Re: Barefoot Endurance

["superpat" <superpat@ccountry.net>]

A big hoorah and even bigger THANK YOU for taking the time and
thoughtfulness to send this post. I have not even considered attempting
riding my horses barefoot for more than two reasons but the most outstanding
are that 1)They do so well with excellent farrier services, steel shoes with
pads during the endurance season. And I am a big believer that "If it a'int
broke, don't fix it". and 2) I do not want to put my horses through the
discomfort of acclimating them to going barefoot under saddle.
I read with interest the efforts of those who are attempting it but it is
such a shame that the poor horses are the ones to suffer when their owners
are ignorant enough to realize their discomfort and pain. Yes, we do learn
lessons the heard way sometimes, but our horses, through no fault of their
own, carry the brunt of the consequences.
Your descriptions are so clear that I will be fording your post to my vet
who often vets endurance rides in this area.
Best of luck to you and your horse at Death Valley. I wish you good weather
and a smooth ride.
Pat
----- Original Message -----
From: <guest@endurance.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2001 6:14 PM
Subject: RC: Barefoot Endurance


> K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net
>
> Tracey Ritter said:
>
> >>No one - and I do mean no one - is advocating the complete lack of
> hoof protection, and I feel I can say this, as I am a member of both
> lists (RC & barefoot endurance), as well HorseScience and some
> others.  The Barefoot Endurance list has a link for Swiss Boots, and
> we often and good naturedly debate the pros and cons of the different
> hoof boots that are out there (Swiss Boots, Old Macs, EasyBoots,
> etc.) - NOT whether or nor they should be used.   <<
>
> If you want me to go back in the archives and cut and paste, I can give
> LOTS of direct quotes from people (including Tracey herself) stating, in
> essence, that all a horse needs in order to compete barefoot in endurance,
> at any distance over any kind of terrain, is to have conditioned and
> adapted to it. (Remember me, the queen of quoting somebody's own words
> back to them, and if anybody needs me to do it, I will).
>
> Along with fatuous statements that all a barefoot horse enthusiast need do
> is slap on some protective boots for hard rides until the horse's feet
> have made this adaptation.
>
> I am pleased to hear that there is another list that is discussing hoof
> protection alternatives, their successful (and not successful) use, the
> types of terrain, horses, and other circumstances that they are suitable
> for.  But few of the barefoot enthusiasts have discussed those things here
> on Ridecamp, so Ridecampers are, I think, justified in thinking that most
> barefoot enthusiasts are of the opinion that horses should be able to do
> thousands of miles of endurance competition with a BAREFOOT horses.
>
> I have numerous times over the past year+ stated, I tried that 10 years
> ago and discovered for myself just how WRONG these concepts are, and I can
> quote my own words back if people are really interested, including a
> detailed description of the rides that I successfully completed with a
> barefoot horse and the rides that I didn't complete because either the
> barefoot horse wore off too much foot during the ride or because some of
> the assorted "hoof protection alternatives" didn't work very well, and why
> they didn't work-and it is interesting to note that since Robyn and I live
> and compete in the same region, that some of the rides we did successfully
> with a barefoot horse, EHSC and Bear Valley Springs, were the same, and
> where I discovered (and maybe she seems to have) the limitations were in
> the same location, the Mojave Desert, if not the same ride (20MT 100
> rather than the SSPTP).
>
> So, now we have a two rat study instead of just one.  Different horses,
> different riders, presumably slightly different conditioning programs, ten
> years between the studies (you can look up my record for the 1991 and 1992
> ride years if you want to see), with, it would seem, the same outcome.
> Hopefully, nobody will feel the need to repeat the experiment again.
>
> I will, however, add one more bit of information that was not included in
> any of my past posts, as it specifically addresses what was reported to
> have happened at Silver State this year.
>
> AFTER a horse is foot sore from being too short in the foot from having
> worn off too much foot by doing too many miles in abrasive terrain,
> EasyBoots are no help.  And here is my explanation (which I don't know if
> it is correct, but it makes sense to me).
>
> Horses that are foot sore from having gotten short in the foot, most of
> their discomfort comes from the SOLE of the foot.  If you put your hand on
> the bottom of such a horse's foot it will be pretty hot to the touch
> because, I contend, there is inflammation just below the surface of the
> sole.  Putting an EasyBoot does nothing to alleviate pressure on the sole.
> In fact it has little nubs inside on the sole that, in essence, poke into
