 |
The scene on Wall Street in 1920 after a wagonload of explosives became a horse-drawn bomb in front of the New York Stock Exchange.
|
This is the story of that horseshoe.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Farriery Forensics: Who Shod the Wall Street Bomber's Horse?
This is the story of that horseshoe.
Laminitis Prevention: Is Current Body Condition Scoring Irrelevant for Ponies?
by Fran Jurga | 18 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
A 9.2 hand, 12-year-old spotted pony named Firefly suffered from overgrown feet and laminitis in England in April 2007. She couldn't walk properly, but her owner refused to have her cared for, nor would she sign the pony over to the World Horse Welfare. A court case ensued and the owner lost her right to own horses for two years.
Here's Firefly in September 2007, on her way to full recovery and adoption to a new home. The research project funded by WHW at the University of Liverpool suggests that it is difficult to assign an objective body condition score to ponies using the system designed for larger horses.
Researchers at the department of clinical science at Britain's University of Liverpool, with support from the World Horse Welfare charity, presented new research at the annual convention of the British Equine Veterinary Association(BEVA) last week.
The question: how accurate is conventional equine body condition scoring for weight loss management when the equine being evaluated is an overweight pony?
The study, entitled Managed Weight Loss in Obese Ponies: Evaluating Weight Change, Health and Welfare, involved five mature, overweight or obese ponies and aimed to restrict their feed intake (on a dry matter basis) to 1% of body weight of a chaff-based complete diet for 12 weeks.
During this time the ponies' weight change, health parameters and behavior were monitored. All ponies remained healthy throughout the whole trial and an appropriate and safe rate of weight loss was achieved.
Clare Barfoot BSc (Hons) RNutr, registered nutritionist and the research and development manager for SPILLERS® (British horse feed company) explained: “Body weight decreased at a steady rate. However, despite significant weight loss, the body condition scores of the ponies didn't change. This highlights the concern that body condition scoring may not be the most effective way to monitor early weight loss in ponies.”
Even in this well-managed study, the feeding activity of the dieting ponies was decreased by 74 percent compared to ad libitum intake, highlighting the need for a practical feeding system that is both effective at managing weight loss but is sensitive to behavioral needs.
The WALTHAM® Equine Studies group was closely involved with this study as it has been with other groundbreaking work on equine obesity, such as showing that an obese body condition score was associated with increased insulin resistance back in 2003, and developing the cresty neck scoring system.
In response to the study, the research group is in the process of developing a new condition scoring system designed specifically for ponies. “This will involve validating the relationship between actual measurements of body fatness and the external appearance of the pony,” said Alex Dugdale, lead researcher for the study at Liverpool University.
Note: information provided by Spillers was used in the preparation of this blog post.
© 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.
A 9.2 hand, 12-year-old spotted pony named Firefly suffered from overgrown feet and laminitis in England in April 2007. She couldn't walk properly, but her owner refused to have her cared for, nor would she sign the pony over to the World Horse Welfare. A court case ensued and the owner lost her right to own horses for two years. 
Here's Firefly in September 2007, on her way to full recovery and adoption to a new home. The research project funded by WHW at the University of Liverpool suggests that it is difficult to assign an objective body condition score to ponies using the system designed for larger horses.Researchers at the department of clinical science at Britain's University of Liverpool, with support from the World Horse Welfare charity, presented new research at the annual convention of the British Equine Veterinary Association(BEVA) last week.
The question: how accurate is conventional equine body condition scoring for weight loss management when the equine being evaluated is an overweight pony?
The study, entitled Managed Weight Loss in Obese Ponies: Evaluating Weight Change, Health and Welfare, involved five mature, overweight or obese ponies and aimed to restrict their feed intake (on a dry matter basis) to 1% of body weight of a chaff-based complete diet for 12 weeks.
During this time the ponies' weight change, health parameters and behavior were monitored. All ponies remained healthy throughout the whole trial and an appropriate and safe rate of weight loss was achieved.
Clare Barfoot BSc (Hons) RNutr, registered nutritionist and the research and development manager for SPILLERS® (British horse feed company) explained: “Body weight decreased at a steady rate. However, despite significant weight loss, the body condition scores of the ponies didn't change. This highlights the concern that body condition scoring may not be the most effective way to monitor early weight loss in ponies.”
Even in this well-managed study, the feeding activity of the dieting ponies was decreased by 74 percent compared to ad libitum intake, highlighting the need for a practical feeding system that is both effective at managing weight loss but is sensitive to behavioral needs.
The WALTHAM® Equine Studies group was closely involved with this study as it has been with other groundbreaking work on equine obesity, such as showing that an obese body condition score was associated with increased insulin resistance back in 2003, and developing the cresty neck scoring system.
In response to the study, the research group is in the process of developing a new condition scoring system designed specifically for ponies. “This will involve validating the relationship between actual measurements of body fatness and the external appearance of the pony,” said Alex Dugdale, lead researcher for the study at Liverpool University.
Note: information provided by Spillers was used in the preparation of this blog post.
© 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.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Texas A&M Adds Full-Time Farrier to Hospital Staff
by Fran Jurga | 17 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Jason Wilson-Maki is the first resident farrier at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine's Large Animal Hospital.
The following article is provided by Angela Clendenin of Texas A&M University. I don't think I know Jason Wilson-Maki, but wish him the best of luck in his new position and congratulate A&M for taking the important step of hiring a full-time farrier. Photographs were also provided by A&M.
COLLEGE STATION, TX –A certain specialization that is often overlooked or unknown by many people today is that of a farrier. A farrier’s job is to provide shoes for horses, and to work on their hoof problems. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences does a lot of work on lame horses, and a big part of treatment for horses’ hooves often requires therapeutic shoeing, and a specialist who knows what to do.
© 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.
