ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Shoeing/Conditioning

Re: Shoeing/Conditioning

Truman Prevatt (truman.prevatt@netsrq.com)
Wed, 9 Apr 1997 16:10:28 -0400

>Ronda asks:
>>1. Do all endurance horses need shoes, and how do you decide if yours
>>does. (I have a 4 1/2 yr old mustang mare she was in the wild for 3
>>years and has feet of steel we ride in the Mohave desert aprox 8-15
>>miles a day and her farrier says she has the best feet he's seen)
>>
>Check with the ride manager and vet before you start out. Most ride
>entry forms say that you need shoes, but you can generally get a waiver.
>If your horse truely does have feet of iron, you probably won't need
>shoes until you get into heavy compitition, and then, you'll see the
>need.
>

There is a woman in FL who has done 3 100's (one one day 100 and two 2 day
100) without shoes on her horse since Jan. On the one day she had the best
vet score. Her horse has not had on a pair of shoes in its life. While we
don't have rocks we have lots of exposed roots that can play hell with the
feet. When I was out in CO last year at the High Country ride, the vet
mentioned that he thought it was an AERC rule to require shoes on the
horse. There is no such AERC rule, but some ride mangers in the mountain
states seem to require them. I don't know if they can do this within the
AERC rules or not. Does anyone know if requiring shoes is within the
purview of ride management?

Truman

Truman Prevatt
Sarasota, FL

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