An international research team is working to understand how horseshoes affect foot skeleton stress in racehorses, in a project that is likely to benefit the racing industry and protect horses from injury.
The research team, from the RVC, UQ in Australia and Brown University in the USA, is harnessing a new approach that combines 3D x-ray imaging technology with computer simulations and models of the forces exerted on bones.
Royal Veterinary College vertebrate biomechanics and evolutionary anatomy researcher Professor John Hutchinson said further research was necessary.
"We need to undertake further studies with more horses moving at faster speeds and gaits and with a similar focus on the hind feet," he said.
Check out the video below of a 3d modelled horse foot