Jason Wilson-Maki is the first resident farrier at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine's Large Animal Hospital.The following article is provided by Angela Clendenin of Texas A&M University. I don't think I know Jason Wilson-Maki, but wish him the best of luck in his new position and congratulate A&M for taking the important step of hiring a full-time farrier. Photographs were also provided by A&M.
COLLEGE STATION, TX –A certain specialization that is often overlooked or unknown by many people today is that of a farrier. A farrier’s job is to provide shoes for horses, and to work on their hoof problems. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences does a lot of work on lame horses, and a big part of treatment for horses’ hooves often requires therapeutic shoeing, and a specialist who knows what to do.
“For years, Texas A&M has had a farrier contract on an 'as needed' basis,” said Dr. Kent Carter, Professor of Equine Lameness and Chief of Medicine at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine Large Animal Hospital. “The problem with this type of contract is that we don’t always know when we are going to need a farrier and that makes us unable to provide full service to our clients.”
One year ago the faculty decided to do more towards pursuing a full time farrier to provide a better resource for our clients as well as a better teaching and learning environment for professional veterinary students.
“We set out on a national search for a full-time farrier and received a tremendous response,” said Carter. “There were 30 or 40 applicants who were narrowed down to 12, and finally we interviewed 5 of them. Jason Wilson-Maki had the most outstanding interview.”
A native of Ohio and a 1997 graduate of the Heartland Horseshoeing School, Jason was qualified for the job because of his previous experience and teaching. He also has a double certification in the American Farrier’s Association and the Farrier’s Guild (Guild of Professional Farriers). He showed great enthusiasm about horses and teaching during his interview and began work at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine during October of 2008.
Wilson-Maki feels that one of the greatest benefits of working as a farrier at a vet hospital, as opposed to being self-employed, is that working with so many veterinarians eliminates the guesswork, and is of greater benefit to the horses.
“Having a diagnosis and a prescription reduces the amount of trial and error required to improve an animal’s performance or soundness” said Wilson-Maki. “Moreover, the direct communication between the clinicians and myself benefits the animal by reducing the risk of a miscommunication. If I have any technical or application concerns, these issues can be discussed. This facilitates an individualized, comprehensive treatment for the animal which accomplishes the goals of the attending clinician and stays in step with the fundamental principles of sound farriery. This team approach is a great joy for me.”
Since such a huge part of an equine veterinarian’s career has to do with providing the physical skills needed to handle problematic hooves, Wilson-Maki’s expertise has taken the veterinary medical students’ education to the next level.
Jason Maki and Dr. Kent Carter (far right) with Texas A&M vet students.
“It has been such an enjoyable experience interacting with the vet students,” said Wilson-Maki. “It is great to be able to see the light go on in their heads when applying certain aspects that they have been taught, but have not been able to apply until now. The students are constantly challenging me with questions that I must sometimes pause to think about the answer! Working at the CVM has truly been the best experience of my life.”
From enhancing veterinary medical education to providing value added service for clients, the farrier service at the veterinary medical teaching hospital has given the clinicians at the CVM another tool for helping their patients.
“Having a full-time farrier on staff has been extremely beneficial” said Carter. “We are able to provide a more consistent and thorough job for clients, as well as a better learning experience for students pursuing their veterinary degrees.”
© 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.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The World Would Be a Better Place If There Were More of These
Weathervanes, that is. They are one of the best ways to make a statement. A silhouette against the sky can be seen from afar and a good blacksmith can create a work of art to go atop a barn's cupola, a vet clinic, or a mobile home. Or a car dealership, clam shack or tipi.
It takes the observer's eye up to the sky and there's something uplifting about that, it more ways than one.
I just wish it wasn't so hard to get a good photo of a weathervane! It seems like there are always power lines or something in the way, or I can't get a good angle from the ground.
This is my new favorite weathervane, captured on film by Dave Angood, who tells me he found it atop an old barn inside some fortress-like gates near Swaffham in Norfolk, England. He allowed me to share it with Hoof Blog readers. I kept staring at it for the longest time this morning.
It reminds me of the beautiful weathervanes made by a farrier and heavy horse expert named Richard Gowing in England. If Richard didn't make it, surely his past work helped inspire it. Our friend the late Edward Martin from Scotland made beautiful weathervanes too.
Weathervanes carry some responsibility, of course. They have to be aligned with the earth. In our little seaside village, my salty old neighbor died and left a provision in his will that money from his estate be used to get steeplejacks to come and re-orient the weathervane on top of the church which, over the years, have drifted out of alignment.
It really bothered him. He saw the vane as a tool to check the wind as he drove toward the harbor each morning rather than the beautiful ornament on the church that the rest of us saw.
It's fixed now.
What--and where--is your favorite weathervane?
Thanks to Dave Angood for his hard work in getting such a good shot of this beautiful weathervane. Dave's trying to find out more about it and I'll add more details if he reports back.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Been There, Done That? Farrier Shrine to St Eloi Shoeing a Horse at Orsanmichele in Florence, Italy
by Fran Jurga | 13 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
British Columbia veterinarian Geoff Gaunt was strolling down the narrow streets of Florence, Italy on his summer vacation when he looked up...and smiled. He snapped a photo for the farriers back home, and I'm sharing it with you all, too.
 |
| Dr. Gaunt recognized a familiar scene when he looked up: anvils, hammers, and farriers at work. (Photo: Dr Geoff Gaunt) |
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dubai Horse Hooves Are Being Molded, Not Shod, with Experimental Hoof Application Process
by Fran Jurga | 12 September 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Take a really close look at this "shoe". What looks at first glance like a Natural Balance shoe is actually a urethane hoof application created on the foot by injecting Vettec Adhere material into a mold. Vettec Superfast is sometimes also used, but Derek said that in this particular shoe, Adhere made the shoe more flexible.
