Lost Shoes, Caught Shoes and Twisted Shoes: Drama on the Hoof

It happens. But it rarely happens when you are pointing a camera at a horse. This image begs the question: Did one of these horses lose the shoe a second before the photo was taken, or was the shoe buried in the arena footing and springboarded into the air when one of them stepped on it? Definitely one for the Lost Shoe Hall of Fame by Santa Cruz, California photographer Eleanor Anderson. (Image © Eleanor Anderson)

Lost shoes were in the news this week, and it turns out that the tribunal in Ireland didn't feature the only lost shoes in the news.  Each of us has a favorite lost shoe photo, video or story.

All for Want of a Shoe: Lost Horseshoes Subject of Nine-Hour Irish Turf Tribunal and Australian Rule Change

One of horse sports' great wild cards has always been the lost shoe. Some horses lose a shoe and stop in their tracks. Some keep running and jumping--even winning. Sometimes the shoe sparkles in the sun. Sometimes it's never found.

Some people just shrug it off. Some people want to do something about it. And sometimes it's just a mystery. 

Case Notes: Inside Bal a Bali’s Laminitis Recovery

An earlier report on the successful return to racing for Brazilian champion colt Bal a Bali regretted the lack of details about the horse’s fight against laminitis and what types of therapy had been utilized to aid his recovery after he arrived in the United States in July 2014.

Thanks to an interview today with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital’s Vernon Dryden, DVM, some of the details of Bal a Bali’s nine-month ordeal can now be shared. Dr. Dryden acknowledges the willingness of the colt’s owners, Sienna Farm and Foxhill Farm, to share information that might benefit another horse suffering from a similar problem.

Brazil's Bal a Bali Comes Back from Laminitis to Win Santa Anita Stakes Race

Every once in a while, a bad news story takes a turn for the good. This one took a turn for the great.

Yesterday in California, a horse from Brazil made his first start in the United States. Bal a Bali holds a world record and won Brazil's Triple Crown. He was purchased by American investors, and flown north to join trainer Richard Mandella's stable at Santa Anita Park in California.

But that was almost a year ago. This horse's health took a detour when something went wrong. Very wrong. Laminitis-level wrong.

Finally, yesterday he showed what he can do. And what he can overcome to do it.

Why They Run: The Hoof of Fire Horse Number 12

A team of fire horses speeding to the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City in 1911. When they got there, the firemen could do little, as the employees had been locked into their work stations on the upper floors of the building. Many seamstresses jumped out windows to their deaths; 146 employees, mostly women, died that day. Ladders couldn't reach them. Notice theses horses wear no blinders on their bridles; this was customary for fire horses.

Not all running by horses is done on the racetrack. It's not always done for prize money or glory in front of a cheering crowd. Sometimes horses run because they know that is what they are supposed to do. 

And that's exactly what Horse Number 12 did.

Shoeing for the Roses: Shoe-Shy Mubtaahij's Barefoot Hoofcare for Kentucky Derby

Not every horse's journey to the Kentucky Derby​ left a trail of classic hoofprints in the dirt. One horse's prints probably show a distinct frog, the imprint of his sole...and no sign of a shoe.

That's because Mubtaahij​​, the highly-regarded invader from Dubai, is a little different.