RE: Darolyn and Barefootin'

[guest@endurance.net]

Karen Standefer hrschk@yahoo.com
Pinching off the digital arteries, which shoeing does by default after a
short period of time, does act like an anesthesia because it effectively
cuts off the circulation to the nerves in the hoof.  It does this to such
an extent that alternate artery routes will form in the coffin bone in an
effort to continue the blood flow needed by the nerves.  However, in the
cadaver hooves that I've looked at, they never get to near the size of the
main digital artery pathway, which would indicate the blood flow is still
inadequate for what mother nature had arthitected.  Not to mention that
rerouting blood (show very graphically in Pollit's videos) tears down
coffin bone material which weakens the coffin bone which is the main base
of support inside the hoof.

Otherwise, explain to me how a 3/8" piece of metal running around the edge
of the hoof lessens the pain of a horse stepping on a 2" rock?  I totally
agree that horseshoes prevent a hoof that is not conditioned for the rocks
to not wear the hoof wall excessively, but explain how it prevents pain
from the rocks or prevents bruising?  I get no bruising at all on my horse
no matter what speed or what size rocks he's working on.  He doesn't avoid
them, either.  Given the choice of where he likes to run, it's right down
the middle of the wheel tracks on a logging road, not the soft shoulder or
the soft middle.  When I pulled shoes on this horse his soles were
horribly bruised and continued to show bruising until we got the trim
proper so that his hoof worked like it is suppose to work.   Now we get no
bruising and in the case that he steps on a rock that is harsher than what
he planned, he can feel it and not commit full weight so that it doesn't
hurt him.  Following behind my horse on a rocky ride in the Cascades one
would think he has eyes in his feet.  He looks like a rock climber
(finding the obvious places to put his hooves for maximum traction) when
traversing highly technical rock face trails.  He has always been good at
working in rocks, but the change to barefoot makes an uncanny difference
and I feel as if I'm riding a mountain goat.

Karen


REFERENCED POST:

Cheryl, it still isn't pain until the anesthesia wears off.  Last I
checked,
anesthesia was still prohibited under AERC's drug rules.  What you are
talking about here is damage, not pain.  And since our shod horses are
running with nerves intact and not altered by drugs, if any damage is
done,
it becomes pain, which is, indeed, felt.  The result to feeling pain in
the
feet is lameness.  If we are inflicting all this "pain" by riding our
horses
shod, why do the vast majority of them finish sound?

For the record, here is what Webster has to say regarding pain [inserts
are
mine]:  "a basic bodily sensation [in other words, you can FEEL it]
induced
by a noxious stimulus, received by naked nerve endings [in other words,
NOT
anesthetized], characterized by physical discomfort [once again, you can
FEEL it], and typically leading to evasive action [in the case of running
over rocks, most likely limping]."

Heidi (who despite 8 years under the Clinton administration, still
believes
that words have precise meanings)