Ban on toe grabs
 

The evidence is strong to regulate the toe grabs.
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=37674

It's about damn time. I took an equine physiology class last semester and we learned about how shoeing changes the way in which horses legs function. Toe grabs (any type of toe grab, not just the "greater than 4mm" type that is being discussed in that article) place a tremendous strain on tendons and ligaments because they basically raise the toe and drop the heel. Some really nasty stuff can be done to a horse's joints, especially the knees, due to toe grabs.

Then there's evidence that toe grabs may not even help at all. I have a book laying around somewhere ("The Nature of Horses" by Steven Budiansky) that has a section on equine locomotion. Basically, a horse's leg moves like a pendulum, so at the point of the stride where the toe is the only thing touching the ground, there's not enough force being exerted on the ground in order for the toe grab to help propel the animal forward.

Toe grabs stop the foots forward motion as it slides forward which in turn should allow the horse to break over quicker. I know that Allen Jerkens, Mike Hushion and Nick Zito would all disagree with you about the effectiveness of toe grabs or stickers.

i read this article yesterday. and of course they mentioned again about cali not enforcing their regulations on grabs-which begs the question why have the regulation if it isn't worth the paper it's printed on? also remember that woodbine had said no toe grabs, but they allowed them back after the problems started with their poly and the cold.

so, are they bad or not? or should they just be allowed to a certain height? is it the grab, or the horse it's put on?

I think they do more harm than the "good" they're supposed to be doing. Two of the thoroughbreds we had off the track had severe hoof angle problems because of their use on them throughout their careers.