Historic Firsts: Secretariat's First Shoes

On August 3, 1971 a yearling colt in Virginia named Secretariat had aluminum race plates nailed on his front feet for the first time and was transferred down the road to The Meadow's training center for breaking.

Another anniversary is that of Secretariat's defeat at Saratoga on this day in 1973. A few days earlier, he had beaten the track record for a mile, and in the mud, during a morning workout in front of a grandstand full of fans. As many as 5,000 people would show up just to watch him train in the early morning.

But in the Whitney, the 1-10 favorite Secretariat couldn't catch the 10-1 older gelding, Onion.

That loss, coupled with Man 'o War's historic loss at Saratoga years earlier, in which he had been defeated by the aptly-named Upset, earned the racetrack the nickname "Graveyard of Champions".

Above: Secretariat as a weanling as seen on his web site, secretariat.com .

American Farrier's Association Changes Publishers (again) for Magazine

A letter in today's mail informs me that the American Farrier's Association (AFA) has terminated its contract with Sebastian Publishing for publishing the Professional Farrier, the AFA's member magazine.

The wording of the letter is a little vague, but it sounds like Danvers Child and April Raine, partners in iHorseshoe Inc., will "assume production of the magazine in collaboration with the AFA". The letter does not specify whether this is a temporary arrangement or if the team is working as employees of the AFA.

Sebastian Publishing, headed by Rob Edwards, formerly published The Anvil. Sebastian had been publishing Professional Farrier since October 2006. iHorseshoe will be the magazine's fourth publisher since 2003, but Danvers has had editorial involvement at different times with different publishers over that period.

As always, Hoofcare and Lameness wishes the AFA the best.

Hoofcare@Saratoga 2007 Event Schedule

Everybody loves Saratoga Springs, New York in August, and in the worldwide horse business in August, a lot of people pass through town. And others are looking for a reason to go! Thoroughbred racing, Standardbred racing, polo, and yearling sales are just the tip of the equine iceberg.

For the third year, Hoofcare & Lameness will be the catalyst to get people together on Tuesday nights with some educational and social activities. We've worked out a schedule that has something for everyone and invite you to join us on Lake Avenue in downtown Saratoga on Tuesdays. If you need a hotel room, we have a special "Hoofcare" rate at the Fairfield Inn in Malta, NY (one exit south); call (518) 899-6900.

(Week One is July 31 with Dr Don Walsh of the Animal Health Foundation speaking on new laminitis developments; it has its own post if you just scroll down the blog.)

WEEK 2: Tuesday August 7 at 7 p.m.: Meet Stacey Small, of Equilite and Sore No More products, to talk about leg care. Stacey has worked at the track and has a great deal of experience in the show ring. She is thinking way ahead of us about barn routines, rehab, and health-conscious ways to manage horses.

Our headliners that night will be two farriers from Kentucky, Mitch Taylor and Steve Norman, who will take a break from the yearling sales to talk about their work with the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation's Horse Welfare and Safety committee on hoofcare. In particular, they will talk about the committee's study of toe grabs on the front feet of racehorses. They'll share examples of some innovations for racehorse hoofcare and answer questions. Mitch has a terrific PowerPoint presentation with slo-mo video and great images.

Note: SPECIAL SESSION August 7 at 5 pm:

Ad hoc info session for owners, trainers, and farriers before the Yearling Sales related to the bans some states have initiated against front toe grabs. Members of the committee will be at the Parting Glass to answer questions, share research, and listen.

WEEK 3 Tuesday August 14 at 7 p.m.:

Meet some Hoofcare heroes! Anatomy expert Allie Hayes of HorseScience creates leg and hoof models for vets and farriers to study normal and abnormal anatomy and the structural integrity of the foot. Dr. Frank Gravlee, inventor of Farriers Formula, will be on hand to answer questions about nutrition and laminitis, and sign copies of his new book, "Laminitis and Founder: Prevention and Treatment", co-authored with Dr. Doug Butler.

WEEK 4 Tuesday August 21 at 7 p.m:

Bring your hoofish questions and concerns to two experts from different ends of the farrier world. Michael Wildenstein is Adjunct Associate Professor of Farrier Medicine and Surgery at Cornell University. He'll talk about foot infections and the new strange sole and wall fungus that is affecting hooves in addition to the usual thrush, canker, and white line disease. Mike is seeing it all at Cornell and is a great teacher.

Our second speaker is someone who has seen it all as well, In fact, he's probably seen it all twice. Veteran farrier Bob Skradzio from Pennsylvania is one of America's most admired farriers. He gives the perspective of common-sense solutions to problems, gleaned from more than 50 years of shoeing, and is always a big hit for his friendly, generous nature. This man has legend status, and it is well-earned.

Do you have some interesting old shoes or stable tools? Bring them on the 21st, let's keep history alive!

Note: SPECIAL SESSION August 21 afternoon demo program in the shoeing shop at nearby Skidmore College Equestrian Center with Mike and Bob, hosted by Jim Santore.

HEARTFELT THANK YOUs: These events could not take place without the support of groups like the Animal Health Foundation and the Jockey Club Grayson Foundation and help from the Parting and the Saratoga Special newspaper. Life Data Labs, who helped the past two years as well, will sponsor weeks 3 and 4. Special personal thanks to key advisers Frieda Garrison and Jim Santore and Hoofcare's growing community of friends and subscribers in Saratoga! If you enjoy these events, credit goes to those organizations and individuals.

