Post by Joxcee on Aug 3, 2006 15:00:05 GMT -5
She Puts Horses On PLASTIC
Saving horses' lives, one shoe at a time.
Six years ago, Kristy Watson watched every horse owner's nightmare happen right in front of her. Hickory---a 9-year-old Appaloosa and Kristy's favorite horse---kicked his own front leg with his hind leg while playing and cut the ligament in half. Even after months of rehab, Hickory still had a limp. Kristy started researching therapeutic shoes to help Hickory get sound again. When she couldn't find what she was looking for, well . . . she invented it.
"After trying many plastic and rubber horseshoes, I couldn't find one that was perfect," Kristy says. She used her computer to draw a shoe she thought would help Hickory's recover. When it was time to turn a computer drawing into a real shoe, she turned to an odd source of inspiration for the material: a skateboard.
"The urethane blend we use is stiff enough for support, but soft enough for traction and shock absorption, similar to a skateboard wheel material," Kristy says.
The plastic shoe is lightweight, allowing the hoof to expand as naturally as if it were bare. This improves circulation in the horse's leg and increases endurance.
She was so happy with the results, she had to share--and the Ground Control Horseshoe was born. Kristy and her husband, Todd, sell the shoes from their home in Bergheim, Texas. The shoes are manufactured in nearby Boerne and come in sizes 000 to 2.
"Farriers are usually reluctant to try our shoes at first," Kristy says. "But after they see them working, they get excited about them." The shoes come in black and clear (so the farrier can see through the shoe for nailing), and are applied with regular horseshoe nails. Recessed nail channels keep the nail heads below the shoe's surface. No special equipment is required.
If the shoe isn't the perfect fit, the plastic edges can be rasped to the shape of the hoof.
Most Ground Control customers are trail or endurance riders. But Kristy says the calls she gets from people who tried the shoes on a lame horse make her the most proud. Many of those calls are from owners who might otherwise have had to put their horse down. "It's just a great feeling to know that something I made is saving horses' lives.
"It's like running with good tennis shoes as opposed to just getting the cheapest shoes off the shelf," Kristy says. "Can you imagine going jogging with metal shoes?" ~~Jamie Cole
The Progressive Farmer Magazine -- August 2006 -- Page 66
s Q
"That's the only way to judge beauty, not by the price, but how it touches the soul."
Also a better bit for the horse's mouth. I'd hate to have that metal bar behind my back teeth. :rolleyes:
