Barefoot Endurance

[guest@endurance.net]

K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net

Tracey Ritter said:

>>No one - and I do mean no one - is advocating the complete lack of
hoof protection, and I feel I can say this, as I am a member of both
lists (RC & barefoot endurance), as well HorseScience and some
others.  The Barefoot Endurance list has a link for Swiss Boots, and
we often and good naturedly debate the pros and cons of the different
hoof boots that are out there (Swiss Boots, Old Macs, EasyBoots,
etc.) - NOT whether or nor they should be used.   <<

If you want me to go back in the archives and cut and paste, I can give
LOTS of direct quotes from people (including Tracey herself) stating, in
essence, that all a horse needs in order to compete barefoot in endurance,
at any distance over any kind of terrain, is to have conditioned and
adapted to it. (Remember me, the queen of quoting somebody’s own words
back to them, and if anybody needs me to do it, I will).

Along with fatuous statements that all a barefoot horse enthusiast need do
is slap on some protective boots for hard rides until the horse’s feet
have made this adaptation.

I am pleased to hear that there is another list that is discussing hoof
protection alternatives, their successful (and not successful) use, the
types of terrain, horses, and other circumstances that they are suitable
for.  But few of the barefoot enthusiasts have discussed those things here
on Ridecamp, so Ridecampers are, I think, justified in thinking that most
barefoot enthusiasts are of the opinion that horses should be able to do
thousands of miles of endurance competition with a BAREFOOT horses.

I have numerous times over the past year+ stated, I tried that 10 years
ago and discovered for myself just how WRONG these concepts are, and I can
quote my own words back if people are really interested, including a
detailed description of the rides that I successfully completed with a
barefoot horse and the rides that I didn’t complete because either the
barefoot horse wore off too much foot during the ride or because some of
the assorted “hoof protection alternatives” didn’t work very well, and why
they didn’t work—and it is interesting to note that since Robyn and I live
and compete in the same region, that some of the rides we did successfully
with a barefoot horse, EHSC and Bear Valley Springs, were the same, and
where I discovered (and maybe she seems to have) the limitations were in
the same location, the Mojave Desert, if not the same ride (20MT 100
rather than the SSPTP).

So, now we have a two rat study instead of just one.  Different horses,
different riders, presumably slightly different conditioning programs, ten
years between the studies (you can look up my record for the 1991 and 1992
ride years if you want to see), with, it would seem, the same outcome.
Hopefully, nobody will feel the need to repeat the experiment again.

I will, however, add one more bit of information that was not included in
any of my past posts, as it specifically addresses what was reported to
have happened at Silver State this year.

AFTER a horse is foot sore from being too short in the foot from having
worn off too much foot by doing too many miles in abrasive terrain,
EasyBoots are no help.  And here is my explanation (which I don’t know if
it is correct, but it makes sense to me).

Horses that are foot sore from having gotten short in the foot, most of
their discomfort comes from the SOLE of the foot.  If you put your hand on
the bottom of such a horse’s foot it will be pretty hot to the touch
because, I contend, there is inflammation just below the surface of the
sole.  Putting an EasyBoot does nothing to alleviate pressure on the sole.
In fact it has little nubs inside on the sole that, in essence, poke into
it…causing greater discomfort every time the horse puts its foot down.
So, it is perfectly understandable to me that Barney and Linda would
notice nothing different when putting on EasyBoots at the vet check (and
therefore come to the erroneous conclusion that any gait changes that are
being seen are not related to the fact that the horse is foot sore).  And
it is perfectly understandable to me that Robyn would feel that the
EasyBoots were not helping (and since they didn’t help, come to the
erroneous conclusion that the problem was not that her horse needed hoof
protection).

In my experience, if you have already gone 35 miles over rough, abrasive
terrain and your horse is footsore as a result, the only “cure” for that
is total rest (and if it can lie down and take the weight off its feet, so
much the better).  Such horses cannot move comfortably, no matter what
kind of hoof protection you provide them, but the hoof protection with the
best chance of helping is something that raises the SOLE of the foot up
off the ground so that it doesn’t have pressure on it every time the horse
puts its foot down, rim shoes (whatever materials they are made of) best
fit this description.

I am not an opponent of people riding their barefoot horses in endurance
(I have done so many times myself); nor am I an opponent of Ride Managers
being allowed to require hoof protection at their rides.  BUT I am an
opponent of people who choose to ride their horses barefoot not being
aware enough of what a footsore horse feels like to know that they need to
get off and quit.  Endurance vets do not (as yet) have much experience
with how a barefoot horse exhibits its soreness, and it is hard to tell
when a horse is trotted straight out in hand if it is sore on all four
feet, which a barefoot horse would be.  Footsore barefoot horses are much
easier to diagnose as footsore when they are under saddle than they are in
hand.  The weight of the rider does make a big difference, especially if
the rider is posting at the trot, the horse will head bob on whichever
side the rider is posting on.  And footsore barefoot horses are much
easier to diagnose as footsore when they are being ridden by their regular
rider.  _I_ can tell when one of my barefoot horses is getting a bit too
short in the foot to continue being ridden without hoof protection long
before it is too late to do something about it, and I can do so by being
aware of my horse’s normal way of going and being attuned to any
alterations in that normal way of going.

If I read between the lines, the impression I get is that Robyn’s horse
handled the terrain of the Silver State ride with barely a thought to its
rockiness for the first 10 – 15 miles, and then the terrain got rough and
the horse started being a bit more careful about where it was putting its
feet.

For me, THIS is the time to protect my horse’s hooves.  I rode and
conditioned Lakota for 2 months barefoot (a horse that has been barefoot
for probably 90% of her life), but when she started moving with slightly
less confidence, she got steel shoes (which is the hoof protection that
her owner chose).  BEFORE just standing made her sore.  Next month she
will be going to Death Valley and will have EasyBoots foamed on over her
steel shoes.

I have ridden and conditioned Marla for the last 4 months in Old Mac Horse
Boots, but it rained here last week and is raining today and rain is in
the forecast for the weekend, and Old Macs don’t work for me in the mud,
and she is going to Death Valley next month.  Yesterday she got steel
shoes.  And for Death Valley she will have EasyBoots foamed on over her
steel shoes.

After the rainy season is over, I will probably go back to training and
conditioning with Old Macs (they have worked well for me over the past
months), and I may even decide to give competing in them another try now
that I have put hundreds of conditioning miles on them.  But I am fully
aware that they are nowhere near to being as tried and true as either
steel shoes or EasyBoots; and other barefoot endurance enthusiasts would
do well to be aware of this too.

I hope, that when all the people on the barefoot endurance list discuss
all the possible hoof protection options for endurance horses, that they
don’t totally discount steel shoes.  Like ANY other hoof protection
option, steel shoes have their drawbacks, but they have their advantages
too.  Coming from somebody who has experimented with LOTS of alternatives,
it is a big mistake not to at least consider steel when deciding on hoof
protection of choice for an endurance horse.

Maybe I should put together an evaluation table to be posted on Karen
Chaton's web site that addresses each of the options that I have used or
investigated detailing the advantages and disadvantages of each, and then
everybody can have a look and decide what makes the most sense for their
horse in their terrain with their living conditions, training conditions
and competition goals.

kat
Orange County, Calif.