RE: Re: Barefoot

["Bob Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

While the current trend is for some riders to espouse the
"barefoot" condition for their horses, there is a strong
rational for shoeing. I offer in excess of 26,000 miles of
AERC competition on our horses, with shoes. I also offer 25
years of AERC Competition with shoes with well over 95% in
the top ten with shoes. I offer these statistics regarding
horses in competition that have never had a foot or leg
problem associated with shoes. I also offer that we have had
these competitive horses lead long wholesome lives.

Now, I will not say we have never had a lame horse. That
would be a lie. We have had lameness from wire cuts, a bowed
tendon from deep sand and splints from being kicked. We have
had tenderness in the spring time when the feet, deshod for
the winter, have been worn down short.

I do believe that going bare foot is very good and natural.
Very few owners keep their horses as close to a natural
condition as we do. But, there comes a time during the
course of riding, conditioning and training, let alone
competing, that some protection is necessary. The time comes
when even the unshod "natural horse hoof" needs protection.
Hoof boots are a compromise the same way a shoe is a
compromise.

Bob Morris

-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Hayes [mailto:mark@madbbs.com]
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 11:15 AM
To: ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject: RC: Re: Barefoot



> I believe bruises are most often caused by improper
trimming or an
improper
> shape of the hoof capsule. A barefoot horse with full
feeling in his foot
that quickly un-weights a foot before applying full weight
on a rock is less
likely to suffer a bruise>>.
>> A shod (or contracted) horse who has a reduction in
feeling in his foot
to
> some degree due to reduced circulation is more likely to
fully weight the
> foot on the same rock and receive a bruise.>>>

Whoa!!  Certainly improper trimming can be bad for a horse,
but bruises are
caused by impact.  And yes, any horse traveling at a walk
will unweight his
foot when he encounters a rock that would bruise him, but
traveling at 8-10
mph, NO horse, barefoot or otherwise, will unweight his foot
in mid stride!

> Abscesses are often a sign of tissue damage within the
hoof capsule due to
> long term improper trimming and/or shoeing, e.g. high
heels, over grown
> bars, contraction, little or no hoof mechanism, etc. Of
course a puncture
> wound is also likely to cause an abscess.>>

Abscesses are the result of capillaries within the sole
breaking from impact
causing a bruise which then creates a pocket for bacteria to
invade and
multipy OR, a puncture, using the same process.  Some horses
are more
susceptible than others.  I have not noticed more abcesses
in any one single
population (neglected feet, well kept  feet, pasture
ornaments or not)

> The coffin bone can actually bruise the sole. If the sole
is unable to
draw
> flat making room for the coffin bone as it descends upon
weightbearing,
the
> coffin bone can hit and bruise the sole. High heels
causing the tip of the
> coffin bone to hit the sole with every step will not only
bruise the sole
> but eventually deform the tip of the coffin bone. Ever
seen a crescent
shape
> bruise between the tip of the frog and the wall at the
toe? >>

No, not in 18 years of shoeing and trimming as many as 800
horses a year -
EXCEPT in foundered horses.  I would argue that the
stuctures that hold a
normal horse's foot (as long as the coffin bone has not
permanently rotated
downward as in chronic laminitis) do not allow for the
coffin bone to move
enough to 'hit' anything.

>>But my horses'
> health takes precedence over my long time dream of
endurance riding.>>

I am glad you have not had to shoe your Icelandics.  I agree
that is a
healthy and cost effective way to keep horses.  My
experience (20 years of
endrance) has shown that I can not compete at the level I
want to compete
in, with a barefoot horse.  My horses' health also takes
precedence over any
goals I have.

Laura Hayes




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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net,
http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer:
http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
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