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Re: [RC] This is one enlightened vet! - heidiThis must be one of the few enlightened vets on the planet...... http://www.equinextion.com/id34.html I do wish I had a for-sale sign on my oceanfront property here in central Idaho.... That said, if you truly want to listen to an "enlightened" vet, you should listen to Dr. Olin Balch, whose presentation on hoof care at the recent PNER convention was superb. Like most of us, he does not "knock" having horses go barefoot--but unlike the above-cited web site, he has an open mind. He is honest and frank--you CAN ride barefoot, provided you first choose a horse that has extremely superb feet, and second, you spend a considerable amount of time conditioning (think years), and third, you carefully choose your venues and the frequency with which you ride. Unless those and a few other parameters are met, you are apt to damage your horse by not providing hoof protection. (Certainly, you can boot instead of shoeing--but if you do, you also run other risks, such as putting stress on tissues by only introducing the weight and increased toe length added by the boots at the time of riding, without allowing the horse to acclimate, etc.) If you do not do the above, your horse's hoof wear will exceed his growth rate, and damage will result. Dr. Balch showed some great pictures of successful barefoot horses--and also showed the damage that occurred to their feet on LD rides on ideal footing. He also showed hoof problems that could not be corrected by trimming alone, but that could be corrected with good shoeing. In general, enlightenment does NOT lead to the sort of extreme position stated on the above web site. The site does make some very valid points--but sure draws some far-fetched conclusions. Bottom line--there is a lot of bad shoeing out there, but that is not cause to try to claim that all shoeing is bad. It behooves people to REALLY educate themselves--not to just follow some of these self-professed hoof gurus unquestioningly. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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