As long as you are on a good schedule with your farrier and keep an eye on
her feet, she should be fine barefoot. Watch for chipping, cracking and
uneven or overwearing (my mare paces and wears her toes down pretty short).
I live here in W.Wa., too. Maybe we should ride together sometime.
Liz (& Ariel)
http://members.aol.com/eajohanson/Ariel Photos.html
King COunty Model Horse Farm Project Participant
http://members.aol.com/eajohanson/KCD/KCMHFP/
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Subj: to shoe or not to shoe...
Date: Thu, Dec 19, 1996 9:42 PM PST
From: ridecamp@endurance.net
X-From: srponies@seanet.com (Raina Hodgson)
Resent-from: ridecamp@endurance.net
To: ridecamp@endurance.net
What have been your experiences with allowing horses to go barefoot for a
period of time? My mare is due for shoes and I'm considering having them
pulled and letting her go barefoot. She will not be ridden at all except
maybe light arena work by a friend until July -- possibly late June (I'm in
the process of growing a future endurance rider -- so Starrzza's on a bit
of a vacation) She lives in a pasture now with a few other horses, some
rock and the ever-present mud. We live in Western Washington, so snow and
ice are not usually an issue, but it still happens sometimes. She has good
feet and when I bought her 2 years ago she was barefoot and apparently had
been for several years. I've never had problems with her feet, so I don't
want to fix what isn't broken, but would it be good for her to go without
until I'm ready to ride again?
Thanks in advance for the feedback -- I'm really going through
endurance withdrawal already and this list is keeping me sane :)
Raina and Starrzza (I am LOVING this)