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[RC] Barefoot - Bruce Weary

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not against the barefoot program, as I did it myself for two years. But some folks are mixing terms when they use the term "barefoot." When you walk around the house barefoot, what do you have on your feet? Nothing. No shoes, no socks, and certainly no easyboots. Some of the supporters of the barefoot idea are glossing over the fact that they use BOOTS to protect the horse's feet much if not most of the time, especially if it is rocky (short training rides at home may be exceptions, but we're talking endurance riding here). Very appropriate. The fact that there are a few horses (against many who fail) that can withstand hard competition over rock without ANY foot protection, is, in my opinion, a misdirected plug for going barefoot. The obvious benefits are better horn and sole, and a healthier foot overall in some cases (and, many shod horses have perfectly healthy feet, as well). A foot that, IMO, is prepared to go down most endurance trails WITH PROTECTION, which is what most riders of unshod horses are clearly doing. Arguably, a horse has even more protection on his foot when wearing an easyboot, as he has 1/2 inch of hard, vulcanized rubber covering the entire sole, not just the outer wall of the foot. So, which horse is actually able to withstand more punishment from the ground--the horse shod with a rim shoe and exposed sole, or the unshod horse with complete sole protection from boots?
There is clearly a middle ground, thankfully, with more than one option for us to get down the trail with. I will say, however that the market on perfectly healthy feet isn't cornered by either the "barefoot" group or the "shod" group, in my experience. The "soundness market" may be up for grabs. However, I don't think that shod horses are as likely to be pulled for being footsore as truly barefoot, unprotected horses, but I could be wrong. Dr Q often wrong, but never in doubt PS I apologize for inciting this dialog again. Someone put electrolytes in my beer, and it made me feel a little frisky.



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