There is some positive information concerning navicular on the barefoot site; they do seem to believe that a horse can recover from such a thing using their methods. Might be worth a shot before you go and put the horse down, but the horse in question does seem to have serious problems and has reached a stage where it might be too late to do much of anything. I've been doing my own trims for the last 3 months, and I must admit, I like doing them. I have read quite a lot of what is out there on the Internet, and the one site that seems the most informative and is easy enough for me to understand is www.barefoothorse.com Under the "strategy" section on that site the author discusses the differences between her method and the Strasser method. What I like about the non Strasser method (it's called Natural trim) is they don't want you to take away any of the sole. Anyway, she does discuss the differences between the two which I found interesting. I have yet to use the nippers on my horses except to take out those chipped flares that cropped up early when I first started, but don't seem to happen as much because of my weekly rasping. I really like the arching of the quarters and the mustang roll. If you want to see why some folks are so big on this barefoot thing, check out the photos of the horses feet on www.tribeequus.com . The concavity of the soles and the strong hoof walls are what you're striving for here. I'm just hoping that it can happen, for me, in endurance. Just think of the savings! A couple of years doing this and I might actually be able to afford an XP ride! I don't know of too many endurance riders, besides Darolyn, who do the barefoot thing, so it's difficult to assess how this is going to turn out. I'm not real big on easy boots (hard to find when you lose one) but those plastic shoes look interesting. I'm just hoping to find another way to do those mountain rides that I love going to without putting nails back into my horse's hooves. Another good thing about the site that I've mentioned is they want the horse to have low heels and a short toe. This kind of falls in line with how a lot of Arab feet are anyway, at least with the low heel, so I like the idea. I won't lie to you, it is hard on the back and I've got cuts on my hands, arms and my legs (I'm probably the only horse trimmer who wears shorts when working) from that rasp. And even though Rob recommends to use the handle for the rasp, I do not, and I have stabbed myself quite a few times with the pointy end thing, which I'm seriously considering sawing off. Due to these injuries, I now have 3 belly buttons. I have started wearing gloves and that does help quite a bit, plus soaking the horse's hooves in water sure makes a difference. Usually, I just saddle up, go for a short ride, and sit with the horse in a nearby swamp for 15 or so minutes before I go back home and get to working. We've had 20 inches of rain between June and July so the swamps are plenty full lately. And when I start to work I have a hose nearby to keep the feet wet. Now, I'm not trying to sell this to anyone; I'm not even sure if it will work as far as endurance goes. But, if enough of ya'll are interested I will keep you up to date as to how my horses are doing here. I had to try something different; I'm just sick and tired of getting pulled for that subtle head bob at the vet checks. From what I'm reading on Ridecamp lately, I'm starting to think that the vets in the Southeast might be the toughest in the country to obtain a "fit to continue" ruling. I must admit all of my guys trot out much better lately, which is my main reason for going this route. Anyway, I promise not to become a "barefoot radical" no matter what happens, and I know those of you who live in the mountains most likey wouldn't consider such a thing anyway and I can't blame you. But, if I can't do it down here in Florida, than where else can it be done? Keep in mind I ask the question knowing it's me doing the trimming, so, this does not apply to others who are much more capable. cya, Howard
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