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[RC] ] Barefoot - Topic no longer a "can of worms" - Terry BanisterWe have made progress in this past few years!Horseshoes are a hoof-management system that have been around for thousands of years because they work. - They work to hold the hooves together to compensate for unnatural living conditions (inactivity and confinement in small areas while standing in manure and poor drainage). - They work to keep a horse with less-than-optimal natural hoof structure (in the wild, they may not have survived) performing in unnatural working situations (carrying riders over extreme distances, sliding stops, city streets, etc.) - Yes, horseshoes work - for owner convenience. The owner can put the horse into all/any of the above situations and still be able to use the horse, with no more effort than writing a check every 6-10 weeks. That is hard to beat! Yet for some reason, many horse owners have tried removing the shoes (because . . .?) and continuing performance as before - without success. But in the past few years, many horse owners have removed the horseshoes and continued to perform successfully. Since I personally do not even like to pick my horse's feet, I would probably not do endurance if a barefoot lifestyle was as much trouble as some people describe. However, many of the people that keep barefoot horses DO NOT NEED TO BOOT THEIR HORSES EVERY TIME THEY RIDE. That would definitely be prohibitive. Most barefoot horses who have been barefoot for awhile (not horses newly transitioning from shoes) and who are receiving a proper "barefoot" trim (not just a "pasture" trim in prep for shoeing) can do everything barefoot, including distance riding sometimes. My horse, for example, is 12 yo, and never shod. WE DO ALL OUR PARADES (INCLUDING THE ROSE PARADE), MILITARY RE-ENACTMENTS AND LONG-DISTANCE CONDITIONING RIDES, COMPLETELY BAREFOOT. I only use boots for 50-100-mile competition. We just completed a 100-miler in 7th place, and I put the boots on the night before and never had to touch them again. Karen Chaton and Dave Rabe both do nearly 3,000 miles per year on barefoot horses (24/7 lifestyle, this year) and just boot them for competition miles. They have proven that removing shoes and booting a barefoot horse can be done successfully for their extreme riding style. Barefooting is no longer a black and white subject because there are options and answers now that have only become available in the past few years. People are learning that traditional horse-keeping methods such as confinement in tiny stalls are very detrimental to healthy feet. Many people are devoting their entire career to understanding the function and needs of the horse's hoof and developing trimming techniques that work specifically for a barefoot lifestyle. -Barefoot-trained hoof trimmers are becoming more prevalent, and traditional farriers are realizing that if they learn some new ideas, they can pick up more barefoot clients and trim more feet in less time for just as much money. My trimmer makes his living by flying in from Oklahoma with his bucket and hoofstand once every 5 weeks, renting a car, and trimming all his clients in California ($75 per horse), then flyng home in a week. No, boots are not always perfectly well behaved. I have lost a top-10 position a few times because of a boot coming off and several people passing me. But I have replaced the boot and finished when others who lost a shoe did not complete. Yes, there are still too many "issues" for highly competitive riders with an agressive agenda to uphold; owners with multiple horses; owners with no access to reliable barefoot trimmers and all others who have just not gotten the answers they need. But, with awareness of the requirements for maintaining a healthy barefoot liviing environment, trimming a "barefoot" trim, along with finding hoof boots that are user-friendly and reliable, those who don't mind writing a (smaller) check every few weeks instead of 8-10 weeks can do very well without horseshoes. Those who have not found enough answers can still continue using the hoof-management system that has worked for thousands of years, while "step by step" the barefoot lifestyle for the modern horse continues to be explored and refined. Terry "May the Horse be with you" From: Bruce Weary DC <bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Barefoot Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 07:45:00 -0700 _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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