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Re: [RC] HEIDI'S BAREFOOT POST - Joe LongOn Fri, 04 Feb 2005 03:36:33 GMT, Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: ...I was trained in performance barefoot trimming by Pete Ramey, a foremost barefoot trimmer in the SE and auther of "Making Natural Hoofcare Work for You." His experience, alone, contradicts your feeling that a barefoot horse is only suited for "light" performance. Pete was formerly a traditional farrier who owned his own rental barn in the mountains of N. GA. (20-30 head). I know of my OWN personal knowledge these horses worked hours EVERY DAY on some of the rockiest trails I have ever seen (and I've been on LOTS). The trails in our area are oftentimes more like dried-up creekbeds than trails. The story of these remarkable horses and the carriage horse who worked every day on ASPHALT sans-shoes (completely sound and healthy)can be read on his web site, hoofrehab.com. It isn't the hours that are important so much as the miles and the speed. A horse who is walking plants his feet, the hooves of a trotting or cantering horse slide a bit as they land. If the surface is abrasive it's like taking a grinding wheel to them. Many asphalt surfaces, BTW, are less abrasive than many natural trails. I've been on 50-mile rides where brand-new iron shoes were worn almost completely away by the end of the ride. I've had to replace iron shoes at the 85-mile vet check of a 100 mile ride because they were worn away and about to fall off (and they had just been put on brand-new for that ride). I do not believe that any horse could have competed either ride barefoot, even if they had the toughest hooves in history. A few observations in what I hope will be one of the last posts on this subject: 1. There are many advantages to keeping a horse barefoot when it is possible to do so, but it is folly to suggest that is always the best regimen for any horse (just as it is foolish to claim that any horse being ridden must be shod). 2. There is nothing harmful or detrimental to most horses to be properly shod, assuming proper hoof care and sufficiently frequent re-shoeing. 3. Just as improper shoeing or hoof care can be cruel to a horse, so can not shoeing a horse that needs it. 4. Finally: a horse owner who uses their horse in activities that require shoeing are not in any way less caring, less honorable, or less "enlightened," as those who forego sharing with their horse those activities that require shoes. I personally found the implication to the contrary condescending and offensive. Kahlil shared a very happy life with me, we were partners in the deepest sense of the word. Our destinies were intertwined, and each of us had a better life because of the other. Had I chosen to forego that life because of an unfounded aversion to horseshoes, we would both have been the poorer for it. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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