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RE: [RC] [RC] [RC] Would you keep him barefoot? - terry banister

Yea, Howard!
Pete Ramey's ("Making Natural Hoofcare Work for You" ) string of barefoot rental horses are doing fine in the rocky, mountainous trails of Georgia :-)


<html><P><IMG height=12 src="http://graphics.hotmail.com/emsmiled.gif"; width=12>&nbsp;Happy Trails!</P>
<P>Terry</P>
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&gt;From: &quot;Howard Bramhall&quot; &lt;howard9732@xxxxxxx&gt; &gt;To: kcrazzmatazz@xxxxxxxxxxx, ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx &gt;Subject: RE: [RC] [RC] Would you keep him barefoot? &gt;Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 10:27:42 -0400 &gt; &gt;I'm not sure of the ride you're going to attempt this, but, unless &gt;it's in the mountains or has an inordinate amount of rocks, I'd go &gt;for it. Especially since you're doing a 25. It can be done. I did &gt;50 milers for a year on 3 horses and never had any trouble. Of &gt;course, that's mostly in Florida and Southern Georgia, where you &gt;really can get away with such a thing. &gt; &gt;Your husband sounds like a farrier in training. Get him to check &gt;out this site: &gt; &gt;http://www.barefoothorse.com/ &gt; &gt;It got me started doing my own horses. I now do my own shoes but &gt;that's only because I have a dream of living in the mountains of &gt;western NC/eastern TN (I have a dream). My horses are mostly &gt;barefoot except for the ones I take out of state to ride on those &gt;mountain trails. &gt; &gt;If your husband has (or gets) the basics down he can come in real &gt;handy during your ride in case you notice some chipping or breaking &gt;off. Fix it early and it won't become a serous problem. As far as &gt;those vertical cracks go, if they're near the heel, you want to file &gt;the area down from the crack to the back, to take the weight off the &gt;crack. Make that part of the hoof less weight bearing. &gt; &gt;Don't let anyone talk you out of this if this is really what you &gt;want to do. It can be done without easy boots (hard to find when &gt;you lose one), Big Macs or any of those other additions which take &gt;away the whole concept of going bare. Dare to go bare and you'll &gt;never look back (unless she's really cute). &gt; &gt;cya, &gt;Howard &gt; &gt; &gt;&gt;From: &quot;Karen Casemier&quot; &lt;kcrazzmatazz@xxxxxxxxxxx&gt; &gt;&gt;To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx &gt;&gt;Subject: [RC] Would you keep him barefoot? &gt;&gt;Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 16:45:52 -0400 &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;Kind of hesitant to post this, because I don't want to get into one &gt;&gt;of those religious barefoot wars, but here it goes. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;My husband has a 5 YO QH gelding. We've had him about a year. When &gt;&gt;we got him, his feet were in absolutely horrible shape - very much &gt;&gt;long toe/low heel, shelly, unhealthy frog, you name it. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;We pulled his shoes (that were about 2 sizes to small and look like &gt;&gt;they had been on him for six months), gave him a good trim, and &gt;&gt;just let him be. We've continued to have him trimmed every six &gt;&gt;weeks, and my husband occasionally gives him a trim in between the &gt;&gt;farrier visits if it looks like the hoof wall is getting too long. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;Now, I wouldn't say he has great feet, but his hooves look 100 &gt;&gt;times better than they did when we got him. We have been riding him &gt;&gt;out at Ionia State Park several times, and there are some quite &gt;&gt;rocky areas (but they are scattered - not consistent), and he's &gt;&gt;never come up sore. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;We are keeping my mare barefoot this season at the recommendations &gt;&gt;of both my farrier and our vet - she has incredibly strong feet and &gt;&gt;a tough sole (and she can hold an EZ boot well, so if worse comes &gt;&gt;to worse I have a pair I can throw on her front feet). Now we are &gt;&gt;trying to decide if we put some shoes on the gelding, or just see &gt;&gt;if he can continue barefoot since things have been looking so much &gt;&gt;better for him. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;Our first ride is just a little 15 miler - a clinic put on by &gt;&gt;Maggie Mieske in a couple of weeks. I'm sure Maggie can chime in &gt;&gt;regarding the course conditions, but the flyer recommends shoes. In &gt;&gt;addition, there will be other rides for this guy, but nothing over &gt;&gt;25 miles for this season. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;I have no problem putting a pair of shoes on this guy if it is &gt;&gt;necessary - but I'm so happy with how his feet are doing barefoot &gt;&gt;that I'd love to keep him that way if possible. The only real &gt;&gt;concern is some vertical cracks - but these are not initiated from &gt;&gt;the floor of the hoof wall, but rather seem to start in the middle &gt;&gt;or up near the coronet band (but not all the way up there). I don't &gt;&gt;think he'd hold EZ boots on very well, but Old Macs or Boa boots &gt;&gt;might be an option. &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;Opinions? &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;_________________________________________________________________ &gt;&gt;Watch LIVE baseball games on your computer with MLB.TV, included &gt;&gt;with MSN Premium! &gt;&gt;http://join.msn.com/?page=features/mlb&amp;pgmarket=en-us/go/onm00200439ave/direct/01/ &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;============================================================ &gt;&gt;Many of the endurance riders in our top echelons of competition, &gt;&gt;now and in &gt;&gt;the past, exemplify the 'common man' not the hierocracy. It is this &gt;&gt;possibility, this chance to come to the fore, that makes endurance &gt;&gt;competition of the Aussie/American type so much more desirable to &gt;&gt;part of &gt;&gt;the world. &gt;&gt;~ Bob Morris &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ &gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;============================================================ &gt; &gt;_________________________________________________________________ &gt;Mother?s Day is May 9. Make it special with great ideas from the &gt;Mother?s Day Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04mothersday.armx &gt; &gt;============================================================ &gt;I drink a 50/50 mix of rootbeer and soymilk at the vetchecks. &gt;~ Libby Llop &gt; &gt;ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ &gt; &gt;============================================================

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