Calif. Racing Board Votes to Outlaw Toe Grabs

[feartinybubbles]

GOOD NEWS for the horses



Calif. Racing Board Votes to Outlaw Toe Grabs
by: Jack Shinar
February 23 2007 Article # 8992
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The California Horse Racing Board will begin enforcing a regulation outlawing the use of front toe grabs exceeding four millimeters in length after commissioners voted Feb. 22 to reverse their decision last month to ignore the rule.

The long-running controversy came to a head Jan. 23 after trainers such as John Shirreffs complained that the board was infringing on their authority by regulating the length of the grabs, which are designed to help horses maintain balance. However, numerous studies have pointed to their danger. One study, by Sue Stover, DVM, PhD, of the University of California-Davis, demonstrated that high toe grabs on front shoes make a Thoroughbred 16 times more likely to suffer a catastrophic injury while racing.

Rick Arthur, DVM, the CHRB's equine medical director, said that "the evidence is irrefutable--it's there in black and white. Enforcement of this rule will save horses' lives."

Arthur was joined in support by Darrell Haire, western regional manager of the Jockeys' Guild, and Guy Lamothe, executive director of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

Board chairman Richard Shapiro changed his position to support enforcement, as did member John Andreini. They joined John Harris, Marie Moretti, and William Bianco in a 5-1 vote, with Jerry Moss voting against it.

Shapiro said he participated in a conference call with Harris and others who support the regulation, and he came away convinced.

"I don't like the idea of government stepping into something like this," Shapiro said. "But I certainly don't want to oppose anything that will save one horse. Certainly we need to protect the horses. There was some pretty convincing evidence."

Moss, though, noted that with California due to switch to synthetic surfaces at its major tracks by next year, each will have different factors to consider. He noted that Woodbine, which runs on Polytrack, returned to using toe grabs. "They had to," he said, "because the track (consistency) had changed. The racetracks should decide what's best."

Charles Dougherty, representing the California Thoroughbred Trainers, argued, "You are taking away a fundamental right of trainers to use a type of equipment. We ask that you not go forward with enforcement of this rule."

Arthur said backstretch notification of the rule would begin immediately and implementation could begin after the current meets end in both halves of the state.

The board first passed the rule in February 2006 prohibiting front toe grabs exceeding the four-millimeter length. But enforcement was slowed because few manufacturers produced low toe grabs and trainers resisted the rule, arguing that few used them and they knew best what worked for their horses. A subsequent rule amendment that would have relaxed the requirement to five millimeters was not passed last summer.

This month, a horse welfare committee of The Jockey Club recommended a national policy patterned after the California rule.

[mini's mom]

now that is a brilliant idea. Some brain surgeon thought of that one!! All you have to do is look at how a horse walks and see that they are put off balance by the toe grab. To say nothing of the fact that at the race track the blacksmith's always take the heel off. So not being a vet or a farrier I would think that if the toe is higher than the heel, then there should be some sort of damage done by changing how the horse's foot is naturally balanced. It is not rocket science you know!

I like the queen's plate for racingas it allows for a more balanced natural foot for the horse. Add to that letting them grow up to race as 4 or 5 year olds then you might have a decent sound horse suitable for breeding later on.

Stay away from breeding dollars to dollars and we might have a racing industry that is concerned with the welfare fo the horse.

minismom

[wilf]

As a trainer I have never used front grabs and have had 5 horses to make over 100 starts each,never could figure out the sense of putting a horse out of balance in front. In Australia they often train in rollover toes to break over the stride smoothly. Observing the wear of a flat shoe in front will give you clear indications of the exact direction that the foot breaks towards when completing it's stride and it's rarely plum center.

[mlwinter]

Stay away from breeding dollars to dollars and we might have a racing industry that is concerned with the welfare fo the horse.

minismom

Amen to that. "Commercial Breeding" is way out of hand. What happened to racing being the primary reason to be in the Thoroughbred Race Horse business? Not to breed the next sale topper at Keeneland...

[ratherrapid]

ive raced horses in every sorts of shoe, queens, low toe, level grip, regular grabs. tried to determine what was best in terms of injury prevention. I had one horse whose stride quality improved significantly going from low grabs to regular--4mm to 6mm. i tired of seeing my horses slipping and sliding and getting caught down the stretch in queens. i now use level grips as a compromise. I determined that the horses stride is slightly affected for the worse by different shoes on front and back. stride quality improves a bit when you have equal grabs on all four legs as opposed to no grabs on fronts.
You may analyze also that the horse is happier and more confident with equal shoeing on all fours, but, you've have to ask them.

imo the toe grab study if you read it is filled with falacy and inconstistency. typical sloppy research. it ignores every other injury causing variable. over the past seven years of periods of intensive training and racing, all in grabs, we have had zero injuries. we've raced without injury in grabs on many occasions. its a small sample and my conclusions are uncertain. i'd like to see some studies done by somebody that owns a horse--i.e. other than the vets.

[Crystal]

a sales topper isnt a bad thing.

[Ramona]

After taking a horse to one of the most reknowned "leg vets" in the state of WA with a knee injury, he took one look at the shoes and said, "Yep, as long as people keep putting toe grabs on these horses, I'm gonna stay in business for a long, long time. He recommended level grips and that is what we've used ever since. He also said not to let those farriers take the heel off which leaves a long toe, making it more difficult for a horse to break-over.

[summerhorse]

After taking a horse to one of the most reknowned "leg vets" in the state of WA with a knee injury, he took one look at the shoes and said, "Yep, as long as people keep putting toe grabs on these horses, I'm gonna stay in business for a long, long time. He recommended level grips and that is what we've used ever since. He also said not to let those farriers take the heel off which leaves a long toe, making it more difficult for a horse to break-over.

Exactly. It doesn't matter if one particular person uses them and never has a problem, they may just be lucky and some horses are just plain TOUGH. But the evidence is pretty clear that anything over 4 mm is bad for horses and its long been known that the low heel, long toe trim is bad for horses yet you see it everywhere. Why do something KNOWN to cause injuries?

as for the equipment "infringement" well that's BS. All sorts of equipment and chemicals are banned and restricted. If NObody can use them then it is a fair playing field.

[ratherrapid]

my point is that the evidence is "uncertain". please read the studies and tell us then that they contain clear and convincing evidence. pre-conceived notions influenced by years of B.S. from uninformed quarters seem unhelpful in talking about the most important part of the horse's anatomy while racing. do toe grabs really cause injuries, or is it something else? do we really know anything from these "studies"?

[Laurierace]

I believe the evidence is more than clear enough not to take the additional risk, no matter how large or small it may be. That is our duty. I haven't had a front toe grab in my barn in over a decade when the UC Davis study came out. Even if it is only a teeny bit safer as opposed to the huge percentage we are regularly quoted, isn't that teeny bit reason enough? Maybe not for your horses, but more then enough for mine.

[louis finochio]

All those blue collar corporate office people that have never set foot on the backstretch that make the rules of the industry have finally admitted that they were wrong in making all those Tb sustain injuries through the use of toe grabs.

This is a victory for the Tb and horsemen. Great News, Louis.

[MidwestTrainer]

In my barn only level grips and am a stickler for the farrier not taking away the heel.

They have done enough studies to prove they make injuries more likely to occur. Without the studies, I have seen horses come in to the barn in toe grabs with ankles and pressure, take them off, and it usually produces quick results. I have never had a horse "feel" any different underneath me whether travelling in toe grabs or level grips, as far as traction.

[Cathy D]

Keep an eye on those so called "level grips". They may start off that way, but turn into regular toe grabs when the aluminum rim wears off. For some horses, it only takes a few days.