I am sorry that this sort of turned into another ridecamp like discussion.... Terry Banister is the one endurance person that showed me that there were other options besides steel shoes and easy boots for some horses. She has always been willing to share information she has learned with individuals as well as this list. My original reply to this topic had more to do with the generalities she talked about like going 8-10 weeks between shoeing and standing in stalls. I assumed she was addressing this to endurance riders and not to the general horse owner population since this is an endurance list.
I think it is great that barefoot farriers encourage owners to learn more about their horses hooves. I know I do this with my hoof care specialists (farrier, vet, etc) and they are always more then willing to explain and educate. I have found with most of the equine specialists I deal with that if I show interest and ask intelligent questions these professionals are more then willing to talk to me. I am also willing to pay for their time if need be. I think it is up to riders to try to develop a "team" like environment to work with when it comes to the competition horses. If the professionals I use aren't willing to have that attitude I try to find others who will work with me.
As endurance riders we really have a lot of opportunities to learn about hoof care, anatomy, etc. The education material on the AERC website has a lot of good information. Also, we are lucky that at the last couple conventions AERC has offered wet labs to learn more about hoof and limb anatomy. Incredible sessions to attend if you have the chance and are really interested in learning.
Kim Fuess
In a message dated 8/12/2008 1:06:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, greymare56@xxxxxxxxx writes:
The other advantages of using a barefoot trimmer and booting, is that you aren't totally laid up if your horse loses a shoe and you have to wait for a farrier to nail it back on......., and many owners are encouraged to learn about form and function of their horse's feet, and are encouraged to pick up a rasp and do some filing between visits......something regular farriers don't seem to encourage.
Again, observations based on my little corner of the world in Northern California