"This is so new, I only put my first one on 4 months ago, and after doing hundreds I now feel it is time to expose it," Derek wrote in an email. "I have only shown it to a handful of farriers here and right from the word go they embraced it and it is very rewarding to see their response as they peel of a mold seeing the perfect shoe. They all describe it as a revelation and every time they use it, it gives them the same feeling over and over again."
Take a really close look at this "shoe". What looks at first glance like a Natural Balance shoe is actually a urethane hoof application created on the foot by injecting Vettec Adhere material into a mold. Vettec Superfast is sometimes also used, but Derek said that in this particular shoe, Adhere made the shoe more flexible.
Here's the ground surface of a six-degree short-heart bar, made for a horse with a fractured navicular bone.
A new shoeing technique developed in Dubai by South African farrier Derek Poupard is offered for your comments. In addition to the photos above, we have a short video showing how the mold is applied and the material is inserted, and the removal of the model to reveal a "shoe", if you want to call it that.
"This is so new, I only put my first one on 4 months ago, and after doing hundreds I now feel it is time to expose it," Derek wrote in an email. "I have only shown it to a handful of farriers here and right from the word go they embraced it and it is very rewarding to see their response as they peel of a mold seeing the perfect shoe. They all describe it as a revelation and every time they use it, it gives them the same feeling over and over again."
This has been a big year for plastic and composite horseshoes. First Curlin won the great classics of his four-year-old career last fall wearing square-toed Polyflex shoes of polyurethane. Then Steffen Peters and Ravel won the World Cup of dressage wearing plastic Eponashoes. This week, the venerable Horse and Hound news magazine from London carries a feature article touting the popularity of plastic shoes, especially those designed by our friend, the clever Andrew Poynton, who has expanded his moldable Imprint therapeutic plastic heartbars into sporty new models for competition horses.
And now we have the possibility of design-it-yourself hoof molds to make not shoes, exactly, but something else, a hybrid lighter and perhaps more cohesive with the foot than a separate shoe attached by nails would be. While steel and nails have their advantages too, this new technique may find a niche of its own, or become a platform for inventors or farriers and veterinarians faced with challenging hoof injuries or deformities.
This second video was made a while ago by a Dubai television station that visited the royal stables where Derek works. It's a nice view into the facility and shows Derek's previous traditional use of glue-on shoes on a Thoroughbred racehorse.
Eventually, Derek's molds will be available for sale, I'm sure, but in the meantime, the floor is open for comments. He's a world away from almost all of us and would like to hear from you, I'm sure.
Much more information is available at www.quixshoe.com.
Some American readers may remember Derek from his time spent living and shoeing in Virginia. He has been featured in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal in the past but when he left the USA several years ago, we lost track of him. A royal farrier shop in Dubai is an interesting place for him to be found.
New shoes continue to come on the market or be passed around as prototypes. This process is quite unique, though, and while it seems cumbersome and awkward at this stage, it is sure to improve and become more streamlined.
What could your imagination do with technology like this? What if...
© 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.
This second video was made a while ago by a Dubai television station that visited the royal stables where Derek works. It's a nice view into the facility and shows Derek's previous traditional use of glue-on shoes on a Thoroughbred racehorse.
Eventually, Derek's molds will be available for sale, I'm sure, but in the meantime, the floor is open for comments. He's a world away from almost all of us and would like to hear from you, I'm sure.
Much more information is available at www.quixshoe.com.
Some American readers may remember Derek from his time spent living and shoeing in Virginia. He has been featured in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal in the past but when he left the USA several years ago, we lost track of him. A royal farrier shop in Dubai is an interesting place for him to be found.
New shoes continue to come on the market or be passed around as prototypes. This process is quite unique, though, and while it seems cumbersome and awkward at this stage, it is sure to improve and become more streamlined.
What could your imagination do with technology like this? What if...
© 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.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Rachel Alexandra: Preparing to Make History in Saturday's Woodward Stakes at Saratoga
Rachel Alexandra: Preparing to Make History in Tomorrow's Woodward Stakes, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.
The go-go girl herself takes to the track at Saratoga on Saturday. Miracle filly Rachel Alexandra skipped the Travers Stakes for three-year-olds in order to challenge older males in the shorter mile-and-an-eighth Grade 1 Woodward Stakes.
Expect Saratoga to be the site of the biggest traffic jam in New York State since Woodstock. Really. Since the race is not televised, the only way to witness this historic event is to Be There.
My guess is that there's a pool somewhere on what the gate attendance will be. Perfect weather is forecast.
Will someone who has TVG or HRTV or OTB call me and hold the phone so I can hear Tom Durkin call the race? I'd like to hear history firsthand, even if I can't see it.
Ace photographer Sarah K. Andrew of Rock and Racehorses just uploaded this nice shot of Rachel leaning into her bath sponge so I thought I would share it with you all. Thanks, Sarah, for the perfect timing and the beautiful photo.
Win or lose, Rachel Alexandra has made this an exciting summer. Right about now, she's camped out in the detention barn so she knows something is up. What is up is that New York and the nation has fallen in love with this horse and what they think she can do, who they think she is, and the time is just exactly right.
I don't know if this will be her last race or not but with each and every race, work, and schooling session she went through at Saratoga, I marveled that she's been my good news story of the year. And I want her to stay that way.
Safe home, filly.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
The Universal Farrier Apprentice
by Fran Jurga | 2 September 2009 | Fran Jurga Hoof Blog
I had an idea for this blog post: Everyone turn the sound off when you watch this video, and then you won't be influenced by the location. Because for nine minutes and thirty seconds, this video takes you into a universal setting. This shoeing forge could be in Colorado or Sweden or Turkey or Japan or New Zealand, with few changes. It's a pretty universal scene.
However, the sound is very nicely recorded and adds a lot; after a while, the apprentice's voice comes on and you'll hear what it's like to train as a second-year apprentice farrier in remote Donegal, on the northwestern edge of Ireland.
