Re: out of barefoot curiosity

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

Yes, Terry, they are.  (Which is why you see such low completion stats as those that were listed in a previous post.)  Why would ride management not want this to happen?  1) Because ride management is in the best position to know the terrain that the horse has to travel and if the horse is apt to be injured by the terrain by not wearing some manner of hoof protection, and 2) Ride management does not want to have PETA or the press standing around at Vet Check 1 seeing an inordinate number of lame horses, which in turn, causes bad PR for the sport. 

 

Why would someone NOT want to do everything in their power to KEEP their horse from suffering lameness?  Yes, this includes conditioning to the terrain.  It also includes riding smart.  But for gosh sakes, it also includes providing some hoof protection for the horse when the conditions indicate that it would be in the horse's best interests!  What is so bad about that?

 

As a ride manager and as a ride vet, I have on several occasions allowed riders to do LD's with barefoot horses, on some rides.  (Not all rides have the same sorts of terrain, and there are some rides where I would not DREAM of allowing a barefoot horse.)  A few have come through with feet in good shape.  Most, while still sound, were clearly about to their limit at 25 or 30 miles, as to what they should do barefoot.  And I'm not talking rocky rides here.  I've only personally seen a handful of horses that I'd allow on a 50 or a rockier LD without shoes.  And none of those were horses that I'd consider campaigning week after week that way.

 

The majority of riders DO come to the ride having prepared to the best of their abilities so that they are not likely to be pulled.  That said, if all riders were cognizant of when their horses were not capable of going on, we wouldn't need ride vets.  But there are always those who simply can't see the obvious, and need rules, vets, etc. to minimize the chance of injury to their horses.

 

Heidi

----- Original Message -----

From: Terry W

To: ridecamp@endurance.net

Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2001 7:51 PM

Subject: RC: out of barefoot curiosity

Wouldn't a sore barefoot horse be pulled at vet checks just like a sore shod horse would?  So why would ride managers require hoof protection?  It would seem that anyone who is spending the time and money to ride the ride would not want to be pulled due to sore hooves, so wouldn't they be the best ones to judge whether their horse can or can't compete barefoot?