Quote:
Originally Posted by ntheiroff
Back in the 50's and 60's, if it was raining, my Dad would always check the shoe board for "mud caulks". His theory was that if a trainer spent the money to change the shoes, he meant business. It was amazing as to how many live horses he came up with.
Today, if a trainer does not invest in equipment that will help the horse, he is probably saying to himself "why waste the $100".
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I used to check for mud caulks in NY on rainy days and I did feel much more confident if the horse I was betting had them on. But NYRA changed the rules to stop the use of caulks, I believe in October of 2008. I think the reason they gave was to avoid breakdowns but many top trainers said that the caulks were not bad for horses. Personally I always felt that NYRA banned caulks because they felt that horses using caulks had an unfair advantage and wanted to protect bettors.
Allen Jerkens was one of the trainers who used mud caulks and if The Chief used them you can be sure that they were not bad for horses.
Does anyone know, are these bends 1/4 inch bends? Are all bends being used at Aqueduct the same?