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Horse Weigh launch new 'space age' weighing platform

The “Goodwood” is the new super lightweight weighing platform from Horse Weigh, using Formula One and aerospace technology.  Each half of the platform weighs only 31.31lbs (14.2kg), has its own transport bag and may be carried on a shoulder. It is assembled in less than 2 minutes. If you are taking your horses abroad, your “Goodwood” goes too.  Bluetooth recording technology of all data is standard. 

The “Goodwood” was launched at the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace in July. (Horse Weigh is a Royal Warrant Holder supplying horse weighing equipment to HM The Queen.) The Goodwood is taking Europe by storm - deliveries have already been made. It is now available in North America, and great interest has already been received.

Weighing is ideal for maintaining the optimum winning weight of racehorses.  Regular weighing will pick up a problem before your eye does.  It is also useful to monitor the recovery weight after travel nationally and internationally. By monitoring the weight a trainer can decide whether to advance a horse’s training or hold it back and thus not waste valuable time.  Owners are requesting the optimum winning weight of their horses and wanting their trainers to weigh.  Some trainers report that owners ‘expect’ them to weigh weekly. 

This platform has been field-tested by racehorses in rehabilitation, by foals, mares and stallions during the spring and summer at Shadwell Estate Co Ltd and at The Royal Studs. 

Studs weigh regularly to monitor growth and adjust feed accordingly; stallions can be maintained at their optimum weight during the covering season.  Weighing can be carried out in the paddocks instead of bringing the horses back to the stables so saving time for staff and stress to horses.  

This portable platform is popular with vets who may have to operate out in the paddocks.  An accurate weight means an accurate amount of anaesthetic; the accuracy guarantee is +/- 1%. 

Champion trainer elect, Richard Hannon says “Horse Weigh platforms are a very helpful training aid to monitor the horses’ weights.  We always weigh them before and after a run and then again a few days later to see how quickly they regained the weight which they lost during a run.”

“Sky Lantern is weighed regularly like all the horses; probable Breeder’s Cup contender Toronado is weighed every week and we could see that he was putting on condition, which just confirmed our thoughts that he was really improving and in great form for Royal Ascot.”

For more details contact: 

william@horseweigh.com

 Tel: +44 (0) 1939 220667

 Published in North American Trainer Fall/Winter 2013 Issue 30 

 

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Speed Silks™ - the latest uniform in technology

Earlier this Fall, Darby Racing Technology, LLC, launched an incredible new product for racing horsemen and jockeys - Speed Silks™.

Speed Silks is a revolutionary new equine jockey uniform made almost entirely from Aero Dimplex®, an ultra-lightweight, aerodynamically-engineered fabric that is textured to reduce drag. 

Speed Silks inventor, Matt Darby, says “Cyclists have been wearing uniforms made of Aero Dimplex for a few years. Even some competitive runners have adopted it, but the technology has never been used in horse racing until now”.

The use of Aero Dimplex is key to the design of Speed Silks; it is the industry standard in the world of competitive cycling and, according to manufacturer SwissTech, it’s the highest-rated aerodynamic fabric between 14 and 47 miles per hour. 

The entire Speed Silks line includes four products: colors (jerseys), helmet covers, pants and boot sleeves. All Speed Silks products are form-fitting; that, in addition to the special material from which they are made, reduces the amount of aerodynamic drag the jockey’s body creates in 3 ways:

• The “kite tail” effect – A jockey’s colors and pants make a lot of noise during a race. That noise is his clothing flapping in the wind. Every single flap pulls backwards on the jockey and therefore, the horse. We call it the “kite tail effect.” All Speed Silks products are form-fitting and almost seamless, so they don’t flap in the wind as the horse and jockey move through the air. Even Speed Silks pants conform to the rider’s body.

