RE: re:barefoot - long

["Anna Larson" <hobo14@earthlink.net>]

I am not a major poster on this list but all my horses are barefooted and I
have a young mare just turned 6 that I am conditioning for endurance.  Last
year she successfully completed two different two day competitive trail
rides of about 20 miles per day all barefooted.  And she continues to be
conditioned barefooted.

I know that people turn out 24/7 and trim regularly. I do that. But is
anybody
out there conditioning their horse for endurance ACTIVELY and on
purposely
trying to condition their hooves also,

No My horses will not be shod, I have not seen a reason for it. I am looking
into hoof boots as a "just in Case" but really do not have a true need for
them either. My major problem is the ride managers in the area not wanting
to allow a barefooted horse.  I basically had to shoe my mule for a ride in
the area because of the ride management. That was the first set of shoes my
mule has ever worn and she did not take to shoes well that was the worst 6
weeks of riding I ever had with her.

 Will all give up and go back to metal shoes? will some
make it
and others not? Will we all be using some of the new hoof boots on the
market?


> So, if you live in a part of the
country
> where horses can be ridden unshod, great.

As for riding conditions, I live in an area that probably has some of the
rockiest riding conditions.  The mountain I live on has a combination of
Sandstone, shale and volcanic rock and soils of either hard pan clay or
sand. All of my equine are barefooted up here and all are ridden on these
trails frequently.