I play a lot of games when I watch farrier videos (and I watch a lot of them). I love to watch the background activity (and give bonus points for multiple dogs) and in this case, the shoe pile jumps out of the background and dominates the whole forge. Obviously they aren't worried about earthquakes in Donegal or else John and Heather will be buried in old shoes some day.
A game I like to play with non-US videos is to try to pick out the countries where tools and clothing and shop decor were made. In this video we see Kevin Keegan's ubiquitous Hoof Jack--is there a country on earth that the Hoof Jack hasn't conquered? I'm staring at one in my office right now as I write this.
Readers: send in photos of your Hoof Jacks in a native setting showing what it's like in your part of the world where you live and work. Just make sure the Hoof Jack is in the photo somewhere. I'll post them on the blog.
I wondered where the loop knife came from: Canada? Australia? Montana? Germany? and John's apron has a made-in-the-USA look to it. The "w" on the shoes is the forge is a giveaway that they are by Werkman and from Holland.
That's just a start, you can take it from there. Many thanks to the gentle director and editor who refrained from a voiceover narration, intro music and splashy graphics. They had the good sense to just let this scene speak for itself so those of us who know what to listen and look for, can. And I hope you will.
It's just ten minutes out there in the farrier universe.
© 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.
I had an idea for this blog post: Everyone turn the sound off when you watch this video, and then you won't be influenced by the location. Because for nine minutes and thirty seconds, this video takes you into a universal setting. This shoeing forge could be in Colorado or Sweden or Turkey or Japan or New Zealand, with few changes. It's a pretty universal scene.
However, the sound is very nicely recorded and adds a lot; after a while, the apprentice's voice comes on and you'll hear what it's like to train as a second-year apprentice farrier in remote Donegal, on the northwestern edge of Ireland.
I play a lot of games when I watch farrier videos (and I watch a lot of them). I love to watch the background activity (and give bonus points for multiple dogs) and in this case, the shoe pile jumps out of the background and dominates the whole forge. Obviously they aren't worried about earthquakes in Donegal or else John and Heather will be buried in old shoes some day.
A game I like to play with non-US videos is to try to pick out the countries where tools and clothing and shop decor were made. In this video we see Kevin Keegan's ubiquitous Hoof Jack--is there a country on earth that the Hoof Jack hasn't conquered? I'm staring at one in my office right now as I write this.
Readers: send in photos of your Hoof Jacks in a native setting showing what it's like in your part of the world where you live and work. Just make sure the Hoof Jack is in the photo somewhere. I'll post them on the blog.
I wondered where the loop knife came from: Canada? Australia? Montana? Germany? and John's apron has a made-in-the-USA look to it. The "w" on the shoes is the forge is a giveaway that they are by Werkman and from Holland.
That's just a start, you can take it from there. Many thanks to the gentle director and editor who refrained from a voiceover narration, intro music and splashy graphics. They had the good sense to just let this scene speak for itself so those of us who know what to listen and look for, can. And I hope you will.
It's just ten minutes out there in the farrier universe.
© 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.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Video: Watch Elastic, Athletic Dutch Dressage Stallion Set a New World Record
by Fran Jurga | 30 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Just the other day this blog was quoting the superlatives coming out of the European dressage championships at Windsor Castle in England. Things went from the greatest to the unbelievable last night when, for the first time ever, a score above 90% was awarded in the musical freestyle to Dutch rider Edward Gal and the nine-year-old black stallion Moorlands Totilas.
I don't know what sort of biomechanics study could be done on this horse to figure out how he does what he does. He doesn't seem large. Doesn't look massive in the hind end. He actually looks quite closely coupled, yet his strides in the extended trot and canter look to be ground-gobbling. I can only assume that all his parts are equally massive, equally developed in a harmonious unit and yet...how does he manage to be so light on his feet, so loose at the shoulder?
I know one problem with watching this horse is that the rider is a very tall man, so his frame gives the illusion that the horse is smaller than he probably is.
Maybe a scanning session would show that his tendons and ligaments are bionic, that he has the support system of a warmblood on the feather-light skeleton of a racehorse. Something's up with this horse--something wonderful.
Holland also finished in second and third place. I'm certainly not an expert or a dressage critic and nothing should be taken away from Parzival and Salinero, yet it is interesting to see how differently constructed they are, and how their frames appear larger and especially longer. These horses seem to be exquisitely (and successfully) focused in order to nail the exact movements, like a tennis player at Wimbledon taking exact aim, while the black seems to perform them in a more relaxed mode, a la Tiger Woods.
Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas performed to Celtic-type music, complete with echoing drums and ringing church bells, in the shadow of England's Windsor Castle. And it worked.(FEI photo by Kit Houghton)
With luck, Totilas will stay sound and remain in training for a trip to the USA next September for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. A lot can happen between now and then, including the return of the top Germans who were sidelined for this week's competition.
Share this video, savor this moment, and celebrate this horse. This is what a sound, healthy horse looks like at the peak of condition without a thought of resistance or tension on his mind.
Watching Totilas brings to mind the fleet-footed racing star of this year, filly Rachel Alexandra, who seems to win her races for the joy of running fast because she can. It seems 2009 is a year of at least two great horses at the pinnacle of their respective sports. Enjoy them while they are here with us; we all know that soundness can be fleeting and they are two of the legends we'll remember in the future.
© 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).
Just the other day this blog was quoting the superlatives coming out of the European dressage championships at Windsor Castle in England. Things went from the greatest to the unbelievable last night when, for the first time ever, a score above 90% was awarded in the musical freestyle to Dutch rider Edward Gal and the nine-year-old black stallion Moorlands Totilas.
