Articles

Presenting articles we think are informative.

Help for that last furlong
Published September 25, 2012
Steve Stanley, who shoes Standardbred racehorses at the Red Mile in Lexington, Ky., likes to say that “little changes go a long way” at the racetrack. “Anyone who knows racehorses knows that sore feet will stop them in the last furlong of a race,” he told attendees Read more
Circumventing Soreness - Circuit plates can help ease painful heels
Published June 11, 2012
Farrier Steve Stanley of Versailles, Ky., has shod some of racing’s top trotters and pacers. Here he discusses using Circuit plates to relieve sore heels on a recent trotting superstar. Read more
Knee Pain and Flip Flops
Published June 11, 2012
In the fall of 2007 Frank Antonacci Jr. brought a nice two-year-old trotter in the shop from his Lindy Farm’s stable. This colt had trained well in the winter earlier that year wearing Flip-Flop pads(also called Flappers) but had tried him in PG shoes during the summer racing in an effort to protect his feet from the hard track surfaces he faced over the summer. A PG shoe is a two-piece package that has an aluminum plate nailed to the hoof and a rubber outer layer screwed onto the top of the base plate. PG’s are VERY protective, but can be cumbersome to race in for some horses. Read more
Soak up this idea for treating infected hooves
Published June 11, 2012
Working with a horse that can’t keep its shoes on is something most farriers regularly deal with. Many times these horses have weak, brittle feet that easily chip and crack. Even if the hoof can hold nails, clinching often rips the nail through the wall providing little or no strength. If the horse pulls the shoes during turnout, you won’t have to worry too much about working with hoof, because there won’t be much left... Read more
Overview of Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2)
Published June 11, 2012
The compound chlorine dioxide (ClO2), now commercially important, is not in fact a recent discovery. The gas was first produced by Humphrey Davy in 1811 when reacting hydrochloric acid with potassium chlorate. Howard Alliger showed in 1978, 1,2 that ClO2 could be applied topically by the individual user. Read more
A Novel Therapeutic Approach for the Treatment of White Line Disease Using a Two-Part Chlorine Dioxide Gel
Published June 11, 2012
At the 2005 American Farriers Association annual convention, the research committee concluded its first research competition. The aim of the competition was to increase the knowledge base about the equine hoof, and demonstrate that farriers are part of the group of veterinarians and animal scientists that research the hoof. Nine research abstracts were submitted, and the topics ranged from therapy for laminitis to equine behavior. Read more
Strategies for Shoeing the Horse With Palmar Foot Pain (T Shoe)
Published June 11, 2012
I have used the T Shoe (therapeutic shoe) marketed by Grand Circuit products in my practice for a few years. The advantage of this shoe is that the biomechanics necessary to correct many foot problems are included within the shoe. The shoe has a wide heel base, the toe of the shoe is wide offering protection, it provides heel elevation and has the breakover set well back into the shoe. The shoe can be further modified using a hand grinder if desired. Read more
A treatment approach to White Line Disease
Published June 11, 2012
This article by Michael Wildenstein recounts a recent study he conducted to isolate the cause of hoof wall separation at tributable to white line disease and to thereby validate a treatment approach. Wildenstein is the resident farrier in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is a certified journeyman farrier and a fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers of Great Britain. Read more
White Line Disease
Published June 11, 2012
White Lightning® is the active Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2) solution to Thrush, Skin Fungus and White Line Disease. Chlorine Dioxide has been demonstrated to be bactericidal, fungicidal, virucidal and sporicidal while remaining harmless to healthy tissue. Read more