Month: June 2022

Research Update: Glue-on Shoes And Heel Movement

Standard shoeing practices including nails and glues restrict heel movement, which may limit shock absorption and blood flow to the hoof. Researchers in Japan evaluated the effect of new glue-on shoes that are flexible or glued using only two side clips on horse heel movement.

The researchers conducted two experiments to compare forelimb heel movement between aluminum nailed shoes and flexible polyurethane or aluminum glue-on shoes. Following hoof trimming, polyurethane shoes were glued to the soles of the front hooves of six thoroughbreds. The glue was allowed to set for 12 hours. Researchers attached displacement sensors to the horses' heels and exercised the horses at the walk, trot, and canter for 30 seconds on a treadmill.

The glue-on shoes were removed and the horses were shod with aluminum nail-on shoes and exercised again. The researchers conducted a second experiment following the same methods but comparing aluminum glue-on shoes to aluminum nail-on shoes using five thoroughbreds. The aluminum glue-on shoes attached to the hooves via two side clips.

Researchers observed little difference in heel movement between polyurethane glued shoes and nailed shoes at all gaits. Aluminum glued shoes decreased heel expansion by 14 percent and increased heel contraction by 11 percent compared to nailed shoes at the trot. However, total heel movement did not differ between the shoe types. Total heel movement, heel expansion, and heel contraction at the walk and canter were similar between aluminum glued and nailed shoes. In conclusion, heel movement between the new glue-on shoes and aluminum nailed shoes were comparable.

Read the paper here.

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The post Research Update: Glue-on Shoes And Heel Movement appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hammer Blow as Hukum Ruled Out For Season With Leg Fracture

Owen Burrows has been dealt a hammer blow with the news that brilliant G1 Coronation Cup winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his hind leg. 

Hukum made the breakthrough at the highest level when storming to Coronation Cup glory at Epsom on Friday and now his racing career hangs in the balance. 

For Burrows, Friday's win also represented a memorable first at Group 1 level, with the trainer describing the success as “massive” at the time. 

However, just three days after Hukum's greatest day on a racecourse, Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell Estate, revealed the 5-year-old may never grace the track again.

He said, “He's got a fracture in his hind leg so we've had to put some screws in it. Obviously he'll be out for the rest of this year. It's a shame as he'd just won his first Group 1 with a career-best.

“We haven't got as far as deciding if he will return to training as it's early days. From one point of view he just seemed to be hitting his best form so with that in mind you'd say yes, but at the same time he'll be a back-end 5-year-old this year.”

Gold added, “We haven't had a chance to discuss that and won't make a rushed decision as he'll be in his box for a bit. We'll make a decision on that later in the year.”

“It's a real shame, sadly, especially for Owen as Friday was a huge result for him, but you've got to take the rough with the smooth.”

 

The post Hammer Blow as Hukum Ruled Out For Season With Leg Fracture appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Poker Timing

Timing is everything, or so they say. Well, I’ve noticed recently that in poker, virtual or physical, that you can tell a lot about your opponents’ hands by just watching the amount of time it takes them to make a bet; and you know what that means – it means that they can tell the same about you.

We’re not robots, we can’t produce results the same every time, according to the same timing pattern no matter if we have a royal flush or a pair of twos; however, what we can do is try to be a little aware of how quickly we bet, how fast our opponent is acting, and from that be able to portray the image that we want as well as read the hands of those who aren’t aware of the importance of this.

Now of course it’s not foolproof, and if your opponent is a weathered player he may be aware of the importance of betting speeds and over compensate the other way to throw you off your tracks, which is why general rules are good but no substitute for intuition or the reading of body language. None-the-less I think that there are general rules that can be identified even if they are not always to be followed.

If someone is very quick to check it may be sign of weakness; if he has something why wouldn’t he be betting on it, a quick jump to safe ground indicates a whole lot of nothing. A quick bet could also indicate the same; making up for lack of cards by over confidence. An instant call on the other hand, indicates strength and in an interim betting round this is important to remember. A quick call means that the player has no question about staying in the game, but doesn’t raise possibly because he doesn’t want to scare off the other players and thereby diminish what will ultimately be his pot. A pause before betting, in my opinion is usually indicative of strength, not necessarily a royal flush, but certainly good cards; the reason I think this is because it indicates honesty rather than a bluff.

These are just my observations, and for all I know it may be more a reflection of my poker buddies than indicative of what all poker players do. However, the point is, even if you don’t follow my general rules, start paying attention to how quickly people jump in, and try to fit together the pieces of the puzzle in order that you can understand what that timing means. For example a quick bet on the flop followed by a slow call on the turn, followed by a fold, will tell you that that person’s quick bet means nothing; useful information for the next time he jumps in with guns blazing.

Try it; start paying attention to timing and I promise you’ll be shocked at how much information you can pick up.

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