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Howard wrote:
>>Don't worry, Tracey, I don't think you're picking on me.
Whew :)!
I've looked at it, and I've
also got Jaime Jackson's book. As I said, I'm info-gathering right now,
and have no firm convictions either way (other than : barefoot is no good for
jumpers - but if anyone can show me otherwise, I'll listen).
>>She's very interested in endurance and barefooting, and even though
I did tell her I'm at the bottom of the pile as far as endurance riders go, I
did get her attention by mentioning our sport.
Okay, ask her about
jumpers! We need grip, and lots of it. Studs are a must when you get
to about D grade, on grass. Barefoot horses just slip and slide all over
the place. Do that coming into a 1.5 meter oxer and you're
roadkill!
>>I can tell
you what motivates me more than anything, and if you go thru the site thoroughly
you'll understand what I'm talking about. It's the concavity of the
sole. On shod horses it's not normally there.
Huh???? Your shod horses
are flat-footed????
>>If you shoe your horses and you have the concavity in the sole like
a feral horse does, then you're doing everything right and have the best of both
worlds. I have yet to see it on a horse that has been shod most of his
life.
I have yet to see a feral
horse's foot, or a feral horse doing what my jumpers do, so I've never been
particularly convinced by this type of reasoning. Maybe that's my
problem. A lot of the barefoot research is done on feral horses or
distance horses, I've not seen much on jumpers. But my horse does have
concave feet (at least, they ain't flat!). They don't all have concave
feet, sure, but mine does.
>>I am not saying shoes are evil; not at all. I know that rocks
will tear up a horses hoof without them and I'm putting them on my guys before
my next GERA ride, with pads, because that ride has more rocks than any other I
go to. The little, man made kind, that love to get in there and cause a
stone bruise. I won't go to that ride barefoot,
Sigh! I had Toc off for
a week with a sliced sole from stepping on a stone - with shoes! Accidents
do happen, and I think you're wise to take all the precautions that you
can.
>>"the horse was intended to carry most of his weight on the rear
portion of the sole, not on his toes or hoof walls." When you throw on
those shoes, the horse is traveling on the toe and hoof wall.
See, this also brings me back
to what I was saying about jumpers. Think how much more strain is placed
on toes and heels when jumping?
>>Next time your farrier takes off your shoes, or even before he/she
does, take a good look at the shoe itself. My bet is you will notice much
more wear in the toe area than the rest of the shoe. It's what I noticed
on my guys when I had shoes on them.
I always check the
shoes. Toc wears them evenly, Diego wears the toe of the back shoes more
than anything else (SI problems, go figure).
Very interested to hear what
your lady friend says about jumpers, but maybe it should go private, as it's not
endurance-related, unless someone else is interested?
Tracey
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