barefoot horses

[guest@endurance.net]

Lysane lysanec@yahoo.ca
I think that going barefoot also
depends on the horse you have to work with. While good feet
is an important part of the overall package when looking
at a potential endurance horse, most people do not choose a
horse for the purpose of keeping it barefoot. Therefore,
if the overall body, leg and hoof conformation,attitude,
etc. of the horse
is acceptable and to the liking of the buyer,
then the person will usually buy it. You can try to change
hoof problems with
nutrition, supplements and good farrier/shoeing program, etc.
and/or live with it.
In the area where I ride most often, the trails are mostly dirt, grass
and sand with a minimum of rocks. There are short portions
where I must
ride on pavement. My horse, himself, is on grass pasture 24/7.
Not a very stressful environment for hooves,
yet I must shoe my horse or face not being able to ride when my horses
hooves get too short. He is a Paint with 3 white hooves and 1 hoof that is
white with a black stripe (Yes, I know the saying about 4 white hooves!:)
His hooves wear out very quickly, and chip and are very dry.
He probably would
benefit from hoof supplements, but it is not feasible at the moment
to be feeding him these every day since he is out in very large pasture
and
horses at barn where I keep him are not brought in every day.
When I buy my next horse, I will definitely try to find
one like him, but with better quality hooves!
For now, I put up
with having to shoe him all the time, as long as I want
to ride him.
Just a thought: It was difficult to tell though that
he had bad feet because
when I went to see him before buying him, he had perfectly
trimmed, nice looking feet with no shoes on. I did not find out
until later that he had been inside most of the winter and
had no opportunity to develop chips. I found out after taking
him out for a couple of short rides and seeing the bits of hoof
flaking off.
Lysane