Skin friction - is the friction created as air is dragged across a surface; in this case, the jockey. The textured surface of the Aero Dimplex creates tiny pockets of turbulence along the surface of the jockey. While it may seem counter-intuitive, that’s what allows the rider to “slip” through the air more freely. 

Form drag – As a jockey moves through the air, a low-pressure pocket develops behind him. Cyclists and NASCAR drivers already know about this phenomenon, and take advantage of it by “drafting” closely behind another competitor. Race horses can’t “draft,” but Aero Dimplex’s special texture decreases the size of this low-pressure pocket by allowing the air to flow more smoothly around the rider. This reduces the backward pull on the jockey.

Darby says his product solves a problem many horsemen don’t even realize they have. “A jockey wearing traditional, old fashioned gear is basically a big parachute on top of the horse,” he says. “But since jockeys have worn loose, baggy uniforms for a hundred years or more, most owners and trainers never really think about it. I spent about two and half years building and testing a complete head-to-toe uniform designed from the ground up with a jockey in mind. Speed Silks will cover the rider from head to ankles in an aerodynamic shell of Aero Dimplex.

The colors, helmet covers and pants are all fully customizable. Anything you can dream of, we can put on the product in very bright, vibrant colors…owner colors, sponsor logos, anything. I’ll put a photo of your grandkids on your back if you ask me to. And the photo will look great.”

All Speed Silks products are available from Darby Racing Technology at www.SpeedSilks.com. Questions can be e-mailed to info@SpeedSilks.com. Matt Darby can be reached by phone at 806-570-6920. Follow on Twitter: @SpeedSilks.

Speed Silks™ is a trademark of Darby Racing Technology, LLC, in the US and in other countries.

Aero Dimplex® is the registered trademark of Schoeller Textil AG and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

Published in North American Trainer Fall/Winter 2013 Issue 30

 

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Equilume™ – Lighting the way in the global equine industry

An exciting and innovative new product is currently being rolled out across the Northern and Southern Hemisphere’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry.  Equilume, an Irish-based company, is poised to become the world leader in the research and development of light therapy solutions to assist the global horse industry maximize reproductive efficiency and performance. The Equilume Light Mask is a breakthrough product developed from novel research conducted at University College Dublin by Dr. Barbara Anne Murphy and Professor John Sheridan. It is an automated headpiece for horses that provides the optimum level of blue light to a single eye to successfully advance the breeding season but with other important applications for trainers.

The universal birth date for Thoroughbreds of January 1st poses a number of significant problems for breeders, including difficulty ensuring mares are reproductively active early in the year, prolonged gestation lengths and reduced average foal birth weights.  The Equilume Light Mask has been scientifically shown to advance the reproductively active period of the mare as effectively as standard indoor lighting regimes. An ideal application is for use on maiden mares in their final months of training to kick-start their reproductive activity before beginning a stud career. For pregnant mares, it prevents prolonged gestation lengths and increases average foal birth weights. An additional response to the light treatment is the early shedding of the winter coat, a desirable consequence for many performance and sales animals. In fact, a recent scientific study conducted by the JRA revealed that an extended light regime early in the year increases muscle mass in Thoroughbred colts.

Dr Murphy’s early research on circadian rhythms in horses suggests that the light mask will also benefit traveling racehorses by preventing jet lag effects on performance. Studies will soon be underway to further validate this application. 

The mask itself fits comfortably under the headcollar and provides low intensity blue light to the horse’s right eye. It is completely labor free and once activated at 4pm between Nov 15th and Dec 1st, will come on automatically each day at dusk and stay lighting until 11pm. Rigorous testing of the durability and reliability of the light mask have been conducted on farms across three continents over the last two seasons. 

Detailed information on the product, the research, the trials and testimonials from users can be found online at www.equilume.com

Published in North American Trainer Fall/Winter 2013 Issue 30

 

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Stride analysis - the next step to predicting a horse's future

The stride of the thoroughbred has been a subject of fascination for horseman since the early days of its breeding.

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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 43

 

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