Best Shod Suffolk Horse in UK Has an All-Star Vet and Farrier Pedigree

NEWS FROM ENGLAND: The Suffolk "Punch" breed is unique in having competitive classes at shows for the horse with the best feet, with cups being presented to the winners of these classes. These classes were introduced at the beginning of the last century when the breed had been criticized for having poor feet which were not able to withstand work on city streets and these competitions rapidly improved foot quality so that today Suffolks have very good feet.

At this year’s Suffolk Show the Supreme Champion in the "Best Feet" classes and the winner of the G Philip Woodward Perpetual Memorial Trophy was the five-year-old gelding Novello, the property of veterinary surgeon Phillip Ryder-Davies, Chairman of the Examination Board of the Worshipful Company of Farriers and shown by veterinary surgeon Ben Ryder-Davies. The judge was farrier Dennis Hayter.

The horse also won the best shod Suffolk Horse competition, judged by Yorkshire heavy horse farrier Danny Mallender AWCF.

The gelding was shod by Roger Clark FWCF (Hons), a member of the Company’s Examination Executive Group, and received a special plaque presented by the company to celebrate its 650th anniversary.

(That is not a typo: the Company has been around for 650 years.)

Translation: the horse was judged to have the best feet and best shoeing of all horses in the show in the eyes of two different judges in two different competitions, with slightly different criteria (best feet vs best shod).

I don't think that Roger has ever heard of Equilox. You are looking at the horse's real feet.

If the names of Ryder-Davies and Clark sound familiar to the Hoofcare and Lameness community, it is because they journeyed to America to speak at our conference on heavy horse hoofcare held at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. They were (and obviously still are) superb experts on the foot of the heavy horse. I would recommend them most highly to anyone interested in continuing education on the foot of the heavy horse.

Have things changed? This is the Suffolk breed's photo image of the ideal feet, circa 1930, which accompanies an article by Roger Clark soon to be published in Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. It looks like Roger is sticking to tradition.

The Suffolk Punch is officially a "rare" breed and considered "category 1" on the endangered list; there are only 300 Suffolks in all of Britain. In 2005 the Suffolk Horse Society registered 37 pure bred Suffolk foals. Luckily, the breed is considered a regional treasure of the East Anglian county of Suffolk, northeast of London and some breeders and farmers tirelessly promote the breed and keep foals coming each year. Below is the scene at a Suffolk show; I think if you own a Suffolk in England, you are obliged to show!

If you're in the mood to hunt down a wonderful book that is out of print, look for "Pulling Punches" by Paul Heiney. It is the story of a year on Roger Clark's farm and in his forge; or, order the new video/dvd about him called "A Man for All Seasons"; get an idea of what being a horseman is all about.
Thanks to the Worshipful Company of Farriers' terrific new web site and Suffolk Horse Society's wonderfully educational site for their help with this post.

HORSE RACING ART AUCTION CATALOG ONLINE

Harness Tracks of America’s 30th anniversary art catalog, featuring works of horse racing and sporting art from the estate of the sport’s legendary Stanley Dancer, is now online. It can be viewed at http://www.elegantequineart.com.

The sale will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on Saturday morning, October 6 (Kentucky Futurity Day) in the Tattersalls Sales Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

On sale will be 158 works by American, Canadian, European and Asian artists. The online catalog permits enlargement of each work simply by clicking on the art's picture.

Most of the art is Standardbred or Thoroughbred racing, but there are some lovely pieces by George Ford Morris, the famous illustrator, including a portrait by him of a draft stallion, which I had never seen before.

There are also some books, Saturday Evening Post magazine covers, gold-plated shoes from champion Donerail, and a vintage Capewell calendar.

Farrier Competition Shoes: Torturous Tech Specs for Stoneleigh International

I've just had a peek at the specimen shoes for the International Team Competition at Stoneleigh in England, to be held August 23-26. The sheer number of them and the technical specs make a chilling homework list for invited farrier teams.

What you are looking at (above) is a setdown bar shoe, which would be difficult enough but this one is also graduated from toe to heel. So the branches have to match. But with the bar set down, even the 3-d is 3-d.

Stoneleigh is probably the world's most coveted farrier competition. It is contested with chilling determination and fortitude by invited nations.

Have a look for yourself, the shoes are posted on the NAFBAE website.

I couldn't even draw these shoes to spec, let alone attempt to forge one. They are an intimidating lineup of asymmetric and 3-D conundrums.

The shoe below is a (very) square toe egg bar with interesting placement of the clips.

One of the shoes listed is a lateral resistance shoe. Can someone please click on the comments button and tell me what a lateral resistance shoe does? It's an intriguing name; there's also a lateral extension; I know what that is...no doubt one of these years there will be a combo resistance/extension shoe...

Amy Tryon Found Guilty of Abuse in Le Samurai Case But...

Note: the transcript below is from the Federation Equestrian Internatioanl (FEI), the ruling body of worldwide Olympic-discipline horse sports. The case invovled a US rider at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event whose horse broke down at the finish of the cross-country course and was subsequently euthanized. At question was whether or not the rider abused the horse by continuing on course after the injury happened. This has been a hotly debated issue in the horse world.

The FEI Tribunal has taken its decision in the case of alleged horse abuse committed by US rider Amy Tryon on her horse Le Samurai while participating in the cross-country phase of the 2007 Rolex Lexington Kentucky 4-Star Event on 28 April 2007.

The case involved the riding of an apparently lame horse in the final moments of the course, and the state of the horse when the last fence was jumped. A hearing was held in this matter on 25 June 2007, at which the parties presented a substantial volume of evidence including testimony from a number of very experienced members of the international eventing community.

