(the grippy kind not eye candy)
http://www.internationaleventingforum.com/the-use-and-effect-of-studs/
Everyone should read the article. It’s eye-opening. And I’d say, important.
I’d be curious to see actual research on this.
Fascinating! In the past few years I’ve been using studs more often (despite not getting above prelim)… possibly because the trainer I worked with used them alllll the time. Even when I first started going Training I didn’t use studs, and when I did it was usually just an outside hind. I then started questioning my studding decisions when I was told only using one behind was bad for them… and it just snowballed from there into using them on all 4. :no:
Also do many people use more than two studs? I’ve legitimately never seen this-- my trainer mostly uses a variety of bigger ones on the outside and tiny roads on the inside, so that’s what I do as well (so maybe not all that different than just using one?) I can’t really imagine jumping on grass with four shoes this time of year without studs-- even doing dressage is iffy if the grass is short, but probably it’s different in the UK.
I read that yesterday and did find that some interesting concerns were brought up; however, it seemed like there was a lot of opinion and conjecture and not a lot of cold hard evidence.
I disagreed with the implication that studs are largely used so that people can go fast, make time, and win. When you’re jumping big solid stuff up and down hills and off turns, you do need to keep a certain amount of power in the stride whether you’re trying to make time or not, and the horse does need a degree of traction to do that safely without slipping and falling. I think that is more the reason why most people use studs.
That said, some actual objective research into the likelihood of injuries with versus without studs would be a good thing, because I think most of us also want to keep our horses as sound as they can be.
I would definitely be very aware using studs with glue on shoes. A horse may “spin out” of a nailed shoe if the studs stick in the footing a bit, however a glue on may not. If there is enough torsion to compensate for, it may show up elsewhere. I believe this may have factored into my horse fracturing his short pastern many years ago. He recovered beautifully, but both vets advising on his case said it was most likely due to torquing the ankle and he had a glue on with studs on that hoof when it happened.
My horse liked having the extra traction, especially for dressage in grass rings; but I definitely err on the side of slightly too little than slightly too much stud.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8751057]
Also do many people use more than two studs? I’ve legitimately never seen this-- my trainer mostly uses a variety of bigger ones on the outside and tiny roads on the inside, so that’s what I do as well (so maybe not all that different than just using one?) I can’t really imagine jumping on grass with four shoes this time of year without studs-- even doing dressage is iffy if the grass is short, but probably it’s different in the UK.[/QUOTE]
A lot of show jumpers tap a third hole in the shoe. There are certainly a lot of differing opinions some say use bigger on the outside and smaller on the inside some say the exact opposite.
Interesting that while they mention the bars and frogs as being designed to help give the hoof traction, they don’t talk about how a shoe reduces the traction of frog and bars.
I think it would be interesting to analyse how bare, shod, and studded feet perform in the same situation.
Way back when I had a shod hunter I did use road studs (two in all four) in large part because my horse was worried about slipping. If he slipped he would slow and shorten his stride, and subsequently meet every fence a half stride wrong. I did have slightly larger studs for his hind feet in very wet conditions. All our show venues were grass. I didn’t stud on the rare occasion we showed on sand.
it is certainly true that there is less give and less slide with studs - one of the first things i noticed putting studs on the first time in pony club as a teen was that my gelding no longer confidently ‘strode’ to the jump – the studs absolutely affected his way of going. he had a very powerful jump and he was a bold jumper - but with studs on he would get clippy and tight-strided before the fence, and kind of pogo-stick over it instead of bound. he was a turf-bred horse that was incredibly scopey, so maybe he just had a natural affinity for grass and slippery footing. i didn’t run him in studs ever again.
i don’t think the article was saying people only put studs on to go fast – but they are right - you use studs to give your horse an advantage over those tight turns and slippy areas of footing.
i don’t really love studs, but i understand their importance. since that one gelding the rest of the horses i’ve run haven’t seemed to mind the studs.
i’ve seen eventers do up to four. if i have to put studs in i only do two.
count me in as someone who appreciated the article and would look forward to seeing studies done on the affects of the lower limb when studded.
correct me if i am wrong but wasn’t there a slow-motion video done ages ago that showed the same couple of horses with no shoes, shoes, little studs and big honking road studs? i remember seeing something like that, it was fascinating to me as i never realized how much the lower limbs and pasterns “rotated” to the side right before loading phase.
