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Of course. None of us has every condition to train with that our horses might meet out there. But it's our responsibility as riders to acclimate our horses the best we can to the job we ask them to do. It's not just about heart rate and fitness, it's also about nutrition and feet and legs and brain and attitude.

 

It's our job to make sure our horses can do what we ask of them without being in pain! I agree with Jonni that if this horse gets lame just walking across a gravel drive to go to the VC, then she needs to rethink her barefoot strategy or work on acclimating the horse to rocks.

 

NOT all horses can go barefoot. My tried and true campaigner, Star, has huge, big black hard hooves. Ride vets always comment on how nice his feet are. But, this guy cannot do a ride unshod! He definitely is ouchy on gravel and rocks. Put shoes on him, and he can scramble and fly over rocks like a cat. If would be unfair of me to ask him to do this sport barefoot.

 

My mare, OTOH, has grown up barefoot and has trained consistently on trail rocks and gravel barefoot. It's apples and oranges between her and my gelding. Both are good horses, but they are different as night and day hoof-wise and I have to take that into consideration.

 

We have to do our best to train the horse to the conditions. A friend of mine from the high mountains of Colo did the XP ride a few years ago. She knew the climate in the midwest was very different from what her horses live in. So she brought her horses down to me two weeks before the ride. She wanted them to get used to midwestern heat and humidity well before the ride. Then she came and stayed with me for a week and rode each horse to get it used to our conditions here. I thought that was pretty smart of her!

 

I still say, if this were my horse, I'd rethink my strategy.

 

chris

Pam DeMerchant <pam.demerchant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Some of us don't have rocks at home to "train with".  That may be why Jessica put the boots on in the first place. 


-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Paus
Sent: Nov 10, 2005 7:49 PM
To: Jessica Spoone-Raines , Ridecamp
Subject: Re: [RC] Boots and vetting in - long

Jessica. If your horse is that ouchy on gravel or rocks getting to the vc,how would you fit him up for riding? Do you use boots every time you ride?

 

I have a mare who is barefoot and I've got a shod horse. I do what's right for each horse. I train my mare on gravel roads and on rocky terrain. If she starts getting ouchy, we'll have to do something different, or if I start riding more miles than her hooves can rebuild, we'll do something.

 

but if she was ouchy walking to the VC, I'd certainly rethink my strategy with that horse!

 

chris

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