首款馬蹄專用跑鞋面世
For over 2000 years, the good old iron horseshoe has remained the only reliable footwear for horses, but an Austrian company is ready to “take the horse out of the Iron Age” with the world’s first equine running shoes, the Megasus Horserunners.
兩千多年來，對於馬而言，優質的馬蹄鐵是唯一值得信賴的鞋子。但是，一家奧地利公司準備“讓馬擺脫鐵器時代”，推出世界首款馬蹄專用跑鞋，取名爲Megasus Horserunners。
Charly Forstner, the founder of Megasus, used to work as an animal welfare inspector for horses in Austria. He learned that over 50% of horses that needed to be put down suffered from severe hoof and leg problems. 20 years ago, he decided to dedicate his life to coming up with a better alternative to the iron horseshoe.
Megasus公司的創始人查理.福斯特納曾經是奧地利的一名動物健康檢查員，專門負責馬的健康檢查。他了解到，超過50%的馬因患有嚴重的馬蹄和腿部疾病而不得不被安樂死。20年前，他決定終身致力於爲馬設計一種更好的鞋，取代馬蹄鐵。
Over the last two decades, he invented various hoof protection products made of plastic, like the ‘Dynamix’ or the ‘Easywalker’, but he recently unveiled something truly revolutionary – clip-on running shoes for horses. Forstener claims that they combine the qualities of both the common horseshoe and the hoof boot to offer horses the protection and freedom of movement that they require.
過去20年間，他設計了各種塑料馬蹄保護產品，比如Dynamix和Easywalker，但是，最近他推出一款真正具有革命性的產品——夾式馬蹄專用跑鞋。福斯特納表示，該跑鞋結合了普通馬蹄鐵和馬蹄靴的特質，在需要時給馬提供保護，讓它們可以自由奔跑。
While the iron horseshoe is known for its durability and adjustability, it also has some serious flaws – it’s heavy, restricts movement, has no shock absorption, channels heat and cold to the inner hoof, and the need for nailing can destroy the hoof horn. The hoof boot, on the other hand, has long been the go-to solution for barefoot horse owners, with companies like Cavallo and Easy Boot offering a variety of equine footwear. But finding hoof boots that don’t rub on a horse’s leg and hoof, are easy to put on and remove, and stay on all kinds of terrain can be a real struggle. The Megasus Horserunners claim to incorporate all the qualities of both option, while eliminating the downsides.
衆所周知，馬蹄鐵持久耐用，可調節性高，但是也存在嚴重的缺點——馬蹄鐵笨重，限制運動，沒有減震功能，既不耐熱也不耐冷，而且需要在馬蹄上釘釘子，這會損壞蹄角質。而馬蹄靴一直以來都是赤腳馬主人的首選，Cavallo和Easy Boot等公司推出了各式各樣的馬靴。但是，要想找到一雙馬靴，容易穿戴和拆卸且不會磨傷馬腿和馬蹄，並且可以讓馬在各種地形上奔跑，這絕非易事。Megasus Horserunners不僅融合了馬蹄鐵和馬蹄靴的特質，而且摒棄了二者的缺點。
“The innovative Megasus Horserunners offer many advantages over the traditional products such as they are lightweight (less than half a pound), can be adjusted individually, easy to put on, and offer protection without permanence,” a Megasus press release states.
一篇Megasus的新聞稿寫道：“與傳統的產品相比，這款創新型的Megasus Horserunners具有許多優勢，比如輕巧（比傳統馬掌輕了半磅），可單個調節，容易穿戴，具有保護作用，而且不是永久性的。”
“It can also stay put in all kinds of terrain including mud and water plus it allows the hoof to be flexible. The product is also designed to protect the sole from bruising, cracking and other injuries by offering shock absorption. It does not accumulate snow, dirt or mud and is easy to clean.”
“這款馬蹄專用跑鞋適用於所有地形，泥濘不堪的路和有水坑的路也適用。此外，它還可以保持馬蹄的靈活性。Megasus Horserunners的減震功能可以防止蹄底擦傷、破裂和其他傷病。它也不會積雪、積灰或積泥，便於清潔。”
Instead of using dangerous iron nails, the Megasus Horserunners simply clip-on to the horse’s hooves, thanks to an improved velcro system. Two large strips of strong velcro tape (called Meg-Log Tape) stick on to each hoof, to which the Horserunners clip on with individually adjustable side clips.
Megasus Horserunners採用改良的尼龍搭扣系統，不需要使用具有危險性的鐵釘，而是隻需夾在馬蹄上。兩大排尼龍搭扣帶可以粘到每隻馬蹄上，每隻跑鞋側面的夾扣都可以調節。
“The Mega-Lock tape remains approximately 3 weeks on the hoof and is protected with a protection foil during the time the hoof goes bare. The foil has a sealing lip similar to swimming goggles, so that the Mega-Lock tape is prevented from water and dirt intrusion,” Megasus claims.
Megasus公司稱：“Mega-Lock 膠帶可以在馬蹄上維持三週左右，沒有裝馬掌的時候，Mega-Lock 膠帶上的保護箔可以起到保護作用。保護箔上有類似於泳鏡密封圈的東西，可以防水、耐髒。”
The Austrian company ensures horse owners that the clip-on system is so strong that the Horserunners will stay on the hoof in any terrain.
這家奧地利公司向馬主人保證，這些夾扣設計很牢固，馬穿着跑鞋在各種地形上奔跑都不會掉。
“The time is ripe for healthy and comfortable hoof protection for horses,” Charly Forstner said. “In 1998, I already proved with a wedge test that the hoof moves on the vertical plane 1-2cm, almost 10 times more than horizontally, and without affecting the overlying joint. This means that the hoof works jointly and compensates for ground irregularities such as stones and ground waves. A rigid fixation of the hoof capsule by a horseshoe is, therefore, very close to plastering it. Horseshoes immobilize ligaments and tendons; hence, it makes the blood flow becomes weaker.” Apparently, the Megasus Horserunners change all that.
“推出健康舒適的馬蹄護具的時機已經成熟，”查理.福斯特納說，“1998年，我做了錘擊韌性試驗，已經證明馬蹄護具可以在1到2釐米的垂直平面上運動，厚度幾乎是水平面的10倍，而且不會影響到馬蹄的關節。這說明，馬蹄護具和馬蹄之間可以相互協作，緩解石子和地面凹凸不平等給馬蹄帶來的衝擊。而馬蹄鐵會將馬蹄匣牢牢固定住，相當於粘在了上面，讓馬的韌帶和肌腱無法活動，不利於血液流通。” 顯然，Megasus Horserunners改變了這一切。
After successfully testing the prototype for their horse running shoes, Megasus sought to raise some money for production through crowdfunding. They launched a campaign on Kickstarter in October, asking for EURO100,00, and by the time the campaign ended, they managed to raise EURO169,136. The first Megasus Horserunners are scheduled to be shipped in July 2017.
在馬蹄專用“跑鞋”的原模型測試成功後，Megasus公司便試圖通過衆籌募資來獲得生產資金。十月，他們在Kickstarter衆籌網站上進行了宣傳，初衷是募集1萬歐元，截止到宣傳活動結束，他們成功募集到了16萬9136歐元。首批Megasus Horserunners預計在2017年7月上市。
