I knew there was one new horse arriving yesterday, but it turned out that there were two - Oscar and his girlfriend Dilly. They have both come from the same yard and are under the same vet, so there is - if it were possible - even more than the usual pressure for the rehab of these horses to succeed(!)
Oscar arrived in shoes and his feet and distal limbs were cool to the touch where as Dilly - whose shoes had been taken off a week ago for an MRI - had warm legs and hooves.
The effect of shoes is something that we are discussing on the UKNHCP forum at the moment (http://uknhcp.myfastforum.org/ftopic2544-0-asc-0.php) and the difference between Oscar's and Dilly's foot temperature (given that both had been on the same lorry for 8 hours and then in the same barn since they came off the lorry) reminded me of a post I put up here in a while ago: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2009/12/cold-feet-warm-feet.html
Meanwhile, it was time to take the initial footage of Oscar and Dilly and to record how they were placing their feet. Their owners had suspected they were both toe-first landing in front...
Dilly - day one footage from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
Oscar - day one footage from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
Lots more on these two of course over the next few weeks...
Okay, shot in the dark here: What would it feel like to us if we taped metal to the bottom of our feet? Hold up- I just got a brain flash- Tap dancers strap shoes with metal to their feet. What kind of injuries do they suffer?
ReplyDeleteJust found this webpage about tap dancing injuries: http://www.dancespirit.com/articles/1726.
ReplyDeleteTo me these are the most telling bits: Martin “Tre” Dumas of Jus’LisTeN has seen his share of injuries over the years. “Plantar fasciitis, fallen arches, shin splints—these happen a lot,” he says. While tappers’ feet and ankles take the brunt of the stress, accidental twists and constant pounding also take a toll on knees. Other potential problems include strained tendons, exacerbated by overly-tight muscles, and back problems, which can be caused by lack of core strength, tightness in other body parts (particularly the feet and hip flexors), poor technique—even over-compensation for other injuries.
“Tapping has a domino effect throughout your body,” Reh adds. “If there’s no give in the floor, your dancing will cause shock waves to travel through your foot, up your leg and into the rest of your body.”
Over time that might lead to numbing. At least tap dancers get to take their shoes off when they're done.
Fascinating stuff, Smazourek...off to have a read now :-)
ReplyDeleteI liked this quote, which ties in with the ones you cited:
ReplyDelete"Be very careful about your surfaces,” says Dumas. “Tappers were meant to dance on wood with some spring in it. Do not tap on concrete"
:-?
Oooh now you've got me going! I am currently in treatment for a foot/ankle issue which is genetic in origin but causes me terrible problems if my boot soles are too rigid. I did a google and found a ton of stuff on the bad effects on hard soles on human feet including
ReplyDelete"These differences are attributed to the fact that mountain boots affect the gait in a variety of ways, such as the longer lever arm of the foot. In the long term, the increased single support and decreased double support may predispose to joint overload and arthritis development. "
I'm sure there will be more relevant stuff about the effects of concussion if I look a bit further - off to investigate!
C
smazourek,
ReplyDeleteI can't help but feel your argument re: tap dancers is a straw man argument. Why ascribe the injuries suffered by tap dancers to the steel on their shoes? why not to the abnormal movement and concussion that is part of what they do? Ballet dancers also suffer from a huge range of injuries with terrible frequency and severity, would it be fair to ascribe this to their thin and insubstantial footwear? Or would it be fairer to say that both tap and ballet dancers injuries are more to do with their extreme movements rather than what they have on their feet?