Carbon-Fibre Hoof Supports Put Event Horse Back on Course

Vetcell’s Carbon Fibre Hoof Support Patches (HSP), have helped a flat-footed event horse in Great Britain, the company tell us. The HSP is a simple and affordable way to support and treat collapsed heels in competitive horses.

The patch was developed and patented by Peter Day DipWCF, farrier at the Royal Veterinary College in England and the RVC’s locomotor research group, two years ago.


According to Vetcell, Millie Tonks, competitor and British Eventing accredited trainer, was concerned when her seven-year-old thoroughbred x warmblood event mare became short-striding and uncomfortable when the ground became firmer during the early part of last year’s eventing season. The mare had previously suffered with collapsed heels and an intermittent lameness but radiographs had not revealed any specific problems.

Millie recalls: ”The mare was going really well at the beginning of the 2007 season and was being consistently placed. But when the ground started to get a little firm she became less extravagant with her jumping and was clearly not comfortable although she wasn’t actually lame.”

Millie’s vet, Susannah Reynoldson at Isle Valley Equine Clinic in Somerset continues: “The horse has typical flat Thoroughbred feet and had very little horn growth. She was tender in both feet and not truly comfortable in her stride. I had recently read about the HSP and thought it was worth a try. The results have been impressive.”

The HSP is a carbon fibre/resin composite sheet which is applied by the farrier to the hoof wall, using epoxy-type adhesive. Tests show that it increases the bending strength of the hoof wall by up to 40 percent, allowing the tubules within the heel to retain their strength, rather than collapsing, as the hoof grows, according to Vetcell. The goal is to prevent over-deformation of the compromised foot and thereby helps to maintain soundness.

Collapsed or under-run heels are one of the most important and common foot abnormalities faced by owners and trainers. The prevalence is so high in Thoroughbreds (reportedly affecting the majority of the breed in Britain) that it can lull individuals into thinking that the condition is a normal hoof variation rather than a serious pathological deviation.

The collapse of the heel is believed to contribute to many foot-related problems such as navicular syndrome, chronic heel pain (bruising), coffin joint synovitis, quarter cracks, heel cracks, and gait interference problems.

Despite its prevalence the condition often goes unaddressed until the horse actually becomes lame.

For further information please contact VetCell by email: info@vetcell.com.

Note: No, I don't know why the horse is nailed in the toe and yes, I agree, that this foot could use carbon-fibre support for its entire circumference. Barefoot advocates will say that this horse could be helped with a layup and rehab hoofcare, and that is true, but the owner was obviously determined to compete the horse. 

Question: What do you think is the effect of selective reinforcement of specific points on the circumference of a weakened foot? I want to see these patches on some horses and see what other applications people come up with for this interesting material.

Laminitis Product Receives Award from Queen of England

Not too long ago, people would call here and ask, “Is there anything I can safely feed my foundered horse?”

Now they call and ask, “Which one should I feed?”

The feed industry responded to the needs of foundered horses in a big way in the past few years, and things in the barn have changed, that’s for sure.

One of the things that has changed is the regimen for soaking beet pulp, a high-fiber replacement for cereal grains. You'd put it in a tub in the morning, and come home at night to a stringy seaweedy substance that horses can somehow chew (if they would eat it all ).

A British company, l’Anson Brothers of Yorkshire, figured out a way to bag and sell pre-soaked pulp, and “Speedi-Beet” is now sold around the world. Horse owners think it’s a great idea (and time/mess saver).

So does HRH, The Queen, who has just given l’Anson Brothers the 2008 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.

The patented process used to produce Speedi-Beet was developed by I’Anson Brothers and turns sugar beet into a convenient quick-soak flake, which can absorb up to five times its weight of water in under 10 minutes

Speedi-Beet is the only sugar beet feed to be awarded the seal of approval by the Laminitis Trust, thanks to its low starch and high fibre content.