I don't know what sort of biomechanics study could be done on this horse to figure out how he does what he does. He doesn't seem large. Doesn't look massive in the hind end. He actually looks quite closely coupled, yet his strides in the extended trot and canter look to be ground-gobbling. I can only assume that all his parts are equally massive, equally developed in a harmonious unit and yet...how does he manage to be so light on his feet, so loose at the shoulder?
I know one problem with watching this horse is that the rider is a very tall man, so his frame gives the illusion that the horse is smaller than he probably is.
Maybe a scanning session would show that his tendons and ligaments are bionic, that he has the support system of a warmblood on the feather-light skeleton of a racehorse. Something's up with this horse--something wonderful.
Holland also finished in second and third place. I'm certainly not an expert or a dressage critic and nothing should be taken away from Parzival and Salinero, yet it is interesting to see how differently constructed they are, and how their frames appear larger and especially longer. These horses seem to be exquisitely (and successfully) focused in order to nail the exact movements, like a tennis player at Wimbledon taking exact aim, while the black seems to perform them in a more relaxed mode, a la Tiger Woods.
Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas performed to Celtic-type music, complete with echoing drums and ringing church bells, in the shadow of England's Windsor Castle. And it worked.(FEI photo by Kit Houghton)Share this video, savor this moment, and celebrate this horse. This is what a sound, healthy horse looks like at the peak of condition without a thought of resistance or tension on his mind.
Watching Totilas brings to mind the fleet-footed racing star of this year, filly Rachel Alexandra, who seems to win her races for the joy of running fast because she can. It seems 2009 is a year of at least two great horses at the pinnacle of their respective sports. Enjoy them while they are here with us; we all know that soundness can be fleeting and they are two of the legends we'll remember in the future.
© 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).
Friday, August 28, 2009
California Statistics Reveal Dangerous Trend in Hind Limb Breakdowns on Artificial Tracks
by Fran Jurga | 28 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Data on racing breakdowns compiled by the University of California at Davis tracks the incidence of injuries, the seasonality of injuries and which limb is affected, among many other data points recorded. A publication of recent statistics presented to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) reveals a disturbing prevalence of hind limb injuries that led to the death of racehorses last year.
While the report is not available at present, the Los Angeles Times today reported that the study presented to the CHRB yesterday reveals that 19 horses died on California tracks from hind limb injuries in 2008, and that those injuries were split pretty evenly between left and right hinds. Only one horse died from a hind limb injury on a dirt track.
Breakdowns on the front limbs were somewhat more comparable between dirt and artificial tracks, but the artificial breakdowns still exceeded the dirt tracks: 74 horses broke down in front on artificial tracks while 59 broke down in front on dirt tracks.
Some people feel that this is an invalid comparison, and that trainers will often work a horse on a synthetic track that they would not work on a dirt track.
UC Davis examined 351 cadavers of breakdowns in its search for new insights into why racehorses are so susceptible to fatal injuries.
California has a 4 mm limit on toe grabs on front shoes and allows horses to run barefoot.
© 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.
Data on racing breakdowns compiled by the University of California at Davis tracks the incidence of injuries, the seasonality of injuries and which limb is affected, among many other data points recorded. A publication of recent statistics presented to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) reveals a disturbing prevalence of hind limb injuries that led to the death of racehorses last year.While the report is not available at present, the Los Angeles Times today reported that the study presented to the CHRB yesterday reveals that 19 horses died on California tracks from hind limb injuries in 2008, and that those injuries were split pretty evenly between left and right hinds. Only one horse died from a hind limb injury on a dirt track.
Breakdowns on the front limbs were somewhat more comparable between dirt and artificial tracks, but the artificial breakdowns still exceeded the dirt tracks: 74 horses broke down in front on artificial tracks while 59 broke down in front on dirt tracks.
Some people feel that this is an invalid comparison, and that trainers will often work a horse on a synthetic track that they would not work on a dirt track.
UC Davis examined 351 cadavers of breakdowns in its search for new insights into why racehorses are so susceptible to fatal injuries.
California has a 4 mm limit on toe grabs on front shoes and allows horses to run barefoot.
© 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.
Behind the Scenes with the Farriers at the European Championships
by Fran Jurga | 28 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Say hello to the farriers backstage: Brendan Murray, official show farrier, is on the right and Dieter Kronert, German team farrier, on left are working at Windsor Castle in England this week. Photo by Haydn Price, British dressage team farrier.
As a post script to last night's blog post about the spectacular world record-breaking dressage rides at the Euro championships in England yesterday, here's a first-hand quote from British dressage team farrier Haydn Price after watching Britain win individual bronze behind two Dutch riders who both set new world records:
"We are still pinching ourselves and hoping not to wake up to find that the last 48 hours has all been a dream.
"Yesterday was such a special day and quite emotional. We have waited so long for this and so many individuals have contributed to such an amazing result.
"We also witnessed history in the making with record scores both as a nation and global.
What a privilege it is to be part of it!"
I'm sure that Haydn and all the nations' farriers had a big role in the elevation of these horses to scores that had the judges wondering that a 10 was simply not a good enough measure of the movement the horse had performed.
Please scroll down in this blog to read yesterday's story and see one of the horses frozen in a moment of strength and beauty.
© 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.
Say hello to the farriers backstage: Brendan Murray, official show farrier, is on the right and Dieter Kronert, German team farrier, on left are working at Windsor Castle in England this week. Photo by Haydn Price, British dressage team farrier. As a post script to last night's blog post about the spectacular world record-breaking dressage rides at the Euro championships in England yesterday, here's a first-hand quote from British dressage team farrier Haydn Price after watching Britain win individual bronze behind two Dutch riders who both set new world records:
"We are still pinching ourselves and hoping not to wake up to find that the last 48 hours has all been a dream.
"Yesterday was such a special day and quite emotional. We have waited so long for this and so many individuals have contributed to such an amazing result.
