Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Keeping shoes on horses

Without opening the whole barefoot debate again (which I avoided 
participating in last time)--nothing wrong with looking for a better 
mousetrap, but for the newbies' sake, I feel a need to counter your 
statements:

re #2 as an absolute--

When your ground is such that you *wear off too much foot in 
training*, and we are NOT overtraining with 2 arena days and 1 or 2 
trail days a week, hoof protection is required.

My kid went his whole 5 years without shoes, including 1 1/2 years of 
arena work.  When we added the trail, in May, he started wearing off 
his feet too much.

This has nothing to do with the genetic composition of his hooves! 
And for those who try to claim that it's the white feet that wear 
quicker, my farrier of a dozen years says no, and this kid has one 
white forefoot and one black, one black rear foot and the other 
striped.

This ain't about competing barefoot--just training!  Our footing is 
decomposed granite, very abrasive.

re #3--
I wish you could see my 11 year old mare's feet--there is no loss of 
basic hoof mechanism--perfect hard soles and good frogs, and she has 
worn shoes since she was 3 1/2, with at least one shoeing cycle 
barefoot per year, sometimes longer.  When she has pads on, which we 
do for multi-days, her frogs stay perfect.  We do our hardest rocky 
rides with no pads.  She wears a size 1 in front, and is a purebred 
Arabian.

re #4--
While this is one-rat related, she has not had any trouble with 
traction with steel shoes, on rocky courses, and lack of traction 
caused none of her lameness pulls.  I doubt there's one kind of hoof 
protection that works for all conditions.  Let's see, lameness 
pulls--cholla cactus, twice tiny stones wedged next to the frog in 
the sulcii (barefoot wouldn't have helped that), a foot twisted in 
landing in rocks...nope, none of those steel shoe-related.

Lynne
and Rem-member Me (barefoot) and Celesteele (on his first set of shoes)
St. Croix wide web steel eventers



At 9:36 AM -0700 7/14/02, sharp penny wrote:
> --- Rob <haksaw@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >    I don't understand the aversion to steel shoes.
>
>   No aversion..just looking for a "better mousetrap"  :)
>
> My thinking is:
> 1. Barefoot is the ideal.
> 2. Not all horses can successfully compete barefoot; either
> because of heredity or unable to train on the type ground
> you will be competing on. So shoeing is necessary.
> 3. I want a shoe that will allow foot expansion and
> stimulate the frog..steel shoes don't allow for basic hoof
> mechanism.
> 4. I want improved traction on various surfaces like rocks,
> asphalt roads ect. with the least amount of torque on the
> legs.
> 5. Price does dictate what I can try in lue of the
> traditional steel shoes.
>
> Why not investigate all options???
>
> Regards,
> Penny

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