Breeders Cup Classic: Will It Be a Battle of the Specialist Horseshoes?

Will it be 3/4 shoes by a head? Nailed on glue-ons by three lengths? Or tabbed glue-on shoes in an exciting photo finish?





As the Breeders Cup Classic draws near, it's interesting that publicity surrounding the three top contenders this year includes their hoof problems or use of specialty horseshoes. This comes on the heels of Mucho Macho Man winning the Classic last year in synthetic

Shoeless in Lexington: Polytrack Podiatry at Keeneland's Last Artificial Surface Meet

An interesting experiment was available to bettors Sunday at Kentucky's Keeneland racecourse as trainer Wayne Rice prepared to send no less than six horses to the post in five races. None of them would be wearing shoes.




Rice's attempts to beat both other horses and the Keeneland Polytrack surface at its own game have been documented on The Hoof Blog in the past. He's had mixed results. He

3-D Printing in the Forge and Clinic: Hoof Anatomy Models, Veterinary Applications, and Horseshoes

3-D printing in the horseshoe world probably was done first in some high-tech factory in Asia, but let's give some credit to Curtis Burns in the United States, who has been using 3-D printing in the design of Polyflex glue-on shoes. Watch for Mucho Macho Man to run in the Breeders Cup Classic wearing shoes derived from this 3-D printing technology on Saturday. (photo courtesy of Curtis Burns/

On the Case with Rood and Riddle's Dr. Scott Morrison: Glue-on Spring Shoe for a Contracted, Club-Footed Cutting Horse

Give the video time to buffer, and hit the "play" icon to begin. Thanks to Saginaw Valley Equine Clinic and Dr. Morrison for this video.


Here's an interesting case that complements an article in the Hoof Blog archives. Watch Dr. Morrison literally put a spring in a clinic horse's step.


Dr. Scott Morrison of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky was the guest speaker at the