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Re: [RC] This is one enlightened vet! - Shari

Gee, I wonder who puts shoes on all those wild Mustangs to protect their feet from excessive wear.?
Dr. Balch, maybe?  I never said all horses should go barefoot; and you admit that "like most of us",
you knock barefoot horses..  I am protesting their rigid mindset in refusing to print my article about
the success I've had.   THAT'S BIAS and uncalled for, as is your crack about ocean front property
in Idaho.  I can personnly tell you, the more I ride I horse, the better he gets.  And 99% of the shod
feet I see are sickening.....WAY too long, high heels, flares, you can only imagine the DAMAGE being
done to the horse's joints,  not to mention his feet.   The position on the website is not extreme, just
ahead of the times.  Hide and watch.
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 11:19 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] This is one enlightened vet!

> This 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


Replies
[RC] This is one enlightened vet!, Shari
Re: [RC] This is one enlightened vet!, heidi