Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Keeping shoes on horses

It is with great trepidation I weight on this since it seems to be one 
of those issues driven by emotion.

My mare could gallop in steel on a back top road on a hot summer day 
when all the oil had boiled to the surface without ever worrying. Every 
body else was off leading their horses. To some extent "traction" is a 
function of the horse. Some horses are naturally very balanced and very 
sure footed - some aren't. Traction can also be a two edged sword. Too 
much traction can put stress on the joints. So how much is enough?

I think the real issue with steel shoes is not the steel shoes, but the 
shoer. We ride year round and my horse basically has shoes on year 
round. Because of a very good farrier his feet are better today than 
they were four years ago.

The one problem I'd see with these speciality shoes is, it's difficult 
enough to find a good shoer that knows his stuff with the standard steel 
shoe. How many really know their stuff with these new type shoes?

Truman

Lynne Glazer wrote:

> Without opening the whole barefoot debate again (which I avoided 
> participating in last time)--nothing wrong with looking for a better 
> mousetrap, but for the newbies' sake, I feel a need to counter your 
> statements:





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