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A former prime British jockey has partnered with a farrier and an progressive producer to supply a pioneering rubber horseshoe.
Robert “Choc” Thornton, who rode greater than 1,000 winners together with within the Champion Hurdle and Queen Mom Champion Chase, labored with farrier Aron Tyler to create Equishox – a light-weight vulcanised rubber shoe with an aluminium core, designed for racehorses with welfare in thoughts.
The inspiration for the design got here “by probability” throughout one in all Aron’s common visits to Apple Tree Stud, which Robert based in 2014.
“I used to be rummaging round behind Aron’s van, as there’s all types of fascinating issues in there, when I discovered an authentic Öllöv SoftStep shoe – a vulcanised rubber shoe, made round a metal insert,” he instructed H&H.
He requested Aron about it, who instructed him that it’s designed to scale back concussion and vibration forces on a horse’s limb, and to scale back the influence in instances of knocks.
“I went away and over a time period I assumed, ‘what if we are able to make this lighter, extra versatile and extra accessible?’” mentioned Robert. “I requested Aron, who did some drawings and put the query to [manufacturer] Öllöv, who mentioned ‘sure’.”
That was three years in the past. Within the time since, Robert and Aron have based Equishox, partnered with Öllöv, and the group has gone by way of numerous testing processes on the shoe. This contains testing with their very own horses, and analysis with the assistance of scientist Professor Lars Ropestorff. Their analysis has discovered a discount in concussion and restricted vibrations within the leg, they usually have additionally seen a discount in knocking and striking-in accidents when carrying the shoe.
Robert mentioned that the British Horseracing Authority’s (BHA) director of equine well being and welfare James Given has been “very useful – which exhibits that British horseracing is a frontrunner in welfare”.
“The BHA gave us approval to run horses in them,” he mentioned. “We needed to declare to James each time a horse was operating carrying them, they usually had been checked earlier than and after. As soon as they had been proud of that, we had been free to go and so we unfold the shoe as broadly as we may and did some sensible trials.”
The efficiency outcomes have been pleasing, however the primary precedence is welfare and the group is eager to repeatedly enhance and develop the shoe by way of additional research. One other constructive that they’ve heard from these utilizing the shoe is elevated stability on exhausting surfaces, for instance when dealing with horses on the yard or driving to and from the gallops.
“It’s not one thing that we’re going to only stand nonetheless on. We’re going to hold on with the analysis,” Robert mentioned.
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Credit score: Future
Credit score: Horse & Hound Archive
Credit score: Alamy Inventory Photograph
Credit score: Alamy Inventory Photograph
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