Please join us if you possibly can. There is no charge to attend these events and I would love to see you. Bring a friend.

Laminitis Information Takes Center Stage at HOOFCARE@SARATOGA Kickoff Event July 31

WHAT IT IS: "Hoofcare@Saratoga" educational evening on laminitis treatment, prevention, and research; this is the first of four consecutive Tuesday events for 2007

WHERE IT IS: The Dart Room at the Parting, 40 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York. We will be in the private room in the back. There is a big parking lot.

WHEN IT IS: Tuesday evening, July 31, 2007 7-9 p.m.

WHO IS SPEAKING: Don Walsh DVM of Homestead Equine Hospital in Pacific, Missouri, and director of the Animal Health Foundation (AHF), a funding organization dedicated to laminitis research and education.

WHO IS INVITED: Vets, farriers, horse owners, trainers, grooms, vet technicians--Anyone interested in helping horses that are affected or anyone interested in helping prevent this disease.

WHAT IT COSTS: There is no charge to attend; donations to the AHF would surely be welcome and go directly to research.

WHAT TO EXPECT: This is an informal event. The Parting Glass's restaurant will be open if you are hungry or thirsty.

HOSTED BY: Fran Jurga, editor/publisher of Hoofcare and Lameness, The Journal of Equine Foot Science

SPECIAL NOTE: We hope to have information for local owners about the recent Potomac Horse Fever-like symptoms in the area and especially the laminitis that sometimes comes with it. With luck, Michael Wildenstein, the farrier at Cornell vet school, will make the trip and give some insight into the many cases of PHF-aftermath laminitis that are being treated there and how you can handle a medical emergency situation with your farrier's and vet's help.

Note to Our Friends in the Saratoga Region: Many of you attended Dr. Walsh's laminitis info session last year in Saratoga, and he is looking forward to seeing you again...and asks that you please bring your friends! A lot has happened in the past year, particularly in the area of insulin resistance, obesity, and grass laminitis, as well as the use of cold therapy to prevent laminitis. Dr. Walsh has some new studies and some broader views on predictive factors in high-risk horses. He also has news from research funded by his organization by Dr Pollitt in Australia. This is sure to be a fascinating presentation and we thank Dr. Walsh for making the trip.

Note: Neither Dr Walsh nor Hoofcare & Lameness has any ties to commercial products. This is strictly an educational and social evening, no commercials!

Some Internet links for you:

Animal Health Foundation's Laminitis Web Site
http://www.ahf-laminitis.org

Dr. Pollitt's laminitis research web site in Australia:
http://www.laminitisresearch.org

Updates (cancellation, natural disaster, or changes) will be posted here.

HEARTFELT THANK YOUS: These events could not take place without the support of groups like the Animal Health Foundation and the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and help from the Saratoga Special newspaper. Life Data Labs, who helped the past two years as well, will sponsor weeks 3 and 4. Special personal thanks to key advisers Frieda Garrison and Jim Santore and Hoofcare's growing list of friends and subscribers in Saratoga! If you enjoy these events, credit goes to those organizations and individuals.

See you on Tuesday...and the next Tuesday...and the next...and the next for those readers lucky enough to find themselves passing through Saratoga this summer!

Photo courtesy of Dr. Chris Pollitt and the Australian Equine Laminitis Research Unit, which is funded in part by the Animal Health Foundation.

Foundered Horses Sought for Univresity Study

Researchers at the University of Tennessee are asking horse owners to donate a horse to research if it is overweight or has a cresty neck and suffers from founder (laminitis). This group is studying new ways of managing insulin resistance and preventing laminitis in horses, including assessment of SmartControl IR, a dietary supplement manufactured by SmartPak, LLC.

Donation of your horse will result in a permanent transfer of ownership of the animal. Interested owners should note that the value of the donated horse can be listed as a charitable contribution for tax purposes up to $5,000.

Procedures used in the research studies will be minimally invasive and all work will be approved and monitored by the University of Tennessee Institutional Care and Use Committee.

Studies will be conducted by Dr. Nicholas Frank, a veterinarian and associate professor at the University of Tennessee. Please contact Dr. Frank via e-mail at nfrank@utk.edu or Sarah Elliott (research technician) at (865) 974-5701 if you are interesting in donating your horse.

However, please take note of the following conditions before contacting us:

1. Horses must meet the following requirements:
a. Must be a gelding (preferred) or mare. Stallions cannot be accepted.
b. Must be between 3 and 25 years of age
c. Must be overweight and/or have a thick cresty neck or fat pads
d. Horses with a history of laminitis (founder) are preferred
e. Horses with high blood insulin levels are preferred

2. Morgan horses, Paso Finos, and Arabians are preferred. Ponies, draft horses, miniature horses, mules, and donkeys cannot be accepted.

3. Horses must be donated to the University of Tennessee with complete release of ownership.

4. Horses cannot be purchased, but shipping expenses will be paid if necessary.

5. Donated horses will be accepted until December 31st, 2007

Further information can be found at www.vet.utk.edu/cemr/donations.

Contact: Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; 865-755-8238, nfrank@utk.edu

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.