Barefoot

["Cheryl Shelton" <toltallyice@onewest.net>]

> we have seen plenty of stone bruises during trims,
> some pretty bad and some that have even led to abscesses.
> Again, depends on conditions in their pasture, what they are
> used for, how they are ridden, etc., etc.

Hi all, I've been off of Ridecamp for a long time, but since I apparently
got this thread going again thought I'd peek in and see what's going on. I'd
love to see all ridemanagers contribute to a list of whether or not they
will allow barefoot horses on their rides.

I believe bruises are most often caused by improper trimming or an improper
shape of the hoof capsule. Anything that takes away the hoof's natural
ability to sense and handle rocks (or anything that may cause a bruise). A
barefoot horse with full feeling in his foot that quickly un-weights a foot
before applying full weight on a rock is less likely to suffer a bruise. A
shod (or contracted) horse who has a reduction in feeling in his foot to
some degree due to reduced circulation is more likely to fully weight the
foot on the same rock and receive a bruise.

Abscesses are often a sign of tissue damage within the hoof capsule due to
long term improper trimming and/or shoeing, e.g. high heels, over grown
bars, contraction, little or no hoof mechanism, etc. Of course a puncture
wound is also likely to cause an abscess.

The coffin bone can actually bruise the sole. If the sole is unable to draw
flat making room for the coffin bone as it descends upon weightbearing, the
coffin bone can hit and bruise the sole. High heels causing the tip of the
coffin bone to hit the sole with every step will not only bruise the sole
but eventually deform the tip of the coffin bone. Ever seen a crescent shape
bruise between the tip of the frog and the wall at the toe? Long term
repetitive bruising from a coffin bone hitting the sole will possibly
eventually cause an abscess?? I feel that a single bruise from a single rock
is less likely to cause an abscess, and that a properly trimmed barefoot
horse is less likely to put enough weight on the rock to cause a bruise.
Suddenly unweighting a foot doesn't show that the horse is sore from rocks,
it shows that the horse has feeling in his foot and isn't blindly stomping
on rocks that are likely to cause a bruise. This is a good thing to my mind!

These are basically my opinions, formed in my mind. Of course your opinions
may be different and I respect that. I also am one who had rock hauled into
my pastures, in areas where my horses must walk through many times daily, to
ensure that their hoofs are conditioned to handle rough rocky footing. Five
of my six horses (Icelandics) have never been shod.

Cheryl, who as a disabled rider is still hoping to at least do some limited
distance rides while I can still ride. But since I'm committed to barefoot
(until my experiences change my mind) I'll wait until there are rides
available for barefoot horses, which may be too late for me. But my horses'
health takes precedence over my long time dream of endurance riding.