RE: [RC] pulling shoes now OLDER horse - EnduroGal
Title: Message
Thanks, Kathy… and thanks to others
who have contributed their comments on barefooting and on shoeing. It
sounds like what it all boils down to is this:
(1)Research your options and what info and expertise is available in
your area
(2)Make a knowledgeable and informed decision
(3)Whatever works well for you – do it
(4)If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
;-))
Happy New Year, all!!!
From:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of sherman Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010
12:01 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] pulling shoes now
OLDER horse
Correct! if we think about how people's bodies
feel & move and how that is reflected in the wear of their shoes,
it's easy to see that the way the horse's body moves will affect their hooves.
Every time I pick up my horses' hooves, I look at each one, look at how it is
being worn, often make some minor adjustment, and try to figure out what might
be causing any uneven wear. I wouldn't be doing all this without the oversight
of my farrier, who does not want to be a barefoot trimmer (or hoof care
practitioner as some are called) but he is a great farrier, and he comments
every time he's here about how good all the hooves look, and especially on the
horse that had been shod for many, many years and had started losing hoof
strength (weak quarters and walls). After 2 years this particular
horse still can't be ridden in rocks without boots, but shoes wouldn't
stay on him anymore, so we're very
happy that boots are an option. My farrier also doesn't believe most
owners are willing to put in the work required to ride barefooted
horses, and most that he has experienced don't do any maintenance trimming AND
only call every 3 or 4 months, so by the time he gets there the hoof is
overgrown, cracked and chipped and they are wondering why the hooves look so
bad and the horse is gimpy. It is waaay more work (at least in this area) than
having shod horses and many owners just want to go ride, and that's
great, if I had l less time and more money and most importantly,
shoes worked well, I'd probably have my horses shod and be happy.
Going off to ride today (:>)
Kathy
and to
add another dimension to this discussion, if your horse is not balanced in the
upper part of his body, he will never stay balanced in his feet!
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~
John Wayne