A Toast! And Tears....Everyone's Dream; Everyone's Nightmare: Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby on Heel-less Hooves, Gallant Eight Belles Right Behind...

Big Brown's all alone at the end of the Kentucky Derby. Notice his PMMA-adhesive adorned hooves. On the right front you can clearly see the repair to his wall separation. What you see on the outside of his left front is a reinforcing area of adhesive in the heel area. Both heel wall separations were on the inside.

Big Brown defied the odds today, when he broke from the 2oth post position and won the Kentucky Derby by several lengths. Favorites aren't supposed to win the Derby and it's been almost 100 years since anyone won from the outside post.

But most of all, horses aren't supposed to race in--let alone win--a Grade I race and the most famous race in the world, at that, with lumps of epoxy both filling cavities where his inside heels used to be and holding on shoes with rubber gaskets between the shoe and hoof wall.

Did he win in spite of his foot injuries or because of his designer shoes? We'll never know. Certainly he won because he was the dominant horse. The slightly other-worldly acceleration he showed as they rounded the turn was like a Hollywood special effect.

But charging gamely after him was the gallant filly Eight Belles, who galloped out, then collapsed on the track. Veterinarian Larry Bramlage reported on the telecast that she broke both front ankles and could not stand to be splinted and loaded into an ambulance. She was euthanized on the track. My guess is that she was pretty close to being in front of the main grandstand full of the second largest attendance in Kentucky Derby history.

What a tragic footnote to Big Brown's compelling and dominating performance. Bramlage said it was the first time he had heard of such an injury after the finish of a race.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jane Smiley offers some insights into Eight Belles' tragic demise in today's New York Times.

Memories of the 2008 Kentucky Derby will be a split screen. NBC's telecast minimized the breakdown of second-place finisher Eight Belles. The filly broke both front legs after crossing the finish line. She dumped her jockey and kept running until she collapsed, according to reports. NBC did not show her collapse but did offer veterinarian Larry Bramlage a comment/report opportunity. He seems to be on hand for the big breakdowns. (New York Times blog photo)

Derby Feet: Is Gayego Spanish for "Big Frog"?

When they were passing out frogs in the Kentucky Derby line, Gayego was first in line. Compare his frog to Visionaire's and Colonel John's and Big Brown's in the posts that follow this one.

Gayego, who won the Arkansas Derby, is available with pretty good odds, or at least they were good yesterday. Notice that his shoe has a toe clip. It's another Kerckhaert shoe, imported from Holland.

Gayego shipped east from California and is shod by Steve Norman. The colt is trained by Brazilian Paolo Lobo and his owners are Cuban-Americans. Talk about living the American dream!

Gayego had a quarter crack in one hind foot when his owners bought him for only $32,000 at the 2006 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat, the owners said that the horse went through the sale with a patch on the hoof and "there was electrical tape over it,” said Juelle, an accountant from Rolling Hills, California. “People started looking to the other side. They didn’t want to see the damaged horse. But the crack on the [hoof ] wasn’t a concern to us. It wasn’t a concern to our vet.” Juelle said Gayego was given about two months for the quarter crack to heal before being broken.

This horse is definitely one of my top picks. If you watch his videos on kentuckyderby.com you'll see why; he has the early speed needed to get out of the mess in the middle of the 20-horse pack. If his other performances are any indication, this horse could break free and the others will have to catch him. His work this week was on a wet track. If he does get to the front, I think he will find Big Brown there with him. The two of them are breaking from the 19 and 20 stalls so it's a logistics puzzle how they are going to get there. With three year olds, anything can happen out of the gate.

I will be doing my annual marathon holding-of-my-breath for roughly two minutes.

Z Fortune ran second to Gayego in Arkansas and is also in the Derby; I just learned that he is wearing Polyflex glue-on shoes, as is Steve Asmussen's other entry, Louisiana Derby winner Pyro.

