK Shoeing at the Parting Glass with Grayson Jockey Club Welfare and Safety Summit Shoeing Committee to share new research, view new high-tech videos of different shoes on different surfaces, and discuss toe grab and shoeing rules. "Mad Genius" trainer Michael Dickinson, developer of Tapeta surfaces, will also speak. Tuesday August 12 at the National Museum of Racing (afteroon) sponsored by LIFE DATA LABS and at the Parting Glass (evening). Racing surfaces and hoof cracks, wall separations, with racetrack surface researcher Dr Mick Peterson, Thoroughbred hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay, and Swedish Standardbred shoeing specialist Conny Svensson. Tuesday August 19 (evening) at the Parting Glass; program led by Michael Wildenstein FWCF (Hons), Cornell University, plus special guests to end the series. The Parting Glass is located at 40 Lake Avenue (one block off Broadway) in Saratoga Springs. Dinner is available at the Parting Glass at a reasonable cost. The National Museum of Racing is on Union Avenue, opposite the main entrance to the track. Out of town? Call the Comfort Inn and ask for the "Hoofcare" special rate: (518) 587-6244. The nearest airport is Albany, New York. For more information: please don't call the Museum or the Parting Glass!  Visit http://www.hoofcare.blogspot.com for updates and announcements. Speakers and programs subject to cancellation or change without notice. Presented with the help of CCE Equine and Equilite, Maker of Sore No More Liniment. Special thanks to Freida Garrison and Jim Santore and the Parting Glass Pub. Sponsorship opportunities available for some events, please inquire.