Rethinking Toe Grabs? Model Rule Adjustment Recommended to Allow 4mm Grabs on Dirt Racetracks

(Statement from The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee issued 22 July 2009)

"After discussions with industry participants and a review of all scientific research available on the use of toe grabs on the front shoes of Thoroughbreds, The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee recommends adjusting the current RCI Model Rule on horse shoes to allow toe grabs up to 4 mm in height on front shoes on dirt racing surfaces only.

"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee believes the current elimination of traction devices on front shoes should be maintained and only the height of the toe grab should be adjusted in the Model Rule.

"In no case does the Thoroughbred Safety Committee recommend the use of toe grabs of greater than 4 mm on front shoes of Thoroughbreds.

"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee continues to believe that the recommendation limiting traction devices on front shoes of Thoroughbreds to toe grabs no greater than 2 mm is in the best interests of the welfare and safety of the horse.

"However, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee is sensitive to the concerns of the horsemen and recognizes that local circumstances such as dirt track composition and/or weather conditions might justify the racing commission and/or the racetrack to allow horsemen the discretion to utilize short toe grabs no greater than 4 mm on the front shoes of Thoroughbreds on dirt racing surfaces only."

The Hoof Blog will continue to keep readers updated on shoeing rule recommendations and changes as well as research that may affect decision-making about horse equipment.

© 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.

Invitation: Join Molly the Pony at The Ohio State Vet School on August 6th

Hurricane Katrina survivor Molly the Pony with her owner/rescuer Kaye Harris and surgeon/hero Dr. Rustin Moore in 2006 after Molly's amputation surgery in Louisiana. Molly will travel to Ohio in August for a reunion with Dr. Moore...and you're invited!

You and your family and friends are invited to a presentation and a meet-and-greet with "Molly the Pony" (one of the world’s only prosthesis-wearing ponies, and a well-known survivor of hurricane Katrina) at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Thursday, August 6th from 4:30-8 p.m. at the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building (VMAB), 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio

At the event you will meet Dr. Rustin Moore. He is the Bud and Marilyn Jenne Professor and Chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Moore was the surgeon who performed the amputation on Molly's right front leg while he was director of the Equine Health Studies Program at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Dr. Moore will give a brief presentation, “It’s All About Molly,” at 5 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. in the Wexner Auditorium located in the VMAB; light refreshments will be available near the auditorium in the Hummel Grand Lounge.

Molly will be available on the lawn outside of the building for visitors to have the opportunity to meet her and her owner, Kaye Harris, before and after Dr. Moore’s presentation.

ABOUT MOLLY - Molly the Pony was rescued by Kaye and Glenn Harris after Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, several months later she was injured by a dog that was also a Katrina rescue. Although her other numerous wounds healed, her lower right front leg was too severely damaged. Her rescuer and now owner, Kaye Harris, advocated for Molly, inquiring about amputation and a prosthesis.

This procedure is rare, with many obstacles, and now Molly visits anyone who could benefit from her quiet wisdom and inspiration. She has inspired people of all ages and abilities. A children’s picture book was written about her and she has traveled widely to share her story. “Molly the Pony” books will be available for purchase in the Hummel Grand Lounge with proceeds benefiting Molly’s Foundation. (Cash or checks only please.)

Please forward this to anyone you think would enjoy this unique opportunity!

Please RSVP to Katie Kostyo (kostyo.1@osu.edu) or 614-688-8433, by August 3rd and indicate the number of people who will attend.

Directions to the College of Veterinary Medicine:

From SR315, exit at Lane Avenue and head east. Turn right (south) on Fyffe Road. At the next light, turn left on Woody Hayes Drive and then take a right on Coffey Road; follow Coffey to the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building. Free parking is available during the event in the lot just north of the building (east of the Veterinary Hospital). Guests DO NOT need a pass during the event hours.

Please visit the College of Veterinary Medicine’s web site for more information on the college at: www.vet.osu.edu/

More information:

Click here for Molly's MySpace Page

Click here to see Molly's segment on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

Click here to read about Molly in the New York Times.

Click here to read the original Hoof Blog article about Molly and her book.

© 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.

