Questions about losing a shoe

[Delta Cone]

Word is that Mucho Macho Man lost his right front shoe at the start of the Louisiana Derby.

How much does the loss of a shoe typically affect a horse's performance?

I've also always wondered how the shoe gets found and removed from the track. I imagine it would be quite dangerous if a horse were to step on the discarded shoe.

It's not quite a needle in a haystack, but how do they find the shoe and get the track cleared before the next race? I guess you could rake the dirt in the general area and find it... but what if the jockey says the horse lost his shoe somewhere on the backstretch? That's a lot of ground to cover.

[Some_One]

I believe one of the gate crew gave the shoe to the trainer after the race, they probably were able to remove it before they came around to the finish

[sonnyp]

they usually get flipped up into the air when they fly off,dangerous for other horses and jocks but able to be seen and recovered.

if not seen, the shoes end up entangled in the rakes and harrows of the track equipment that work the track between races.

usually theres a spot that looks like a "graveyards" of lost shoes somewhere near the equipment parking spot between races where a trainer would look for his lost shoe.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by sonnyp

they usually get flipped up into the air when they fly off,dangerous for other horses and jocks but able to be seen and recovered.

if not seen, the shoes end up entangled in the rakes and harrows of the track equipment that work the track between races.

usually theres a spot that looks like a "graveyards" of lost shoes somewhere near the equipment parking spot between races where a trainer would look for his lost shoe.

I wonder if it is the same area a jock would look for his tools of the trade also!

[jdhanover]

And a few of the horses I have bet over the years.....

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Delta Cone

Word is that Mucho Macho Man lost his right front shoe at the start of the Louisiana Derby.

How much does the loss of a shoe typically affect a horse's performance?

You should ask Big Brown that one.

[sonnyp]

Originally Posted by macguy

You should ask Big Brown that one.

losing a front shoe is not that big a deal. some horses race with no front shoes by design.

losing, or springing a shoe, certainly was not a big factor in big brown's belmont performance if that's what you're referring to.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by sonnyp

losing a front shoe is not that big a deal. some horses race with no front shoes by design.

losing, or springing a shoe, certainly was not a big factor in big brown's belmont performance if that's what you're referring to.

Richard Dutrow might say otherwise.

[sonnyp]

Originally Posted by macguy

Richard Dutrow might say otherwise.

according to this board, dutrow is liable to say anything

[macguy]

Originally Posted by sonnyp

according to this board, dutrow is liable to say anything

That's kind of what I was getting at.

[Brogan]

Originally Posted by sonnyp

usually theres a spot that looks like a "graveyards" of lost shoes somewhere near the equipment parking spot between races where a trainer would look for his lost shoe.

I'm curious why you'd think a trainer would want the lost shoe?

[sonnyp]

i was thinking more of the harness trainer than the runnin horse trainer.

the harness horses wear steel shoes. it's a much bigger process requiring a farrier and heat and such to fit a new shoe. the runners usually wear the aluminum plates. making a new one is much less of a process, usually just cutting and shaping.

now that you mention it, harness horses, because of their gate (pace or trot) intefere with themselves much more than the free running thorobreds.

in the old days when the breed wasn't as slick as it has evolved, gait was a major factor and flaws and inteferince could be effected by different shoeing techniques. the inteference could be cross firing(front and rear feet of opposite side of pacers hit), hitting knees (front feet hit opposite knee trotters and pacers), scalping (front foot hits rear leg same side trotters).

special shoes that had been made special for these purposes would have some value if retrieved.

i thought,also, if a thorobred lost a bar shoe you might want to get it back.

hope this all makes sense

[5k-claim]

I think you make some good sense, sonnyp. I have no experience whatsoever on the harness side, although I have always enjoyed going to the races and have always thought it would be cool to get involved with them.

From my experience on the thoroughbred side, I will say that while you make good sense I think you are making more of a case for the involved farriers to be out mucking around there, not so much the trainers. The farriers are the ones with the hard end of that job.

My guess for the trainers would be out of 100 cases... roughly about 0/100.

Originally Posted by sonnyp

i was thinking more of the harness trainer than the runnin horse trainer.

the harness horses wear steel shoes. it's a much bigger process requiring a farrier and heat and such to fit a new shoe. the runners usually wear the aluminum plates. making a new one is much less of a process, usually just cutting and shaping.

now that you mention it, harness horses, because of their gate (pace or trot) intefere with themselves much more than the free running thorobreds.

in the old days when the breed wasn't as slick as it has evolved, gait was a major factor and flaws and inteferince could be effected by different shoeing techniques. the inteference could be cross firing(front and rear feet of opposite side of pacers hit), hitting knees (front feet hit opposite knee trotters and pacers), scalping (front foot hits rear leg same side trotters).

special shoes that had been made special for these purposes would have some value if retrieved.

i thought,also, if a thorobred lost a bar shoe you might want to get it back.

hope this all makes sense

[sonnyp]

Originally Posted by 5k-claim

I think you make some good sense, sonnyp. I have no experience whatsoever on the harness side, although I have always enjoyed going to the races and have always thought it would be cool to get involved with them.

From my experience on the thoroughbred side, I will say that while you make good sense I think you are making more of a case for the involved farriers to be out mucking around there, not so much the trainers. The farriers are the ones with the hard end of that job.

My guess for the trainers would be out of 100 cases... roughly about 0/100.

shoeing is a very interesting part of the harness game and most people have no idea what goes into it.

harness tracks are so hard, they will break the hoof up if it is not shod. if you got the lost shoe, ya tack it on and you're good to go.

farriers are in business to make and shoe horses. they'll tack a shoe on for free but they'd rather make another which is usually a pair or set cause of the wear on the other shoes......and expect a bill

[Brogan]

At least on the t-bred side, its very rare that a shoe is "made" by the farrier. They almost all carry a selection of styles and sizes and make adjustments to the shoe to fit the foot properly.