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FROM THE HOOFCARE & LAMENESS ARCHIVES Comments on Dressage Horse Shoeing King of Prussia, Pennsylvania -- Notes from a lecture on dressage by Larry Baudin, DVM, who has been official veterinarian to the USET's Dressage Team. He trains dressage horses with his wife, Belinda, who has represented the U.S. in international dressage. Dr. Baudin began his talk by making the statement that effecting positive changes in horses through improved shoeing was the best investment in the horse business. He then presented an introduction to the discipline of dressage, explaining the roles of the FEI and the movements needed in different level tests. The main part of the presentation was a series of 16mm film clips of different horses, of different ages, of different ability, for the farriers to evaluate. The first films were shot at 100 frames per second. Dr. Baudin instructed the farriers to look behind the saddle, as Europeans do, to detect "a soft back", an important quality. Soon, it was easy to detect that one horse had better symmetry than another, or that a horse was using more shoulder than knee. Dr. Baudin noted that dressage movements allow the observant veterinarian and farrier the opportunity to evaluate individual joints in action. Bad hocks, for instance, show up most at the half pass, where more stress is being placed on them, in particular the inside hock. In the piaffe, the horse must trot in place, flexing the hocks and the back. The shoulder and the hock are the only joints that ever move sideways. The second group of film clips was shot at 200 frames per second, and it was easy to watch the hooves instead of the joints. A discussion period followed. One farrier noted that the higher level horses seem to wear out their hind shoes before their front shoes, perhaps because of the increased collection and movement of the horse back off the forehand. Dr. Baudin said that he did not like to see trailers on shoes because they force the foot to pivot and turn, and interrupt the smooth movement he seeks. Dr. Baudin travels to Europe several times a year to look at horses, and he shared some information about imported horses with the group. First, he said that it was standard practice in most parts of Europe to "train heavy" and "show light" in terms of shoeing; they feel that they get a more exaggerated performance from the horse that way. "The Dutch are just crazy for aluminum shoes," he chuckled, "and the Germans use heavy steel." He said that aluminum shoes are becoming much more popular for American dressage horses. German and Danish dressage horses are often shown unshod behind. In Germany, the footing is very soft, and the horses don't get much concussion to spread the heels, leading to much of the contracted heel problems they have, Dr. Baudin feels. He cited the case in Germany where foals are sent out to seaside pastures on the north coast in the spring, then brought back to stables in September for the winter. Is it any wonder their feet contract? Dr. Baudin said that the contraction is a more serious problem the further north in Germany one travels, since the winter, and therefore the confinement time, is longer. Since land is so valuable in Germany, there is virtually no turnout. Horses are hand-exercised by lungeing. A farrier made some observations about the feet of warmbloods he shoes after they had been imported from Europe. He specifically noted a change in horn quality as the imported horses go through an adjustment period for changes in feed, climate, and general environment. "They seem to come around in about a year," he observed, and Dr. Baudin agreed. He noted that even on a horse with a lot of wall, there would often be a problem with the hooves drying out and getting shelly and that the hooves rarely hold a nail well. On the other hand, many of the farriers noted that the overall quality of their clients' horses' hooves had improved the past season, as the Northeast went through a severe drought. Dr. Baudin ended the evening with a discussion of radiographic changes to the navicular bone. He had done a series of Holsteiner horses in which the navicular bones were deficient, but the horses themselves were clinically sound. He said that it is his observation that radiographic changes on the bottom corners of the navicular bone spell trouble. He said that changes in the middle and bottom edge may be less troublesome, and gave examples of horses with four to six cones or lollipops that are often still going sound, even though the horses would never be able to pass a prepurchase exam in the United States. "What the relationship is between navicular changes and navicular disease may change the way that US vets look at radiographs," Dr. Baudin predicted. He said that radiographic changes on the navicular bone of an American Thoroughbred are more significant than similar changes on a European warmblood because the Thoroughbred is raised differently: it runs when it is young; it has hard footing; it gets more concussion; and the bones show better development. The navicular bone is better formed and cones or lollipops are major changes. This article originally appeared in Hoofcare & Lameness and is protected by all copyright laws. Re-publication in any form is prohibited without written permission of the publisher. Printouts for personal use are encouraged. Detailed information on this and many other hoofcare topics can be found in Hoofcare & Lameness publisher Fran Jurga's award-winning guide to hoofcare, "Understanding the Equine Foot". For more information, or to order, click here Back to the articles table of contents Hoofcare & Lameness is the quarterly journal of Equine Foot Science. Write to H&L, PO Box 6600, Gloucester, MA 01930 USA. Tel 978 281 3222. Fax 978 283 8775. Email webinquiry@hoofcare.com. © 1998
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