success story (barefoot)

["lori cox" <blaircox@safeaccess.com>]

I have been a little discouraged because my 18 year old gelding is not
coming along as fast as my 13 year old mare who has done 2 55 mile endurance
rides with easy boots. She has been barefoot sense last October.
  Nick has probably been in shoes sense he was 2 or maybe 3 except for a few
months during the winter the last 3 years. He has always had a problem with
crossfireing while cantering but the last 2 years he has gotten to where he
would hardly canter at all and when he did he would change leads every few
strides always getting crossed up in the process. Saturday my husband rode
him and told me he was picking up the canter from the walk without any
problem! I thought that's nice but I had to see for myself. Yesterday I put
his front easy boots on  so I could ride him on the hardpacked, sometimes
gravel road. After about a mile I asked for a canter and got a nice
collected canter.  :)) During my 5 mile ride I cantered him for at least a
mile and never once did he crossfire! This has never happened before. He
didn't ever switch leads, he was comfortable with whatever one he started
out on. I think he was as surprised as I was. His trot was nice and even, he
stayed nice and collected and was acting like the endurance Arabian I know
and love.(I could hardly get him to walk at all on the way home)  VBG! I
also rode him Monday about 15 miles without his boots on and he was just a
little tender footed in the rocks.
  I started trimming him in January, Nick has always been tender footed. I
have always used pads or easy boots over his shoes on rocky rides. He also
had a club foot which still grows a lot of heal, I have to take quite a bit
off of it every week or two. Things were going kind of slow until a friend
of mine who has been to a Martha Olivo Clinic looked at his hooves and told
me I had to take out a lot more soul and bar.(Thanks Bonnie!) There must
have been a lot of it pushed up into his hooves because it is still dropping
down, I have to trim it out every few days. I am so excited because this is
a horse that I thought could not be ridden barefoot. He also seems more
healthy, keeping his weight on better and no more stocking up or muscle
cramps when I forget to give electrolytes before I ride.

  Lori Cox
Williams, AZ