Learn more about Gayego at http://www.gogayego.com/

Gayego looks out of his stall at Churchill Downs; his jockey will be Mike Smith. (USA Today photo by H. Darr Beiser)

Hoof do you like in the Derby? Shoewear of the Fast and Famous

A feet-first introduction: Meet Visionaire, trained by Michael Matz. He's wearing a Kerckhaert aluminum race plate, imported from Holland. Visionaire's farrier is Todd Boston.

One shoe is worth a thousand words for Kentucky's Colonel: Look at this shoe shape. It's the "Fast Break" raceplate from Kerckhaert, also imported from Holland. Notice how broad the toe bend is. Colonel John is owned by WinStar Farm and trained by Irishman Eoin Harty. His farrier is Steve Norman.

Blog readers must wonder if there are other horses entered in Saturday's Kentucky Derby besides Pyro and Big Brown. The blog has focused on the special footwear worn by those two...but the other 18 horses have feet and some special shoes, too!

Our friend Dan Burke of Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) must have some sort of a VIP backstage pass at the Derby. He seems to show up at the stakes barn every year and usually has some great photos to share.

Thanks to Dan for sharing these photos. I guess it is no coincidence that these two horses are wearing Kerckhaert plates, as was War Emblem a few years ago. Dan's company imports Kerckhaert shoes to the USA. Thanks, Dan!

PS For all the racing people checking in to this blog, especially the ones referred by the New York Times (thank you!): Look at these feet and you will see why we put so much store in the size, shape, and fine points of a horse's hooves. You can easily see that the frog (triangular tissue protruding on base of foot) is very different in each horse, as is the shape of the foot. There are always differences between front and hind shapes, and often between left and right, on the same horse, but the difference from horse to horse may not be obvious until you see two photos together, as we are showing you here. Unfortunately, the horse with the best feet is often not the fastest, or else we'd have cleaned up at the betting window years ago. However, the horses with better feet stand a chance of racing longer and staying sounder. If you are going to race a gelding, you want him to have great feet!

Big Brown: The Most Famous Feet in Derby History!

Big Brown's left front foot has a raceplate glued on with a PMMA epoxy type adhesive that is custom selected. The specs used are Lord 403 with a #19 accelerator. You can see a copper "clip" embedded in the glue; it is riveted to the shoe and is used only as a receptor for additional glue. The horse had wall separations on both front feet that required repair.

Racing fans, rejoice! I have finally obtained actual close-up photos of the feet of Kentucky Derby favorite Big Brown. The following photos were taken on or about April 11, 2008, when the horse's feet were re-glued and re-shod by farrier Tom Curl of Florida, who has been working on the colt since he shipped south for the winter. 

There has been some confusion and misinformation in the press so to clarify: the colt was originally worked on by Ian McKinlay in New York, and the horse benefited from his new Yasha shoe technology and heel resection technique. Ian has been supplying photos and videos of the technique and system. 

But the horse subsequently was worked on by Tom Curl, an associate of Ian's. Tom did the work on the second foot. What you see is a collaborative effort of two experts using a new technology that has been helping a lot of horses over the past few months.

 

This is the bottom of the foot, showing the placement of the clips. The shoe has a rubber-like gasket rim pad on the inside that is half the web of the shoe. Adhesive is under the other half of the web. This is a unique modification of the "direct glue" technique used by farriers.

This foot shows the repair situation on the inside heel of the first foot, which was done by McKinlay in New York. You can see that the new heel wall is growing down.

Here's the foot worked on in Florida by Curl, showing the heel repair on the right side of the photo. The glue on the left side is just for reinforcing the shoe.

Here are both of Big Brown's feet as he looked on April 11.

Now for an update: Tom Curl told me today that he checked Big Brown's feet the day he left Florida and headed to Churchill Downs. He watched the horse gallop with trainer Rick Dutrow. 

Tom said that he used more glue than McKinlay because he knows the Derby will fall three weeks after the horse was done, and the glue can be stressed over time, so he was pro-active.