Barefoot vs shod

[guest@endurance.net]

Dru tdmonte@theriver.com
Hi everybody,
  Hey lets' not let this subject line develop into an
us and them thing. It is obvious thru recent posts that
some can go bare and do endurance and some cannot. Personally,
 I live in an area where in order to train for endurance my horses cannot
go bare. Been there done that
tried it all, taken the courses from Martha on Strasser, which by the way
is worth reading FOR THE SCIENCE and to see how this particular person has
saved FOUNDERED and sick horses, BUT that method, if those of you will
recall who are such advocates for her method, originated in GERMANY, and
was invented for special conditions,(ie. exercise in a PADDED arena and
SOFT pasture) not for everyone, everywhere.No reason to get fanatical
about it. Therefore it is working for some and not for others, and I know
first hand since I did the trim for two years on my own horses and saw
some miracles with it on others, for some others it just did not work.For
those it does and did, GREAT ! For those who are so very fortunate to be
able to go bare and natural , GREAT.I was all gung ho to actually go to
Germany and learn from the master, but then I read the contract, one of
the last lines states that if you become an actual certified "Strasser"
trim trimmer, that you agree to personally never shoe a horse again.If you
do shoe and they find out, your certification, (which can cost upwards of
ten thousand dollars) is void and null. That's where the whole trip lost
me, too fanatical, no one tells me what I can and cannot do with my horses
, if they need shoes, they get shoes, if they can go bare than so be it.
What a shame, I might have gone and learned more if this last line had not
been in the contract. The world is too diverse and wonderful place to be
in a snit about what others are doing. This is supposed to be fun,not a
forum for us vs. them.
Dru (do what is best for your horses, for what you want to do)