Music suggestions please!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Just Say NO to Toe Grabs - NOT worth the risk at any length.....
Look at the magnificent motion of these thoroughbreds.
Anatomically, the horse doesn't pull from the front legs --
he pushes from behind.
he pushes from behind.
A hoof strikes the ground with 5,000 pounds of pressure on a bone the size of your wrist.
Steve Wood, superintendent of Del Mar's dirt track.
So WHY, WHY. WHY are American trainers, farriers and horseshoe manufacturers continuing to damage our beautiful thoroughbreds by installing toe grabs into shoes and affixing them to the feet of horses?
UR Stable will not allow toe grabs on any of its racing stock. Empirical evidence exists proving increased risk and the damages caused by using toe grabs on racehorses.
I have personally seen way too many injuries directly associated with the use of toe grabs.
Here is a list of TOE GRAB facts that every horse owner, trainer, FARRIER, partner, caregiver and horseshoe manufacturer should be FULLY aware of ....
FATAL musculoskeletal injuries have a 1.8 higher chance of occurring with a low toe grab than with a Queen's Plate [no toe grab horseshoe], that nearly doubles to 3.5 with a regular toe grab.
There is a 6.5 greater chance of having a suspensory apparatus failure
with a low toe than there is with a Queen's Plate,
and that more than doubles to 15.6 with a regular toe grab.
Cannon bone condylar fractures are seven times more likely to happen with a low toe grab than with a Queen's Plate and it nearly triples to 17.1 with a regular toe grab… read more
EIGHT BELLES, who broke both front legs after finishing 2nd in the 2008 Kentucky Derby WAS WEARING TOE GRABS --
no one will admit to the size.
no one will admit to the size.
Photo: Grayson-Jockey Club
Chris McCarron, along with several other riders including Gary Stevens and Steve Cauthen, have testified that, "toe grabs are the single biggest reason why horses fall when they clip heels."
With all this evidence, I am surprised we haven't had a class-action lawsuit over the damages caused to horses wearing toes grabs. There is no warning on the side of the shoe box, and what choice does the horse have in the matter?
In my lifetime, I have watched horses win 1000s of races without toe grabs -- just look at all the shoes in the Hall of Fame --
NO TOE GRABS.
NO TOE GRABS.
The reality is, that toe grabs can do a lot more damage to a horse than myriad of other things that are policed around the racetrack.
For me, running any horse in toe grabs is simply not an option.
FRIENDS -- HOW CAN YOU BE AWARE OF THIS AND ALLOW TOE GRABS ON ANY HORSE??? Have a conscience..... please.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Patience pays off -- UR girl Say Sandy Baby
Sandy showed her tenacity with a gritty breeze the other day!
Friday, June 25, 2010
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” —Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965); British Statesman, Prime Minister, Author, Nobel Prize Winner
The values we live by are worth more when we pass them on.
Enjoy every moment my friends -- we are all in this together.
And always remember, Every Horse Is A Blessing, Susan.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Belmont puts Mott back on top in June -- That's Life in the world of thoroughbred racing
Bill Mott revealed the long and arduous process of winning his first Triple Crown race in a recent NYRA Live Chat, "The preparation that goes into a win starts six months or a year before the horse actually runs and wins. The preparation is a gradual. It takes a long time to get them up to the level of winning a race like the Belmont Stakes." Click here to read the full transcript on NYRA site. While filming the first few seasons of Unbridled I galloped horses at Saratoga for Bill Mott. Of all the horsemen I have worked for he was by far the most particular about how his horse's were ridden -- the stride, the rhythm, the timing, the cadence. His perception from the ground as to what a rider feels atop a horse is exquisitely accurate. I learned more from Bill in the handful of tutorials he gave me on galloping than in many previous years going round-and-round the historic oval on Union Avenue. 
In my unbridledTV interview with Bill Mott he shared his goal to win Triple Crown races. For a deeper look inside the Mott Racing Stable and the guiding philosophy to this trainer's success -- click here to watch Bill Mott on YouTube.
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