Birth Weight Impacts Forelimb Conformation

With yearling Thoroughbreds, University of Wisconsin researcher Scott Leibsle has found that offset carpal and fetlock inward conformation is associated with higher birth weights. He told attendees at the American Association of Equine Practitioners annual meeting that the forelimb conformation of juveniles seems to be affected by both environmental factors and genetic concerns on the sire and dam sides. “While the parental carpal phenotype associated with the same conformation in yearlings suggested a genetic influence, the lack of the same relationship at the fetlock suggests other factors impact yearling fetlock conformation,” he says.

Keeping Warm Leads To Higher Quality Work

If results with office workers are any indication, you’ll be more accurate, productive and efficient by keeping warm while shoeing. A Cornell University study found that increasing the office temperature for a month from 68 to 77 degrees F. reduced employees’ typing errors by 44 percent while boosting output by 150 percent. The warmer working conditions also added $2 per hour to worker efficiency, says Alan Hedge, director of Cornell’s Human Factors And Ergonomics Laboratory.

Valuable Tips For Modifying Hind Keg Shoes

Danny Ward, owner of the Danny Ward Horseshoeing School of Martinsville, Va., is one of the true wizards at the anvil. Here’s the advice on modifying hind keg shoes for a better fit from one of the contributors to the new American Farriers Journal 48-page report on “Modifying Keg Shoes.”

• To change the curve of the shoe, focus hammer blows on the center…