Re: Barefoot Stats

["Heidi Smith" <heidi@sagehillcmk.com>]

>And to me barefoot will always mean a
> horse with BARE feet. EZ Boots, Swiss Boots, Ol' Macs are SHOES.
> To answer your question, traditional steel shoes do only protect the wall.
> People who "shoe" do not hesitate to also use pads or boots where sole
> protection is needed. It pretty much goes without saying when you're not
> trying to prove a point.

Nancy, I was telling my Dad a little about this thread, and he reminded me
that even the Native Americans fashioned hoof coverings out of leather
("horse moccasins"??) because they, too, found that with excessive travel,
hoof wear exceeded hoof growth, leaving the horses sore and hence not as
useful as a means of transportation.  (And quite frankly, I can't imagine a
group of horses kept in a much more "natural" setting than what theirs
were...)

Heidi