equilocks

[mini's mom]

has anyone heard anything about what kind of shoes the horses will be wearing in the derby. My vet was out yesterday and said that he was talking with a friend in kentucky (at one of the big clinics) and l0 out of the 12 starters will be wearing glue on shoes with some sort of sponge type pad underneath to protect the foot from concussion. Does anyone know if this is true or not? and does it matter what type of shoe the horse runs in (as long as it is for the dirt) ? Was this decision made to protect the public from another barbaro breaking down on tv?

thanks

minis mom

[geowarrior]

That doesn't seem right to me, as there will likely be 20 starters, not 12. I don't know much about shoes but I thought glue on shoes were for horses with sensitive feet. I haven't heard of 10 Derby horses with sensitive feet, and at this point we're hearing down to the last centiliter what they are drinking, what equipment they are wearing and what treats they like. I think we'd have heard about shoes.

[ratherrapid]

hope somebody can answer. seems for the last couple of years photos show a lot of horses without front grabs. i'm wondering what type of grabless shoe they're wearing on the fronts. surely something other than queens plates.

question whether Derby horse would be wearing pads since this lengthens the hoof and changes stride. some horses e.g. Brother Derek were racing last year in the new $400.00 polyurethane burns polyflex(www.burnspolyflex.com), an interesting shoe. If they're wearing glue ons, will we see horse shoes flying all in all directions on derby day?

fran jurga blog has post this morning on shoeing of Scat Daddy--bar shoes in training, "regular plates" for the Derby.

[majxmom]

It doesn't sound right to me that so many would have glue-on shoes. They are notorious for coming off, and the new ones with the superglue take off a bunch of hoof with them.

I wonder if your friend was thinking of something else. I wish I could come up with the name. There are aluminum racing plates with rubber bonded onto them for concussion reduction. The rubber is a very thin layer, not even 1/8" thick, between the hoof and the aluminum. It never comes off or slips. My shoer uses those shoes most often. I just think of them as bonded shoes.

[Laurierace]

They are called No Vibes