Half a Horse’s Hoof at the Polo Grounds

I was at the polo grounds doing my usual goal judge duties. The ball came skittering down to my end and all eight horses came piling after it. There was a melee in front of the goalpost, and when they all departed, I noticed a dark shape on the ground. I walked up to it and found half a horse's hoof, complete with its shoe still on, lying there!

I suspect this was a crumbling hoof which had been built up by the farrier because of the clean break. I was astounded that the horse had managed to canter away on the remainder of her hoof, and wondered which one it was.

A message came to me after the game, could I go and see what I could do with one of our own horses... it was her. They had bound up her hoof but she could barely walk, the adrenaline had worn off.

I had no idea what my Bioptron could do, but I did my usual combination, red all round, then purple, then Bioptron, in all, about 10 to 12 minutes. They were loading the horses up the steep ramp into the big polo truck. I asked a groom to walk her out a bit. She walked normally, they kept walking her to the ramp, and she scrambled up it with no apparent pain. I was as astounded as anyone.

The farrier was called to rebuild her hoof and I wasn't needed again.

Heidi Dobbie