Re: RC: Re: Endurance, Barefoot-style!

[Trailrite@aol.com]

     Although, I believe that horses, if not ridden or ridden much, can go 
barefooted,  this by all means is not a new idea. But, I keep hearing about 
this "Natural" thing.  If you want your horse to be "natural", then you 
shouldn't ride him.  It is not natural for a horse to carry weight on his 
back for however many miles you ride them.  By the time your out riding him, 
you have lost your claim to "Natural".
     The thing about putting medal and nails on & into a horses hoof has been 
invented to help prevent injuries and wear.  I think the 1st shoe was leather 
and it was Ghangis Kahn who started using them, because they needed to ride 
and or travel hard everyday.   I'm not sure about the spelling of his name or 
the exact story or how many years ago this started, but, Yes, I do believe 
this barefoot Vs shoes is a fad. I have yet to see (doesn't mean there isn't 
any) any horse or mule do a multiday ride of 250+ miles without some sort of 
protection on the hoof in the last 7 years (that's how long I've attended 
multidays).
And from what I've seen, most horses/mules can't even get pass and into the 
upper levels of conditioning without shoes. I've seen it tried but with great 
expense to the damage of the hoof.  Which puts the horse into a lot of pain 
for a while and in the long run, seemed easy to prevent by using shoes.  Most 
endurance riders have a hard enough time keeping from wearing medal off, much 
less hoof walls.
     Of course, there are a few horses that can do a 100 here, a 50 there, 
and maybe do a lot of them.  But there are always exceptions and that's a 
good thing.
It keeps us guessing. :) 
      Please feel free to let us know how your first five 50's go barefooted, 
or your first 100 miler.  Then maybe you can catch our attention.  The other 
thing is, it has to be proven by a number of horses not just one or two.  
This way, I would say would be solid testing of the barefoot method on 
endurance horses while competing.
     Our horses, our clients horses, all do well with shoes and for 1000's of 
miles.  So...If the wheel ain't broke, don't fix it! 

Tammy Robinson
Trail-Rite Ranch & Products
18171 Lost Creek Road
Saugus, CA 91390
661/513-9269 or  713-3912
www.Trail-Rite.com   email:trailrite@aol.com