It only makes sense that studs are likely to increase concussion on hard ground. the only place I can see a use for studs is on fairly short grass that is well watered, when you are heading on a bit big Prelim or higher course, and those were road studs. And putting smaller studs on the inside or outside and a larger one opposite makes no foot balance sense at all.
Only once did I pull out the bigger studs but that was on long, well established really beautiful deep turf, where the course was set on rolling hills, and there were some sharp down hill spreads.
That being said, is using only one stud on the outside hind a bad thing in terms of foot balance?
[QUOTE=beowulf;8751938]
correct me if i am wrong but wasn’t there a slow-motion video done ages ago that showed the same couple of horses with no shoes, shoes, little studs and big honking road studs? i remember seeing something like that, it was fascinating to me as i never realized how much the lower limbs and pasterns “rotated” to the side right before loading phase.[/QUOTE]
I’m remembering this video too but haven’t been able to find it. Will keep looking!
I’ve always been taught to go with no stud or as little stud as possible. I grew up show jumping but a lot on grass and then when I switched to eventing my first coach pretty much said no studs needed below prelim and we never used studs schooling XC at home. I was surprised the number of horses I saw going out N and T in big studs on all four shoes at MDHT the last two weekends on the very hard ground.
I would definitely be interested in seeing further study on the subject.
Fascinating topic. Am I the only one who thinks that just using one stud on the outside would logically create torque and an unbalance? Or for that matter, when speaking of multiple studs, using an uneven number on the inside versus the outside? Makes me glad my horses are barefoot.
[QUOTE=FatCatFarm;8752187]
Fascinating topic. Am I the only one who thinks that just using one stud on the outside would logically create torque and an unbalance? Or for that matter, when speaking of multiple studs, using an uneven number on the inside versus the outside? Makes me glad my horses are barefoot.[/QUOTE]
They discuss in the article that as long as you aren’t on hard roads the stud sinks into the ground and you don’t have any level imbalance across the foot.
I just saw this article this morning. Started to read it but haven’t finished it.
I am really interested to see the whole article. I currently use studs for jump school on the grass, and at competitions, with this particular horse who gets really antsy and short strided if he slips.
With the studs - he goes much better. I try to use the smallest studs I can, usually roads or those little grass tips. I have only a couple of times done the outside bigger, inside smaller - I just felt that it didn’t provide balance.
[QUOTE=weixiao;8752242]
They discuss in the article that as long as you aren’t on hard roads the stud sinks into the ground and you don’t have any level imbalance across the foot.[/QUOTE]
Do you want to walk across a dirt field in only one high heel? That stuck in the ground stud doesn’t imbalance the standing foot, but that foot has to move. And that stuck in the ground stud can only cause torque on movement.
Again…nothing new.
It is not a simple black and white issue. It really depends on the individual horse.
Some horses lose confidence if they do not have traction. I often find I need to use studs at a lower level, then need less or none for a long time. I’ve seen horses crippled kept barefoot…I’ve seen people cause injury from using too much stud…and others getting injured from slipping when not enough stud.
You need to be aware of your individual horse and the footing.
Only point I thought a bit uninformed in the article was on all weather footing. If you talk to those designing with top knotch footing…it is engineered to allow the horses feet to work well and to allow some natural slip. I think injuries do happen if footing is too deep…or if you do not maintain it well.
I agree you must evaluate each horse, the work being done and the footing on that day. My philosophy is they should assist the horse just enough (and no more) to maintain traction when needed. My pony fell down going around a corner in stadium. He was barefoot in the back at the time, and I am sure if he had had shoes and studs it would not have happened. Luckily, it was a non-issue for us, but falls can cause many problems, not only physical, but possibly mental as well.
[QUOTE=merrygoround;8752368]
Do you want to walk across a dirt field in only one high heel? That stuck in the ground stud doesn’t imbalance the standing foot, but that foot has to move. And that stuck in the ground stud can only cause torque on movement.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. A high heel is a lot of height and on one foot. Here we are talking about a small stud on the outside of each hind shoe. But, in what I think is a relevant comparison, my soccer cleats, while they don’t have just one stud, don’t have even studs and do not sit straight across on hard ground. However, on soft ground where the studs dig in, the unevenness is not a problem.
