Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

When I did the 2001 XP, my horses were
shod with metal shoes, and I foamed easyboots on.  Every two weeks I
took the boots off, and we trimmed the horses feet because they were
growing at an incredibly phenomenal rate -- then I glued their boots back
on for two more weeks.  It was incredible and something I have not
experienced since.  

Can an endurance horses hoofgrowth keep up with the amount of work if the
horse is worked and competed barefoot?  Not on my horses, not as
much as I ride.  I have a great example of this.  Last year I
rode Chief (unshod, but with boots) in 2250 miles worth of endurance
rides.  Guess what - for the entire year he did not have his feet
trimmed ONCE!  Not one single time.  Why?  Because the
amount of riding I did on training rides with him barefoot and having him
turned out kept his feet worn down.  He kept his toe length and
angles perfectly all year and basically needed very little in the way of
hoofcare.  I hate to think what might have happened had I tried to
ride him on any actual endurance rides barefoot.  How much more
stimulating could I have possibly done to his feet?  He did more
miles by a longshot than any other horse in the AERC.  He does get
ridden quite a bit in addition to that, so it's not like that was all he
did.  

Since Chief has dark feet, I don't know if he has had bruising come
thru.  On Rocky who has two white colored hooves, I have seen
bruising come thru over the years.  Sometimes in the winter, maybe
the moisture then him running around on frozen ground contributes -- and
this occurs whether he is barefoot or shod, and it takes months for some
of that bruising to grow out to where you can see it.  

I think it's great that there are horses that are able to do rides
barefoot.  I'm not willing to risk it with my own horses.  I've
seen too many horses pay the price over the years when their owners
insisted to ride management who relented and allowed them to enter
barefoot -- and in nearly every one of those cases the horses were able
to complete the rides.  It is later on, or the accumulation of
several rides where the damage takes it's toll.  I have worn thru
enough wide web metal shoes and boots and know that those materials are
more durable than my horses hooves (try rasping the different materials
and see which wears down the quickest).  

I've seen an awful lot of wild horses over the years.  A lot of them
are lame....and they aren't going 50 miles a day or carrying
riders.  Plus they don't go over the kinds of terrain we do, they go
on their own trails and not usually for miles down hardpacked or rocky
roads.  They are smarter than we are and go around that stuff!
;)   

Karen
in NV
http://easycareinc.typepad.com/karen/