"We also witnessed history in the making with record scores both as a nation and global.
What a privilege it is to be part of it!"
I'm sure that Haydn and all the nations' farriers had a big role in the elevation of these horses to scores that had the judges wondering that a 10 was simply not a good enough measure of the movement the horse had performed.
Please scroll down in this blog to read yesterday's story and see one of the horses frozen in a moment of strength and beauty.
© 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.
Picture Power: Hock Lock in Dressage Drama at Euro Championships
by Fran Jurga | 27 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Whether you call it the plantar plant, the hock lock or the tarsal torque, this photograph is a keeper. Events send me lots of competition photos, all very nice, but this one shows a horse working very, very hard. Double-click on this photo for an enlarged view to see the detail of this movement. You can almost feel the horse holding himself in place on the footing. The FEI rule book stipulates that the right hind would stay in place throughout the movement, although video analysis has shown that horses don't or perhaps can't actually do that. (FEI Photo by Kit Houghton)
The announcer reportedly said when Laura came down the centerline to halt, "You can breathe again." And he didn't just mean Laura, he meant the entire British audience. Chef d'equipe Will Connell even blogged that the farrier had tears in his eyes watching the ride.
If you are one of those who still thinks that dressage is boring, consider this statement from Ground Jury President Stephen Clarke who said "I've judged a few championships in my time but I've never seen sport like this. This was the greatest moment in dressage history - we've never seen riders performing at such a level before and now the sport is wide open - anyone can win. I want to applaud the courage of the riders who rode so brilliantly under pressure - this was an outstanding day," he added. "At times the hair was standing up on the back of my neck! At odd moments, we were saying to each other '10's are just not enough' to reward what we have seen."
Interviewed after the event, silver medalist Edward Gal commented, when asked if there is now a new Dutch school of dressage, "It’s about how we ride. It feels good and it looks good, but it’s not just about training. We just keep the horses happy. You need to adapt your riding to your horse and not the other way around."
The musical freestyle is the next event at the championships, and will be held on Saturday.
This photo in a way reminds me of the nice photo from California of champion Thoroughbred mare Zenyatta bursting from the starting gate on hind legs acting like power thrusters. It was on the blog a few weeks ago. I like photos that show athletic horses fully engaged, working hard; they are something magnificent to behold. Capturing it in a split second with a camera is very difficult.
If you enlarge the photo you will also see that the grooming regimen for Mistral Hojris didn't include close-shaving his muzzle, although it may have been tidied up a bit.
© 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.
Whether you call it the plantar plant, the hock lock or the tarsal torque, this photograph is a keeper. Events send me lots of competition photos, all very nice, but this one shows a horse working very, very hard. Double-click on this photo for an enlarged view to see the detail of this movement. You can almost feel the horse holding himself in place on the footing. The FEI rule book stipulates that the right hind would stay in place throughout the movement, although video analysis has shown that horses don't or perhaps can't actually do that. (FEI Photo by Kit Houghton)The horse is Mistral Hojris, a Danish-bred ridden by Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer today in the Grand Prix Special individual competition at the Alltech FEI European Championships at Windsor Castle in England. Records fell there today as not one but two Dutch riders--Gold medalist Adelinde Cornilessen and silver medalist Edward Gal--broke records for high scores in that event. And Laura and Mistral won the bronze medal for Great Britain, as she finished ahead of Olympic gold medalist Anky Van Grunsven, also of The Netherlands.
The announcer reportedly said when Laura came down the centerline to halt, "You can breathe again." And he didn't just mean Laura, he meant the entire British audience. Chef d'equipe Will Connell even blogged that the farrier had tears in his eyes watching the ride.
If you are one of those who still thinks that dressage is boring, consider this statement from Ground Jury President Stephen Clarke who said "I've judged a few championships in my time but I've never seen sport like this. This was the greatest moment in dressage history - we've never seen riders performing at such a level before and now the sport is wide open - anyone can win. I want to applaud the courage of the riders who rode so brilliantly under pressure - this was an outstanding day," he added. "At times the hair was standing up on the back of my neck! At odd moments, we were saying to each other '10's are just not enough' to reward what we have seen."
Interviewed after the event, silver medalist Edward Gal commented, when asked if there is now a new Dutch school of dressage, "It’s about how we ride. It feels good and it looks good, but it’s not just about training. We just keep the horses happy. You need to adapt your riding to your horse and not the other way around."
The musical freestyle is the next event at the championships, and will be held on Saturday.
This photo in a way reminds me of the nice photo from California of champion Thoroughbred mare Zenyatta bursting from the starting gate on hind legs acting like power thrusters. It was on the blog a few weeks ago. I like photos that show athletic horses fully engaged, working hard; they are something magnificent to behold. Capturing it in a split second with a camera is very difficult.
If you enlarge the photo you will also see that the grooming regimen for Mistral Hojris didn't include close-shaving his muzzle, although it may have been tidied up a bit.
© 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.
Monday, August 24, 2009
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).
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).
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Born-Again Walking Horse Celebration Begins This Week Under New Inspection, Attitude
by Fran Jurga | 23 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Trainer Chad Williams trains The Lineman for the upcoming Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee. (Photo from The Tennessean newspaper)
Here we go. Every year about this time I wonder if should go to Tennessee. I have never been to the Walking Horse Celebration. In fact, I have never been to a walking horse show. As a result, I don't mouth off about soring and training techniques because other than a few horses I have seen while traveling in the South, I've still not seen these wonderful horses compete in an exclusive walking horse show.
Around here, walking horses are one of the most popular trail horses and far removed from the show culture in the south that gets the breed so much bad press...and yet maintains such a stalwart following. I imagine the atmosphere at a walking horse show is sort of like the lobster boat races in Maine or the oxen pulls in Vermont. If you're from there, you get it.
