Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Welfare and Safety Summit Committee Supports Enforcement of California Rule on Toe Grabs
A special committee on shoeing and hoof care that was formed coming out of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is calling for a ban of toe grabs with a height greater than 4 millimeters on the front horseshoes of Thoroughbred racehorses.
The committee is chaired by Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association President Bill Casner. Members of the committee include trainers Richard Mandella and Todd Pletcher; farriers Steve Norman and Mitch Taylor; veterinarians Sue Stover, Rob Gillette and Bob Hunt; mechanical engineer and track surface researcher Dr. Mick Peterson; California racing commissioner John Harris; and Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron.
The committee began meeting in January to follow through on the Welfare and Safety
Summit recommendation to ban certain horseshoes that research has shown to be
detrimental to the soundness and safety of racehorses. In recommending a ban of toe grabs greater than 4 millimeters, the committee is focused on the use of “regular” and “high” (or Quarter Horse) toe grabs, which have a 6.4- and 9.5-millimeter toe grab,respectively.
Research by Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California at Davis has demonstrated that high toe grabs on front shoes make a Thoroughbred 16 times more likely to suffer a catastrophic injury while racing.
The California Horse Racing Board passed Rule 1690.1 “Toe Grabs Prohibited” in February 2006 and will discuss enforcement at its meeting tomorrow. John Harris, vice chair of the California Horse Racing Board, commented, “We have solid research on this issue and now it’s time to do something about it. I think that will happen this week at our February 22 CHRB meeting. That should pay some good dividends for horse welfare. I urge the rest of the country to follow our lead.”
The California rule will be proposed for adoption nationwide at the Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules Committee meeting in April. The rule states, “Toe grabs with a height greater than 4 millimeters worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing are prohibited.”
The committee on shoeing and hoof care is also calling for tracks to ban the use of all toe grabs on front horseshoes on synthetic track surfaces such as Polytrack, Cushion Track and Tapeta.
The use of toe grabs, turndowns, caulks and toe grabs on hind horseshoes is also under consideration by the committee pending the review of existing research. A request for proposals for further research may be forthcoming.
Committee members are also working on educational materials on shoeing and hoof care,
including the use of high-speed cameras and track surface measuring devices developed by Dr. Peterson. Graphic displays of the effects of toe grabs on the front legs of racehorses are also in development. The committee’s future agenda includes the potential to develop and offer a model rule requiring certification for farriers licensed to shoe racehorses and extending the toe grab restrictions to American Quarter Horse racing.
The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit was coordinated and underwritten by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, and was hosted by the Keeneland Association on October 16-17, 2006. The work of the special committee on shoeing and hoof care is being assisted by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation
President Ed Bowen, The Jockey Club Executive Director and Executive Vice President Dan Fick and University of Kentucky Equine Studies doctoral candidate Kimberly Brown.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Standredbred Loses a Shoe, Stays in Gait, and Sets a New Track Record
Standardbred trotting colt Mythical Lindy, unbeaten in three starts this season, set the track record for 3-year-old trotters with his 1:57.3 triumph from post seven on the half-mile oval at New York's Monticello Park in today’s eliminations for the June 25th Nevele Pride stakes event.
What’s interesting about this colt and his record-breaking time is that he did it after losing his right front shoe at the quarter pole. Not only did he not break gait, which is what usually happens when a horse loses a shoe, but he went on to win the race and break the record.
“He was pretty comfortable the whole way,” driver David Miller said about Mythical Lindy. “He threw a shoe after the first quarter [mile] and I was little worried when it first came off. That was pretty amazing he kept trotting; he didn’t change his gait at all. That really surprised me.”
After next week’s race, Mythical Lindy will continue his march toward August’s $1.5 million Hambletonian, the world’s richest harness race, at The Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Thanks to our friend Anna Svensson of the US Trotting Association for sharing this story. Anna’s husband is Swedish Standardbred specialist farrier Conny Svensson. They live in New Jersey. No, I don’t know if Conny shod Mythical Lindy! Conny is famous for taking shoes off before a horse goes out on the track. He once pulled all four shoes off the famous trotting mare Moni Maker just before a race in France and she set a record of 1:53:2, the fastest mile ever trotted in Europe.
What’s interesting about this colt and his record-breaking time is that he did it after losing his right front shoe at the quarter pole. Not only did he not break gait, which is what usually happens when a horse loses a shoe, but he went on to win the race and break the record.
“He was pretty comfortable the whole way,” driver David Miller said about Mythical Lindy. “He threw a shoe after the first quarter [mile] and I was little worried when it first came off. That was pretty amazing he kept trotting; he didn’t change his gait at all. That really surprised me.”
After next week’s race, Mythical Lindy will continue his march toward August’s $1.5 million Hambletonian, the world’s richest harness race, at The Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Thanks to our friend Anna Svensson of the US Trotting Association for sharing this story. Anna’s husband is Swedish Standardbred specialist farrier Conny Svensson. They live in New Jersey. No, I don’t know if Conny shod Mythical Lindy! Conny is famous for taking shoes off before a horse goes out on the track. He once pulled all four shoes off the famous trotting mare Moni Maker just before a race in France and she set a record of 1:53:2, the fastest mile ever trotted in Europe.
