NEW collaborative work between researchers in equine medicine, maths, physics and stem cell biology has resulted in a clearer understanding of how hooves grow and how abnormal hoof shapes may develop in horses.

The lead author, Dr Cyril Rauch, said: “With new scientific inputs from physics, mathematics and biology, this study provides an entirely new paradigm regarding hard growing tissues such as the horse hoof, which can be applied across cattle, sheep and other species, to unify a set of apparently disparate conditions and clarify the roles of physics and/or biology.”