[RC] bucking convention, paying the price - very long - alexis_mills
These last few weeks have been terribly distressing
for me, and I'm only trying to help others avoid similar heartache, not rekindle
the flames of this longstanding debate.
If possible, I want my horse to stay barefoot, as he has been
his whole life (five years). I do not judge or pressure those who shoe to do the
same. I respect their decision, and I'd like them to do the same.
But in the last six weeks, I've been subjected to
emotional abuse by the former endurance rider I'd been boarding with for two
years and the vet she recruited to her cause. The former insisted my
horse was lame from my riding him barefoot, and she then arranged for a vet to
back her up, the latter adding that my horse not only needed shoes, but
therapeutic ones at that. The vet said he'd never be able to do endurance
because he has high-low syndrome, is showing evidence of ringbone, and is in
danger of bowing a tendon if he's not shod immediately. Naturally, the farrier
whose awful trim started this whole mess was right there at the time, ready to
make everything right with some iron and nails.
Because I didn't give in to their bullying and got
a second opinion from a vet who declared him sound (and said his feet are so
tough he doesn't even need boots), I was evicted from the stable and will now
have to drive more than an hour to see my horse.
Lessons learned:
Board your horse where you can get support, not
constant nagging and interference, and don't despair if some old-time vet who
doesn't keep up with the research declares your horse unsound.
I want only the best for my beloved horse. If that
means he'll need shoes someday, he'll have them. But it won't be because it's
the price to pay for boarding somewhere or avoiding conflict.
