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Re: [RC] [RC] Archive Use (boots, etc.) - heidi

Myself and others have already stated that
taking shoes off a performance horse would be a year-long transition
process that I would not expect anyone to embrace.

Actually, ours make the "transition" annually with no problems whatsoever.
They are not shod until wear exceeds growth in the spring, and their
shoes come off in the winter.  They are not sore or ouchy when the shoes
come off, and they run in our hard and rocky pastures barefoot just fine
when not being ridden.  They are not shod to begin with until they reach a
point in their training that growth does not keep up with wear.  Of
course, we also select for healthy feet...

 We completed our first year completely bare foot, and did no
more than 1 race every 4-6 weeks, which almost preserved enough hoof
between trims. However, hoofwear on hind was uneven, so started using
boots on every other conditioning ride to preserve/grow more hoof
between trims.

Again, it is having the feet be the limiting factor in this manner that is
not an option for many of us.  And again, I thank you for being honest
about the limitations of your system.  You certainly have the option to
make the choice of having barefoot being more important, or having optimal
performance be your goal.

We have had two pulls so far: 1. After first vet check,
horse was arguing about going back out, and jumped off trail and whacked
his foot on something in the tall grass. Dead lame- pulled. Three days
later, stress crack behind toe abcessed and drained. Grew out by next
trim. Lesson learned: If I had his perfectly good boots on, I am sure
his hoof would have absorbed the shock enough to avoid hoof crack, and
we could have completed.

Likewise, had he been shod...

2. Broke my routine and rode two
50s within three weeks. Probably not enough heel by the second race,
because at the 47-mile point, horse quit. Planted his feet and would not
budge. one and a half hours later, when vet finally arrived on trail, he
proclaimed nothing wrong with the horse. Smacked him on the butt, and
horse walked the rest of the way up the hill. They said he was grade
one, but it was not his feet, and I could walk him in for completion. I
chose to RO Lame. I figured horse wasn't having fun and made his
point. Lesson learned: Wear boots for more of conditioning
rides to preserve hoof.

Sounds like the suspensories were likely sore on the bottoms of the feet. 
That commonly causes the very sort of behavior you describe, and is one
reason why ride vets are beginning to pull their hair out over barefoot
horses. They are uniformly sore, so are not "lame"--but I can't imagine
considering this scenario as being a kindness to the horse.  Shoeing DOES
tend to prevent having the suspensory attachement come smacking onto the
ground at every step.

Heidi





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Replies
Re: [RC] [RC] Archive Use (boots, etc.), terry banister