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Since I just pulled shoes for various reasons and may farrier even said my 
horses could go barefoot and they only had fronts anyway, and they are 
turned out on rocky hill---Give us your suggestions for 'educating 
ourselves' :0)  My main horse has always had really hard feet (farrier says 
so too)  and I am reading lots of stuff, have Cherry  Hills book too, but 
want to be 'well-informed'.
 If there is something you think I should stay away from--and dont' want a 
online fight ,you could email me privately--thanks

> From: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <windswept@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> CC: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [RC]   This is one enlightened vet!
> Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 21:19:16 -0700 (MST)
>
> > 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
>
>
>
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