Sire De Grugy's Sporty White Horseshoes Go Beyond Fashion for Cheltenham Festival Jump Race

Sire De Grugy, 2014 British Jumps Horse of the Year, won his last race wearing Ezy-Fit white polyurethane shoes with steel cores and is expected to continue to wear them when he defends his Cheltenham Festival title in the Queen Mother Champion Chase this week. (Shane Francis photo)

White shoes. The first thing you wonder is if he has a girth to match, right? But Sire De Grugy is going after more than gentlemanly fashion this week when he puts his best feet forward to uphold his reputation earned last year, and his 2014 title as British Jumps Horse of the Year.

He'll just do it with a little flash, and a lot less pain.

Horses and Traction: Why Did Cities Have Cobblestone Streets? Why Did Traction Matter?

A cobblestone street in Italy is paved with round stones; some sources say that a "cobble" originally meant a round stone. These look like old cannon balls. Were they put there to keep horses off the plaza or to help them?

When newcomers get off the ferry on Nantucket Island and settle into a car, they are soon shaken up. They're expecting an idyllic entry to the old New England whaling town and tourist center. Instead, they rattle across a rough cobblestone street that will shake the fillings right out of your teeth.

And the islanders like it that way.

Even though they seem slick and tricky for today's horses, "modern", or flat, cobblestoned streets were a godsend to horses. And, as you might suspect, there's a hoof connection that holds this whole story together.

Dudley’s New Leg: Gentle Barn Charity Follows “Worthy” Horse Leg Surgery with Prosthesis for a Bovine Amputee

Not your typical steer: Dudley has been through amputation surgery and now is learning to live with a prosthesis on his left hind leg, thanks to the charity of The Gentle Barn, a California charity. Listen to his surgeon at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Dr. David Anderson, describe the hows and whys of amputation surgery for cattle. Click the play icon in the center to start the video.

You hear about a lot of rescue organizations and charities operating around the United States. It seems like one will have a “Hail Mary” pass moment and make the headlines. They’ll have their fifteen minutes of well-deserved fame.

First-Person Research: The Paleopathology of Laminitis in Horses with Lane A. Wallett, DVM

Lane A. Wallett, DVM is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She presented an abstract on her paleontology research related to laminitis in the fossil evidence related to horses at the 2013 International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot. Everyone wanted to know how she came to research such a subject, and The Hoof Blog is very happy to share her story, in her own words.

Laminitis Research: Milk Thistle Tested in Laboratory for Possible Endotoxin Neutralization

Researchers in Vienna, Austria have conducted in vitro studies of the 

milk thistle plant to determine its effect on laminar tissue during 

separation caused by endotoxin introduction.

Horseshoe Biomechanics by Dr. Jenny Hagen for Werkman: Side-Wedge Shoe for Medial-Lateral Imbalance

Click on the triangular "play" icon (bottom left) to start Dr. Hagen's video.

The Hoof Blog is pleased to share with you the next video from the research of Dr. Jenny Hagen at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Today we share the biomechanics of the "side wedge" shoe, used to correct medial-lateral hoof imbalance, especially as identified and measured in radiographs. Dr. Hagen's video is sponsored by Werkman Horseshoes of The Netherlands.

This video picks up from the previous videos from Dr. Hagen and Werkman (biomechanics of egg bar, heart bar, wide toe, wide-branch (asymmetric), and open toe shoes) posted in October and January.