Except for the presence of inspectors. And the state police. Just a few years ago, the Celebration was stopped and public safety was an issue. That's how mad people were when USDA inspectors actually inspected the horses for soring evidence. The trainers said that the inspectors didn't use valid criteria and wanted their own inspectors back.
When USDA inspectors pulled up at a show, the trainers loaded up and pulled out, even when it was--as often was the case--a charity show to benefit a hospital or community organization's fundraising efforts.
In the past year, there has been massive restructuring and reorganization that might make this year's Celebration peaceful and profitable and a showcase for sound, safe horses. Let's hope.
The Tennessean newspaper published a lengthy article today that gives the background leading up to this year's new-rules show. It doesn't pull any punches or sugar-coat the issue.
Among the facts: abuse allegations by federal inspectors have sky-rocketed this year, even leading to the first lifetime bans. But pair that with this fact: 150,000 tickets have already been sold for this year's Celebration. How many people buy tickets to attend other breed horse shows, do you think? Or a dressage show? Even the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event attracts only about 20,000 people on its final day.
Walking horses remain the most publicized enigma of the American horse industry. The show horses and their culture are a lightning rod: Some shun them, some embrace them. Some say the trainers and owners are misunderstood, some say they are criminals.
And they've been saying that for more than 30 years now, since the Horse Protection Act was passed to prevent soring and abusive shoeing. And I'm still writing these articles. Still wondering how and why this continues to be a raw, open wound in horse showing's hide.
Read that article, but don't believe everything you hear. Like so many things these days, there's no easy solution to an old wound like this.
© 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.
Trainer Chad Williams trains The Lineman for the upcoming Walking Horse Celebration in Shelbyville, Tennessee. (Photo from The Tennessean newspaper) Here we go. Every year about this time I wonder if should go to Tennessee. I have never been to the Walking Horse Celebration. In fact, I have never been to a walking horse show. As a result, I don't mouth off about soring and training techniques because other than a few horses I have seen while traveling in the South, I've still not seen these wonderful horses compete in an exclusive walking horse show.
Around here, walking horses are one of the most popular trail horses and far removed from the show culture in the south that gets the breed so much bad press...and yet maintains such a stalwart following. I imagine the atmosphere at a walking horse show is sort of like the lobster boat races in Maine or the oxen pulls in Vermont. If you're from there, you get it.
Except for the presence of inspectors. And the state police. Just a few years ago, the Celebration was stopped and public safety was an issue. That's how mad people were when USDA inspectors actually inspected the horses for soring evidence. The trainers said that the inspectors didn't use valid criteria and wanted their own inspectors back.
When USDA inspectors pulled up at a show, the trainers loaded up and pulled out, even when it was--as often was the case--a charity show to benefit a hospital or community organization's fundraising efforts.
In the past year, there has been massive restructuring and reorganization that might make this year's Celebration peaceful and profitable and a showcase for sound, safe horses. Let's hope.
The Tennessean newspaper published a lengthy article today that gives the background leading up to this year's new-rules show. It doesn't pull any punches or sugar-coat the issue.
Among the facts: abuse allegations by federal inspectors have sky-rocketed this year, even leading to the first lifetime bans. But pair that with this fact: 150,000 tickets have already been sold for this year's Celebration. How many people buy tickets to attend other breed horse shows, do you think? Or a dressage show? Even the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event attracts only about 20,000 people on its final day.
Walking horses remain the most publicized enigma of the American horse industry. The show horses and their culture are a lightning rod: Some shun them, some embrace them. Some say the trainers and owners are misunderstood, some say they are criminals.
And they've been saying that for more than 30 years now, since the Horse Protection Act was passed to prevent soring and abusive shoeing. And I'm still writing these articles. Still wondering how and why this continues to be a raw, open wound in horse showing's hide.
Read that article, but don't believe everything you hear. Like so many things these days, there's no easy solution to an old wound like this.
© 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.
Friday, August 21, 2009
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.
"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.
Poem for a Summer's Night: The Two-Headed Calf
I'm not sure that I've ever put a poem on this blog before but this little verse has been on my mind these recent hot summer nights. It's one of my favorites, a gift by chance when listening to the radio one day. It sounded much longer when read aloud.
The poet is Laura Gilpin, who is no longer with us. She was a nurse and an advocate for humanizing hospital care for the terminally ill and she wrote a lot about animals, people, life and death in a way that seems very authentic to me.
So here you have one of my favorite poems, an ode to a summer's night and all its infinite possibilities and tragedies, depending on how you look at things:
The poet is Laura Gilpin, who is no longer with us. She was a nurse and an advocate for humanizing hospital care for the terminally ill and she wrote a lot about animals, people, life and death in a way that seems very authentic to me.
So here you have one of my favorite poems, an ode to a summer's night and all its infinite possibilities and tragedies, depending on how you look at things:
The Two-Headed Calf
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there
are twice as many stars as usual.
Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.
But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there
are twice as many stars as usual.
--Laura Gilpin
from her anthology The Hocus Pocus of the Universe
from her anthology The Hocus Pocus of the Universe
Thursday, August 13, 2009
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.
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).
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).
Monmouth Park Loosens Track Shoeing Rules to Allow 4mm Toe Grab
by Fran Jurga | 14 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Monmouth Park in New Jersey is the latest track in the Mid Atlantic region to take advantage of the Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee’s memorandum to allow toe grabs up to four millimeters in height on front shoes on dirt racing surfaces only. The Safety Committee's loosening of the 2mm height restriction was recommended to allow racetracks the option if their trainers and horseshoers felt that their track surfaces might call for a taller grab.
Monmouth's new rule will go into effect for all dirt races at the track – including graded stakes – on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
The previous rule allowed for toe grabs up to two millimeters, but the adjustment was made when it was reported that an unusually high number of horses were stumbling at the start of races, according to a press release issued today by Monmouth.
