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RE: [RC] Barefoot Bias - the ORIGINAL issue explained one last time - Ranelle RubinAngie, I think you wrote the most astute comment about this whole subject in terms of *right* vs. *wrong*..ultimately, there is NO RIGHT AND NO WRONG...as long as the horse does not suffer! If done responsibly, it sounds like barefoot is an option for some folks..I prefer to shoe my horses..but I have fired some farriers whose work I did not approve of. I have a responsible farrier now who realizes we are ALL still learning. I saw a nice Q-Horse at Folsom Lake this week who was barefoot with beautiful feet.. carrying a ranger. I was interested in what her experience is/was with this.. I listened, learned and admired the health of her horse's feet. She is NOT an endurance rider..she rides rocky trails, but like Heidi has said, I doubt her milage or speed causes wear that exceeds the growth. She was carrying an Old Mac boot and said she occaisionally has to put it on..It looked pretty worn to me! This may be an option for my retired endurance horse who only gets occasional riding..something to think about. I have kept him shod because I want to be able to pull him out of the pasture and put anyone on him and go anywhere..could I do that if he was barefoot?? I don't know...Maybe next winter I will pull his shoes and find out in the spring...My concern would be if I put someone else on him, I would worry that they could not necessarily pick up on the signs that his feet were sore soon enough?? Let's all play nice in the sandbox folks...I love this forum, except when some people feel they have to get on a soapbox and say their way is the only way. I have learned a lot here and hope I can continue to do so. Personally I prefer the open discussion format to the "I am right and you are wrong" that has been the environment about this topic. Have a great day..off to get a dose of "Equizac"... Ranelle What we truly and earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense we are. The mere aspiration, by changing the frame of mind, for the moment realizes itself. Anna Jameson -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of rides2far@xxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 7:13 PM To: windswept@xxxxxxxxxxx Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Barefoot Bias - the ORIGINAL issue explained one last time 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. Where the *heck* did *that* come from? I've spent a ton of time riding ponies barefoot. I just sold one 11 yr. old and one 12 year old pony (1/2 brothers I'd owned since they were babies) who had never worn shoes and really hated to hear that the show barn had shod one of them. In the right instance, which to me is most of the times with ponies, barefoot's great. I never really considered it as a religion though. Is the fact that your horse if barefoot such a big deal to you that it becomes what your identity is built around? I never understood people who marched for "gay pride" like that was their identity. I may think of myself as being in a certain subgroup of society (like "horsepeople) but never considered what I do in my bedroom to be what I wanted to be grouped by. (Granny gown wearers of the world UNITE!) If my horse was barefoot, he'd be barefoot...doubt I'd join any clubs over it. There's a little game I play with the kids at school if they devide up to fight. If they're fighting over who's better: Univ. of Tenn. or Univ. of Alabama, I look at the two groups facing off and ask, "Which is better, Chevy or Ford?" They immediately have to re-group and have new allies and new enemies. Judging by the above statement about 100's it sounds like you just kicked Darolyn Butler out of your camp. I hope I get my horse going this Spring and I'll be happy to ride down the trail with ya. Angie (who rode her shod horse with June who rode her barefoot horse at the Skymont 50... and it we enjoyed the traill) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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