Guild of Professional Farriers Special Election Brings in All-New Officers

The Hoof Blog has received an announcement from the Guild of Professional Farriers that an unusual special election was held on July 13 and an entire new slate of officers is now in place at the head of that organization.

The new officers are Ronald E. Kramedjian, President; Jeff Holder, Vice President; Russ Vanderlei, Secretary; and Rick Burten, Treasurer.

Tom Bloomer, who was serving as president until July 13, becomes Past President.

The Guild was formed in 1996 in an effort to provide an organization for full-time professional farriers. The organization runs a certification testing program and has been pro-active in the media as a voice on farrier-related issues. The Guild has a code of ethics for farriers to follow when working with veterinarians.

In 2002, the Guild made national news by warning horse owners to question the Strasser method of barefoot trimming, suggesting that it involved radical trimming methods and might cause lameness for their horses.

In 1997, Henry Heymering was elected the first president of the Guild. North Carolina's David Millwater was the first secretary and served from 1996 to 2000.

When contacted today about the mid-year changes in Guild leadership, Heymering had no comment.

In the announcement, the new officers thanked the officers leaving service for their commitment and past service. "Their dedication and commitment to the Guild has helped us to get to where we are," the new officers said.

Information about the Guild is available at www.guildfarriers.org.

Favorite Photo: A Mule and Her Farrier Keep Close Company

by Fran Jurga | 18 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Susie the Mule nuzzles the jeans pocket of her farrier, Kevin Boyer, in southern California. Photo by Susie's owner, Roberta Frederick, who is a great photographer with a charming set of models in her mules and her farrier, who is a longtime subscriber to Hoofcare & Lameness Journal. (I realize his friends might not recognize him from this angle.)

© 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).

Stem Cell Tendon Repair for a Dressage Horse: Not Your Typical Public Radio Reporter's Assignment

by Fran Jurga | 14 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog

Today, we'll go along with KQED, the National Public Radio station in San Francisco, as they cross the bridge and leave the city behind. Their destination is the vet school hospital at the University of California at Davis. Amy Standen, the intrepid reporter, doesn't usually set up her sound equipment in a horse barn, but she gamely accepts a warmblood with the assumed name of Disney (to protect his real identity) as her subject for the day.

The goal is to portray advances in equine stem cell treatments for tendon injuries, using bone marrow or fat tissue stem cells, as promising experiments for future human treatments.

Have a listen! Thanks to KQED for setting up this shared audio file. Click here to go to the home page of Quest, KQED's science program, which produced the equine stem cell segment, where you will find photos and the reporter's notes.



© 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.

Lecture Preview: Dr Britt Conklin at AAEP's Focus on the Foot

by Fran Jurga | 13 July 2009 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog


It was 106 degrees in Texas the other day as Dr Britt Conklin drove down the highway. He'd left home at 2:30 that morning to try to get some horses shod before the heat became too overwhelming.

There's nothing quite like the inside of a truck with good air conditioning on a hot Texas day.

Dr. Conklin and I were talking his upcoming lecture on Monday, July 20 at the AAEP Focus on the Foot meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Conklin will leave the heat of Texas far behind and turn his attention to sharing his considerable expertise with the assembled vets and farriers.

His topic is "Therapeutic Shoeing: A Veterinarian's Perspective", and he hopes to help vets get beyond the formulaic approach to a lameness problem. He agrees that a specific shoe design does not fix a given problem in all horses. "Vets get bogged down by the appliance. I'd like them to see the approach, first," he said. "All therapeutic shoeing can really do is apply or relieve leverage, tension, and pressure in three planes. And it can provide protection. But it can certainly make you think...and vets need to learn to think through what is wrong and what can be done for that particular horse."

Dr. Conklin is a certified farrier and co-owner of Reata Equine Hospital in Weaterford, Texas, where he opened a 3000 square foot podiatry clinic in 2008. He worked as a farrier to put himself through undergraduate school at Texas Tech University and attended veterinary school at Texas A & M University. While at A&M, he apprenticed under Danny Taylor CJF, PhD, who in turn worked with Dr. David Hood on "The Hoof Project"; Taylor earned his PhD for his research in the biomechanics of the equine foot’s digital cushion.

Dr. Conklin has deep case files to reference but this one has always stuck in my mind.

© 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.