More and more importance has been placed on looking after the welfare of horses in the horse racing industry. Horse racing betting is one of the most popular forms of sports betting in the UK - however, there have been certain controversies around the well-being of those horses. Now, not only have there been numerous veterinarian advances to care for the horse, but technology has also come a long way to look after the racers. Aside from technology used to check the body temperature of the horses and tech used to design racetrack etc, there has now been improvements on horseshoes.
3-D printed horseshoes are likely to be revolutionary when it comes to the sport of horse racing. The new custom made shoes will increase performance and endurance and are sure to stir up horse racing markets at Smarkets bet exchange and other online bookies, should they make it into the professional sport.
Now, researchers from The Netherlands have started printing custom made shoes that allow for the exact fit so that veterinarians can address problem hoofs and possible lameness.
Brand New Shoe Tech
Horse racing tech now is all in the shoes. In order to make healing much more precise and individual, Dutch scientists have now started to create custom-made therapeutic shoes by way of 3D printing.
They have announced that they are now developing personalized hoof care - because every horse is different. Every horse has different feet and each horse comes with its own problems and its own challenges. This technology is currently being led by Harol Brommer, PhD, the professor and chair of Equine Surgery and Orthopaedics at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University, Netherlands.
This technology is being modelled after the personalised foot care that is already available in human health care. Brommerโs fellow associates include master farriers Gerben Bronkhorst and Jan de Zwaan and together they have already carried out pilot testing of their custom-designed high-tech shoes on two horses for two consecutive cycles.
So far, the studies show that they are holding up well, handling the wear and tear of the horses' lives with no issue. Because the shoes are both customised and close fitting , they only need a small amount of glue - and this should be advantageous to the overall quality of the hoof wall. The 3D design makes the shoe tight-fitting and this generates a much more sustainable connection between the shoe and the hoof.
Ninety Seconds
The shoes are created and designed based on just 90 seconds worth of scanning on each foot. Then, every shoe will currently take around six to eight hours to print. This means that the horses wonโt be fitted with the shoes until the day after they are measured. However, manufacturing time should improve significantly given that their research will continue and the technology they use for the 3D printing process will improve and progress.
Unlike the standard therapeutic shoes that are currently used, the 3D printed shoes allow for the perfect fit. In addition, they will allow veterinarians and farriers to address particular issues with extra finesse. By using their computer scanning technology, they can start with the exact shape of the foot. They can then make alterations and modifications according to the pathology. Then by the next shoeing, in a few weeks, they will be able to visualise progress based on the scan and adapt and modify that shoe accordingly. This will give that horse a truly personal foot therapy.
Lighten the Load
The shoe uses a lightweight synthetic material - although scientists are yet to reveal what the exact materials are. However, this makes a big difference to the weight that the horse carries at the end of its limbs. In addition, the material is also a lot less slippery than the standard metal shoes. This will come in particularly useful on hard surfaces such as roads.
In addition, included in their research, they are investigating if the degree of slippage can even be adjusted depending on the different types of filaments used in the material.
Early Days
This technology is still in its early days. However, it will soon focus on evaluating the overall effect of the horseโs gait, by using an objective gait analysis system.
Unfortunately, in the short term, these shoes wonโt be available to the general public. But, in the future, they might provide practical solutions for equine clinics. If there is a specifically tough case, then all thatโs required is a scan of the foot, so that they can design a shoe to help with the toughest issues. There are also a lot of ways in which it can progress over time.
This technology allows vets and farriers to look at the shape of the foot and do precision work, millimetre by millimetre, changing the shape much more gradually than is possible right now. The gradual changes will ensure more comfortable healing and promote better welfare, meaning the horse will experience less pain.
