[drivingpairs] barefoot horses
- From: "M. Denmark" <mdenmark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <drivingpairs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 22:26:12 -0600
As someone fairly new to having completely barefoot horses I would like to
recommend it highly. I have a friend that has been driving her horse
competitively for almost 2 years barefoot and he will go anywhere with nary
a wince. Everyone says he has ironhooves! I finally pulled all the shoes
from my Fjords this past fall and am using a barefoot trimmer. No a
barefoot trim is not the same as just trimming the hooves and not putting on
shoes. I had been driving with shoes with borium smears for traction and to
supposedly protect their feet/legs. This was not the case as their feet
were always ouchy, cracked, dry and full of holes and sometimes puffy legs.
I am definitely going to stick with the barefoot trim process. All feet
have improved greatly as have the horses comfort, gaits and freedom of
movement. Hooves are not cracked or chipped except from a little natural
wear. Horses seem to have excellent traction and are much more comfortable
going down the road. Feet that were a bit ouchy on pavement to downright
hobbling over gravel even with shoes are much tougher now. These are horses
that are now pulling a sizeable load up and down hills on asphalt and even
gravel drives for 8 miles or so now with no ouchy steps. Is it for everyone
and every situation-no. Does it take some planning, conditioning, and
adjustment time-yes. Is it cheaper and easier in the long run-yes. Are
there circumstances that will require shoes even for a barefoot horse-yes,
but you can use a flexible shoe like the Equiflex for short term situations
and they also use smaller nails placed lower in the hoof with less damage.
Can it help horse with navicular, laminitis/founder and other problems-yes.
Will is lessen wear and tear on the legs-yes. Does a horse need 24/7
turnout-yes. There are some excellent books that explain the process. One
is by Dr. H. Strasser, "A Lifetime of Soundness". Another prominent
clinician here in the US is Martha Olivo. Here is a link to a very
prominent endurance rider that has over 25,000 miles of competitive
endurance riding and has info and gives personal experience about the
barefootin' natural trim on her site.
http://www.horseridingfun.com/index.html These endurance horses race 50 and
100 miles at a time over terrain much more rugged and harsh than we require
of our driving/cde horses and are sound. Hope this might be helpful to
those who wondered about the benefits of taking off shoes and is just my
opinion. I know that I have my proof now (I was a doubter, too) whenever I
drive my pair. All five of my horses are naturally barefoot trimmed!
A Happy, Peaceful, Pair Driving New Year to All,
Milli Ann
Magnolia, Texas
_________________________________________________________
To Unsubscribe, change to Digest or Vacation mode go to:
http://www.drivingpairs.com/dpmem.html
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Other related posts:
