Friday, November 19, 2010

¿Habla usted del casco? Grayson-Jockey Club DVD on Thoroughbred Hooves Now Available in Spanish

The DVD is one segment of the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee's efforts to study and improve the safety for racehorses through hoof-related education.
The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee has released a Spanish-language version of its educational DVD, The Hoof: Inside and Out, entitled, El Casco: Por Dentro y Por Fuera.

“Spanish-speaking individuals constitute a significant percentage of our horses’ caregivers, so it is only natural and in the best interests of the industry to provide a Spanish-language version of our hoof care DVD,” said Bill Casner, Thoroughbred owner/breeder and chairman of the Summit’s Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee. “We hope the Spanish-language version is embraced as enthusiastically as the original, because it will further enhance the care our horses receive on a daily basis.

The Hoof: Inside and Out was released in June 2009. Since then, more than 1,000 copies on DVD have been distributed and the online version has been downloaded more than 2,500 times by individuals in 57 countries.

Both the English- and Spanish-language versions can be downloaded at no charge at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitDisplay.asp?section=39; or a physical copy can be ordered through that website for a $5.00 shipping and handling fee.

The 65-minute DVD includes seven segments:
* Introduction and Overview
* Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit
* Physiology — The Equine Limb
* Basic Hoof Care and Trimming
* The Basics of Horse Shoeing
* Types of Shoes
* Farrier’s Role and Communication (with trainers and owners)

The DVD features the insights of a number of hoof experts and industry professionals, including Mitch Taylor, director of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School; prominent Kentucky-based farriers Steve Norman and Colby Tipton; Dr. Scott Morrison of the Podiatry Center at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Sue Stover of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission; Kentucky Derby winning trainer John T. Ward; champion Thoroughbred owner and breeder Bill Casner; and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation President Ed Bowen.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, coordinated and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, convened a wide cross-section of the breeding, racing, and veterinary community for two-day workshops in October 2006, March 2008 and June 2010.

The Summits, which were hosted by Keeneland Association, have been the catalyst for many initiatives that improve the safety and integrity of the sport, including the Equine Injury Database, the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, recommendations concerning traction devices on front shoes, and bloodline durability indices.

Additional information about the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is available on the summit’s website at www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/summitdisplay.asp.