News Releases

Thursday, November 09, 2023Contact: Gary Falter (859) 224-2803
Equine Hoof Care and Dentistry Covered in Thoroughbred Owner Conference Panel

The ninth panel of the OwnerView Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference held Tuesday, November 7, featured videos of farrier work and equine dentistry with discussions with Dr. Scott Morrison and Dr. Brad Tanner, both of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, with OwnerView’s project manager, Gary Falter.

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by Equilume.

Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom’s Q&A feature, sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds.

During the hoof care session, Dr. Morrison walked through the process of shoeing a racehorse. He provided information on topics such as hoof angle and how a longer toe can put more pressure on the tendons, how Thoroughbred hooves are different from those of other breeds, how often horses should be shod, and how a shoe should fit.

“It’s important for athletes to try to keep them sound and keep that foot balanced and keep them in proper alignment,” he said. “We try to shoe horses so the shoe is placed equally around the coffin joint, around the center rotation.”

Dr. Tanner discussed why horses’ teeth need to be floated and the importance of having horses’ teeth floated on a regular basis depending on age and use.

“Young horses’ teeth grow really fast,” he said. “Horses that are between 2 and 5, 2 and 6, years old, their teeth are growing much faster than your horse that’s 15 to 20. So as a result, we’ll recommend that their teeth are floated every six months to try to keep up with those changes.”

A replay of the panel and all previous panels can be viewed at bit.ly/OVVideos. There is one more 2023 Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panel, scheduled for December 5 at 2 p.m. ET, Breeding Plans, which will feature a panel discussing matings, nicking, conformation traits, broodmare preferences, and stallion selection. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.

There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.