The dilemma which the Tribunal had to resolve was a very difficult one. The main issues to be decided were (a) whether the competitor committed an “abuse” as this term is defined under the applicable rules (see note to the editor) and, if an abuse was committed, (b) whether it was an intentional act or an unfortunate omission to take action and stop the horse, as signals of discomfort were not correctly perceived by the competitor.

The Tribunal came to the conclusion that the competitor's behaviour at the end of the cross-country phase of the event objectively constitutes abuse according to the requirements of the applicable FEI regulation. The competitor acted, by continuing to ride after the horse was objectively lame and injured. Conversely the competitor omitted to act, by failing to pull up the horse when she could have. This caused or was likely to cause pain or discomfort to the horse.

The Tribunal expresses its opinion that “abuse of horses constitutes an offence that violates the most fundamental rules of the equestrian sport and is, as such, highly reprehensible from a moral point of view”. The Tribunal determined that, had “the competitor intended to ride a lame or injured horse, a suspension for life would not have been an inappropriate or a too severe penalty”.

The Tribunal’s decision indicates, however, that it determined in this case that there was a “significant disconnect between what Amy Tryon felt and what was actually occurring.” While Amy Tryon was negligent in not stopping the horse, the Tribunal determined that she did not understand that the horse had been injured until just as she pulled him up. The decision states that “[t]he Tribunal believes that in the state the competitor was in – tired, focused on completing the course and without the benefit of video and ability to observe matters or analyze them logically - she did not realize that the injury had occurred, and thus never intended to continue on course with a lame or injured horse. The Tribunal believes that the competitor clearly realized that the Horse took quite a number of uneven strides, but could not determine their cause or likely severity. The Tribunal believes that the competitor should have nevertheless stopped earlier to understand the severity of the lameness.”
The determination that there was no premeditation and no actual awareness by the competitor that she was riding a lame or injured horse is taken into account in imposing sanctions on the competitor.

After careful examination of the parties’ submissions and evidence, the Tribunal confirms the disqualification of horse and the competitor from the above-mentioned event and imposes the following sanctions on the competitor:
- suspension from competition for a period of two months (to commence immediately and without further notice at the end of the 30-day appeal deadline, or sooner if the right of appeal is waived);
- a fine of (Swiss francs) CHF 1,000;
- a cost contribution of CHF 1,500 towards the legal costs of the judicial procedure.

The Tribunal decision states that Mr. David O’Connor, President of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), Member of the FEI Eventing Committee and Chairman of the FEI Eventing Safety Committee, phrased the dilemma and the conclusion well in remarking: “Premeditated abuse is an action that should, and needs to be dealt with in the most severe actions that we as a sport can take by our judiciary side. Similar cases to this [the present case] are much harder to judge and I feel should be dealt with on a whole different level. Should this be taken seriously – yes; career changing – no.”

The full text of the decision (30 pages) is available on the FEI website under LEGAL/DECISIONS.

Indiana Bans Toe Grabs on Front Shoes of Racing Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses

On July 18, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission passed a regulation banning toe grabs of a height greater than four millimeters on the front hooves of all (racing) Thoroughbreds and Quarter horses.

The state's new toe grab regulations are consistent with the model rules adopted by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) at its convention in Jackson Hole in April 2007. California was the first state to initiate a front grab ban and was soon followed by New Mexico.

Hoofcare and Lameness Journal will facilitate a discussion on the toe grab recommendations during the Select Yearling Sale at Saratoga on Tuesday, August 7th. Featured speaker will be Kentucky farrier educator Mitch Taylor, who will present research and findings compiled by the committee.

With Mitch will be Kentucky farrier Steve Norman, who also served on the committee. The public is invited to review the findings and discuss toe grabs and racing surfaces (and anything else) with Mitch and Steve.

All Hoofcare & Lameness events at Saratoga this year will take place in the dart room at the Parting Glass on Lake Avenue.

Mitch will make a formal presentation on this subject at the Fourth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot on November 2-4 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Visit http://www.laminitisconference.com to learn more.

New Bolton Center Laminitis Initiative Announces First Research Appointment

Dr. Hannah Galantino-Homer has been appointed the senior research investigator of the newly created laminitis research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Galantino-Homer will serve as a leading investigator in Penn Vet’s laminitis research efforts. The appointment was effective July 1.

“With this appointment of one of our best and brightest, Penn Vet reinforces its commitment to equine disease research,” said Dr. Joan C. Hendricks, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine. “Dr. Galantino-Homer’s appointment is our first step in focusing and investing more time and funds in answering the fundamental questions of what causes laminitis and how it can be treated. Her expertise and vision will help us develop preventative and therapeutic management strategies for this devastating condition.”

Prior to her new appointment, Dr. Galantino-Homer was a lecturer and researcher in the Center for Animal Transgenesis and Germ Cell Research, located at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.

Dr. Galantino-Homer received her VMD from the School of Veterinary Medicine and her Ph.D. from the Biomedical Graduate Studies at Penn. Her undergraduate degree in biology and English literature is from Swarthmore College. Dr. Galantino-Homer, who attended the George School in Bucks County, is also a Diplomate of American College of Theriogenologists.

The new initiative will enhance work currently being done at Penn Vet in the area of equine disease research, which is funded in part by donors to the Laminitis Research Fund. Laminitis, a debilitating and painful condition of the hoof, is a silent killer that affects horses around the globe. Both the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) list laminitis as the priority area for equine research and funding.

This post is from the University of Pennsylvania.