[RC] Barefoot Bias - the ORIGINAL issue explained one last time - Shari
Since my
original post is the one that started this raging debate, I'd like to set the
record straight. Since absolutely NO ONE on this
sight
has a clue what was in that
article, the feud that you have all gotten yourselves into
has nothing to do with my original post. You waded in with both
feet,
jumping up and down thumping your chests, and
lost sight of the original
issue. Here are the facts:
I
was invited to write my "precious article" (Heidi's
words) after I
submitted a picture from the Biltmore
ride last November; the idea of an article never
entered my mind. And what I wrote was for me
a success story, talking about
how I
had been able to compete for 3 years in terrain from the mountains of NC to the
Sandhills
of SC
and GA. We placed Top 10 several times, even
getting 2nd in BC at Leatherwood last year. I was careful to caution that it
took TIME, commitment, patience, and that it wasn't for
everyone. Nowhere did I try to convert any one, although I
did suggest ways to get more
information for anyone who was interested. In retrospect,
I did make a statement that Heidi
would no
doubt consider "pseudo-science" because I
commented that a foundered or navicular
horse
can be restored to health with certain trimming and prescribed care - which
does
not
include heart-bar shoes, reverse shoes (!), and/or stall rest (of
course Heidi had no way of
knowing
that, she referred to the web page by Dr. Teskey). Sure, that flies in the
face
of
present day convention, but there are hundreds if not thousands of
documented cases
world-wide where this has worked. What amazes me is the
attack mode Vets go into
because another Vet goes against convention. Didn't he
go to Vet school the same as they?
Isn't his sheepskin on the wall worth as
much? Columbus was considered a nut in his day,
so was DaVinci, and so were the Wright
Brothers. All of whom turned out to be way ahead
of their time. But I
digress.
I wrote the article, got some comments back, made some changes and sent
it back again.
While I was told that it had to undergo a review, I was also told that the
article was "great"
and that review was mostly a formality. Imagine my shock when after
being reviewed it was
rejected solely on the basis of the fact that it had to do with competing
barefoot, and nothing
to do with what it said or didn't say. The feedback was that "they
could not endorse something
they did not feel was in the best interest of the majority of their
members." I was not seeking
endorsement, nor was I trying to brainwash anyone into anything. I
only wanted to share my
success and perhaps encourage anyone who was going down the same path.
Neither is it their
decision what's in the best interest of my horse or anyone else's,
unless it's on a ride.
Now THAT rejection to me was, and still
is, BIAS, plain and simple, and that is what I fumed about.
If something I said, like the aforementioned comment, was too radical
for them, they could have
said so. If my reference to a particular method and source
of information was objectionable,
they could have said so. But no, the only reason I was given was that
it dealt with barefoot
competition. It's bad enough that vets look for every reason to pull
a horse when they see it
barefoot, when they SHOULD give it extra credit for completing the ride
barefoot. I've been
a victim of that, too, but it hasn't worked, as my record will show only
one pull for "Surface
Factors" - the sore back for which I myself pulled the horse. And
yes, we're talking LD's and
50's here, and yes, I know you 100 milers think anything less than that is
dirt beneath your
hooves, but let me remind you that you are in the minority and the rest of
us are keeping this
sport in business. When there are over 200 combined entries in LD's
and 50's, and maybe
10-15 100's at a lot of rides (I didn't say ALL), that states the
case.
Would I recommend someone ride a barefoot horse under conditions where his
feet would "be
bloody stumps" (to borrow a favorite pro-shoeing description)? OF
COURSE NOT? Did I
say every horse should be barefoot? NO. One person wrote that he
wasn't going to put down
gravel in his pasture when his driveway needed it, nor hand walk a horse
for weeks or months.
Fine! That's his decision, and personally I don't care. But
many people HAVE done that because
they choose too, and that's fine, too. Don't ridicule them for the
choices or sacrifices they make
to keep their horse barefoot. In closing, I have seen the light in
this debate. In the past I have
suggested to people that they consider it, but no more. I will do
what I have chosen to do for my
horse, and find camaraderie online or on the trail with like-minded folks,
but will I suggest barefooting?
No way. But I will still consider the dissing by the EN Vets blatant
bias.