The rule applies to toe grabs on front shoes only, and in no cases is a height greater than four millimeters allowable. No traction devices of any kind are allowed on shoes worn in grass races.
Delaware Park made a similar change.
Click here to read the text of the Jockey Club's recent statement on toe grab regulation relaxation. The rule changes, if desired, must be done track by track and only allow the option of a higher grab on front shoes. State-wide rules may also be relaxed or may stay at 2 mm but that is a more involved process. It's not known how many trainers will take advantage of the option or what effect the change might have.
© 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.
Monmouth Park in New Jersey is the latest track in the Mid Atlantic region to take advantage of the Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee’s memorandum to allow toe grabs up to four millimeters in height on front shoes on dirt racing surfaces only. The Safety Committee's loosening of the 2mm height restriction was recommended to allow racetracks the option if their trainers and horseshoers felt that their track surfaces might call for a taller grab.
Monmouth's new rule will go into effect for all dirt races at the track – including graded stakes – on Wednesday, August 19, 2009.
The previous rule allowed for toe grabs up to two millimeters, but the adjustment was made when it was reported that an unusually high number of horses were stumbling at the start of races, according to a press release issued today by Monmouth.
The rule applies to toe grabs on front shoes only, and in no cases is a height greater than four millimeters allowable. No traction devices of any kind are allowed on shoes worn in grass races.
Delaware Park made a similar change.
Click here to read the text of the Jockey Club's recent statement on toe grab regulation relaxation. The rule changes, if desired, must be done track by track and only allow the option of a higher grab on front shoes. State-wide rules may also be relaxed or may stay at 2 mm but that is a more involved process. It's not known how many trainers will take advantage of the option or what effect the change might have.
© 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.
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.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Industry News: Arenus Acquires Sore No More Liniment and Equilite
by Fran Jurga | 10 August 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog
Last year Sore No More launched an herbal poultice
photo © Fran Jurga. 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.
Last year Sore No More launched an herbal poulticeOne of the sport and racehorse world's most popular products has a new parent company.
St. Louis-based Arenus announced today that it recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc., makers of Sore No More liniment and the Equilite family of supplements and botanical products.
In a press release, Arenus stated that it acquired Equilite’s three product lines: the Sore No-More® Liniment Product Line, Herbal Supplement line and Botanical Animal® Flower Essence line, totaling 39 individual products. Other Equilite products include bathing, fly control, general health, behavioral training, relaxation, liniment and legs, as well as natural pasture seed.
“Arenus’s philosophy is to provide unique health products that holistically address specific issues and Equilite™ products do just that,” said Celeste Mohatt, Arenus Marketing Manager. “The market trend is toward a more holistic, natural approach to horse care and Equilite fulfills this need.”
“Arenus brings to the table an unprecedented level of experience in animal health research and product development,” said Stacey Palmer Small, Founder and President of Equilite™. “The Arenus team is committed more than ever in bringing to market products that will continue to improve the lives of the equine and companion animals we all love and care for.”
The product Sore No-More® was originally designed to meet the needs of race horses that are faced with extremely stressful situations. Track veterinarians were looking for an alternative way to help support their traditional methods of treatment, so they asked Small to research herbs as a possible adjunctive route. She started with a two-year course in Chinese Medicine and continued her studies which lead to the creation of the first two products, Sore No-More® and the Garli+C™ Blend.
Sore No-More® was named Product of the Year by Horse Journal in 2000 and 2007.
Like Arenus, Equilite is a member of the National Animal Supplement Council, which enforces good animal health supplement manufacturing, labeling and marketing practice standards.
Other ARENUS® product lines include STEADFAST®, a joint health supplement and ASSURE®, a digestive aid family. For more information about Equilite products visit www.equilite.com or www.arenus.com.
ARENUS® is owned by Novus Nutrition Brands, LLC (a Novus International company) and is specifically dedicated to improving the health, performance, and longevity of all horses and dogs.
St. Louis-based Arenus announced today that it recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc., makers of Sore No More liniment and the Equilite family of supplements and botanical products.
In a press release, Arenus stated that it acquired Equilite’s three product lines: the Sore No-More® Liniment Product Line, Herbal Supplement line and Botanical Animal® Flower Essence line, totaling 39 individual products. Other Equilite products include bathing, fly control, general health, behavioral training, relaxation, liniment and legs, as well as natural pasture seed.
“Arenus’s philosophy is to provide unique health products that holistically address specific issues and Equilite™ products do just that,” said Celeste Mohatt, Arenus Marketing Manager. “The market trend is toward a more holistic, natural approach to horse care and Equilite fulfills this need.”
“Arenus brings to the table an unprecedented level of experience in animal health research and product development,” said Stacey Palmer Small, Founder and President of Equilite™. “The Arenus team is committed more than ever in bringing to market products that will continue to improve the lives of the equine and companion animals we all love and care for.”
The product Sore No-More® was originally designed to meet the needs of race horses that are faced with extremely stressful situations. Track veterinarians were looking for an alternative way to help support their traditional methods of treatment, so they asked Small to research herbs as a possible adjunctive route. She started with a two-year course in Chinese Medicine and continued her studies which lead to the creation of the first two products, Sore No-More® and the Garli+C™ Blend.
Sore No-More® was named Product of the Year by Horse Journal in 2000 and 2007.
Like Arenus, Equilite is a member of the National Animal Supplement Council, which enforces good animal health supplement manufacturing, labeling and marketing practice standards.
Other ARENUS® product lines include STEADFAST®, a joint health supplement and ASSURE®, a digestive aid family. For more information about Equilite products visit www.equilite.com or www.arenus.com.
ARENUS® is owned by Novus Nutrition Brands, LLC (a Novus International company) and is specifically dedicated to improving the health, performance, and longevity of all horses and dogs.
photo © Fran Jurga. 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)