Virginia Horseshoers Association Honors Veteran Farrier Eddie Watson
Eddie Watson has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer and is undergoing treatment. The Virginia Horsehoers Association (VHA) will hold a unique "Appreciation Clinic" for him on September 22, 2007 at Hockaday Hill Farm in Spotsylvania, VA.
The VHA is honored to recognize Eddie for his unwavering dedication to the farrier industry and anticipates this clinic will allow many of his friends, family and peers to come out and spend the day with him. Shayne Carter, CJF, Roy Bloom, CJF, Dave Farley, CF and Dan Burke, CF ( Farrier Product Distribution, Inc.), will be the clinicians for this event with others possible.
Please contact Butch or Connie Hockaday at 540-582-5486 or email bulldogtools@wildblue.net if you plan to attend.
A formal event flyer/announcement is being prepared.
The VHA is honored to recognize Eddie for his unwavering dedication to the farrier industry and anticipates this clinic will allow many of his friends, family and peers to come out and spend the day with him. Shayne Carter, CJF, Roy Bloom, CJF, Dave Farley, CF and Dan Burke, CF ( Farrier Product Distribution, Inc.), will be the clinicians for this event with others possible.
Please contact Butch or Connie Hockaday at 540-582-5486 or email bulldogtools@wildblue.net if you plan to attend.
A formal event flyer/announcement is being prepared.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Australian Horse Shoe Nails Now Owned by Mustad
FOREST LAKE, Minn. – June 15, 2007 – The Australian Horseshoe Nail Company, from Australia, has joined the Mustad Group, Switzerland, in a deal that closed June 15, 2007.Beginning July 1, 2007, Australian Horseshoe Nails will be distributed by Mustad’s Australian company, O’Dwyer Horseshoe Sales Australia Pty. Ltd. The Australian Horseshoe Nail will be available to all existing Australian distributors of the Australian Horse Shoe Nail Company.
The Australian Nail product line will be manufactured in one of the Mustad horseshoe nails factories.
(received via press release this morning)
Happy Birthday to the Man Who Loves to Shoe Horses
With a big grin, I send the very happiest birthday wish in the world to beloved farrier Bill Miller of Rochester, Washington.
Bill turns 80 today.
He has been helping me with articles, historical references and friendship since I first entered the hoof publishing world back in 1981.
Congratulations, Bill!
And thanks to Dave Duckett for letting me know that today is Bill's big day!
Laminitis Research Moves to the Manure Pile
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) laminitis researcher Nicola Menzies-Gow at the Royal Veterinary College is looking for manure from horses being treated with the Australian laminitis-preventative called Founderguard.
The product, which is not approved by the FDA for use in horses in the USA, has been shown to be effective in the prevention of pasture-associated laminitis — but can be difficult to obtain, even in the UK where it is available.
Our friends at the British horse magazine Horse and Hound have published an appeal for horse owners using the product to submit manure samples. H&H writes:
Menzies-Gow is looking into the consequences of long-term use of Founderguard, which contains the antibiotic drug virginiamycin. She is investigating whether the drug causes increased antibiotic resistance in equine gut bacteria.
Nicola said: "If we can demonstrate that any resistance that does occur is only temporary and not transferred to other bacteria, this will provide evidence that the product should be used for the prevention of laminitis, and possibly increase its availability."
If your horse is being treated with Founderguard and you would like to help with the research, email Nicola at nmenziesgow@rvc.ac.uk
The original research testing the efficacy of the medication was done at the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, under the direction of Hoofcare and Lameness consulting editor Chris Pollitt.
Critics of the drug in the US pointed to the possibility, which may or may not be proved by Menzies-Gow, that the drug lowers a horse's response to bacterial invasion.
The product, which is not approved by the FDA for use in horses in the USA, has been shown to be effective in the prevention of pasture-associated laminitis — but can be difficult to obtain, even in the UK where it is available.
Our friends at the British horse magazine Horse and Hound have published an appeal for horse owners using the product to submit manure samples. H&H writes:
Menzies-Gow is looking into the consequences of long-term use of Founderguard, which contains the antibiotic drug virginiamycin. She is investigating whether the drug causes increased antibiotic resistance in equine gut bacteria.
Nicola said: "If we can demonstrate that any resistance that does occur is only temporary and not transferred to other bacteria, this will provide evidence that the product should be used for the prevention of laminitis, and possibly increase its availability."
If your horse is being treated with Founderguard and you would like to help with the research, email Nicola at nmenziesgow@rvc.ac.uk
The original research testing the efficacy of the medication was done at the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, under the direction of Hoofcare and Lameness consulting editor Chris Pollitt.
Critics of the drug in the US pointed to the possibility, which may or may not be proved by Menzies-Gow, that the drug lowers a horse's response to bacterial invasion.
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