> it.causing greater discomfort every time the horse puts its foot down.
> So, it is perfectly understandable to me that Barney and Linda would
> notice nothing different when putting on EasyBoots at the vet check (and
> therefore come to the erroneous conclusion that any gait changes that are
> being seen are not related to the fact that the horse is foot sore).  And
> it is perfectly understandable to me that Robyn would feel that the
> EasyBoots were not helping (and since they didn't help, come to the
> erroneous conclusion that the problem was not that her horse needed hoof
> protection).
>
> In my experience, if you have already gone 35 miles over rough, abrasive
> terrain and your horse is footsore as a result, the only "cure" for that
> is total rest (and if it can lie down and take the weight off its feet, so
> much the better).  Such horses cannot move comfortably, no matter what
> kind of hoof protection you provide them, but the hoof protection with the
> best chance of helping is something that raises the SOLE of the foot up
> off the ground so that it doesn't have pressure on it every time the horse
> puts its foot down, rim shoes (whatever materials they are made of) best
> fit this description.
>
> I am not an opponent of people riding their barefoot horses in endurance
> (I have done so many times myself); nor am I an opponent of Ride Managers
> being allowed to require hoof protection at their rides.  BUT I am an
> opponent of people who choose to ride their horses barefoot not being
> aware enough of what a footsore horse feels like to know that they need to
> get off and quit.  Endurance vets do not (as yet) have much experience
> with how a barefoot horse exhibits its soreness, and it is hard to tell
> when a horse is trotted straight out in hand if it is sore on all four
> feet, which a barefoot horse would be.  Footsore barefoot horses are much
> easier to diagnose as footsore when they are under saddle than they are in
> hand.  The weight of the rider does make a big difference, especially if
> the rider is posting at the trot, the horse will head bob on whichever
> side the rider is posting on.  And footsore barefoot horses are much
> easier to diagnose as footsore when they are being ridden by their regular
> rider.  _I_ can tell when one of my barefoot horses is getting a bit too
> short in the foot to continue being ridden without hoof protection long
> before it is too late to do something about it, and I can do so by being
> aware of my horse's normal way of going and being attuned to any
> alterations in that normal way of going.
>
> If I read between the lines, the impression I get is that Robyn's horse
> handled the terrain of the Silver State ride with barely a thought to its
> rockiness for the first 10 - 15 miles, and then the terrain got rough and
> the horse started being a bit more careful about where it was putting its
> feet.
>
> For me, THIS is the time to protect my horse's hooves.  I rode and
> conditioned Lakota for 2 months barefoot (a horse that has been barefoot
> for probably 90% of her life), but when she started moving with slightly
> less confidence, she got steel shoes (which is the hoof protection that
> her owner chose).  BEFORE just standing made her sore.  Next month she
> will be going to Death Valley and will have EasyBoots foamed on over her
> steel shoes.
>
> I have ridden and conditioned Marla for the last 4 months in Old Mac Horse
> Boots, but it rained here last week and is raining today and rain is in
> the forecast for the weekend, and Old Macs don't work for me in the mud,
> and she is going to Death Valley next month.  Yesterday she got steel
> shoes.  And for Death Valley she will have EasyBoots foamed on over her
> steel shoes.
>
> After the rainy season is over, I will probably go back to training and
> conditioning with Old Macs (they have worked well for me over the past
> months), and I may even decide to give competing in them another try now
> that I have put hundreds of conditioning miles on them.  But I am fully
> aware that they are nowhere near to being as tried and true as either
> steel shoes or EasyBoots; and other barefoot endurance enthusiasts would
> do well to be aware of this too.
>
> I hope, that when all the people on the barefoot endurance list discuss
> all the possible hoof protection options for endurance horses, that they
> don't totally discount steel shoes.  Like ANY other hoof protection
> option, steel shoes have their drawbacks, but they have their advantages
> too.  Coming from somebody who has experimented with LOTS of alternatives,
> it is a big mistake not to at least consider steel when deciding on hoof
> protection of choice for an endurance horse.
>
> Maybe I should put together an evaluation table to be posted on Karen
> Chaton's web site that addresses each of the options that I have used or
> investigated detailing the advantages and disadvantages of each, and then
> everybody can have a look and decide what makes the most sense for their
> horse in their terrain with their living conditions, training conditions
> and competition goals.
>
> kat
> Orange County, Calif.
>
>
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