Re: Barefoot

[Tracey Ritter <tracey_ritter@yahoo.com>]

It just tickles me that some folks have this sense of absolutism; 
that they feel they can declare which rides are "impossible" to do 
barefoot.  Impossible to whom? And why? Yet, we have fellow endurance 
riders like Robyn Levash (sp?) who have just completed the Sunland 50 
(not just a dinky LD ride) and another 50 the weekend after that 
barefoot with her horse in excellent condition.  Luck?!  
Coincidence?! An anomaly unlikely to be duplicated?  I think not.

This gal has put in an amazing amount of time and miles conditioning 
her horse to handle this type of terrain in top form, and I think 
it's high time that the endurance community recognize these 
accomplishments for what they are.  Give credit where credit is due, 
and for Heaven's sake, let's stop trying to pretend that *anyone* has 
the divine knowledge to give these edicts so freely as to what is or 
isn't impossible... after all, no one will ever be able to prove what 
can be done unless they are given that opportunity.  Naturally, it 
helps that they can demonstrate to the very well-meaning RMs (who 
undoubtedly are very experienced with the particular terrain their 
ride covers) that their training and conditioning has been of the 
nature that they can handle such terrain without putting their horse 
at unnecessary risk, but without some flexibility here, we're going 
to remain in the Dark Ages unless we remove our hands from over our 
eyes and take each success for what it is.  Look at the horse, 
evaluate his condition, evaluate his training methods, and then 
perhaps feel that you can come to an honest conclusion, but only 
AFTER doing so - it's only fair, right? If we're going to debate this 
intelligently, it seems like the best way to approach this.  

Please, let's not take what I'm saying and turn it into a "To Shoe or 
Not to Shoe" debate - that's not what I'm talking about.  Only about 
having a little flexibility so that those who do condition properly 
can have the opportunity to demonstrate firsthand to the endurance 
community just exactly what is or isn't possible, with or without 
shoes.  

Kindest Regards,

Tracey Ritter
Portland, OR  (soon to be Camas, WA)
-- 
Deja MOO:  That feeling you get when you think you've heard this bull 
before!