Hello Truman, i don't think it goes back to the dawn of
time but rather to the Iron Age as before that Armies like the Asian Hordes used
hide and woven material from plants. The Romans fitted leather and metal
coverage with leather straps. The Indians used leather when they needed
it. So it seems that since the Iron Age there has essentially been no
development in the process of hoof protection other than easy boots. My
theory would be to utilize a liquid product that dries instantly and wears
like steel but without the nail holes. Science should be able to advance
towards the future, rather than stay in the past. tOMs
Back in a previous life I spent 6 months in
the Army War College. The US military doctrine is to use technology to it's
greatest advantage. That's why we can fight wars today without a great loss of
life compared to only 30 years ago when we lost 50,000 in Vietnam.
Anyway, one of the military history instructors had an interesting
chart that listed the technology that had significant military impact. That
means it made the difference in winning or losing a war. If you want to test
something and get rid of all the BS claims - test it in a war. You win or lose
- it works or you die. Can't get more black and white than that. Of
course the usual suspects we know today are on there, proximity fuses, radar
and the atomic bomb in WWII; later curse missiles, the jet
airplane. In the Civil ( not a good discription) War it was the
repeating rifle.
But go back in history when the horse was an
instrument of war you will find the stirrup as a significant military
technology that made the difference in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 which
set the course of Great Britain. One other technology of military significance
is the steel horseshoe. It allowed armies to go faster and further with less
down time and fewer spare stock and provided them an advantage over their
adversary.
So it seems that "barefoot vs. shod" has been a argument
from the dawn of time.
Truman
goearth wrote:
Brrr. its cold outside and a snow storm called for.
But i got to thinking about the 1716 trek in Va. to open up the west and
cross the Blue Ridge by the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe and Lt. Gov.
Alexander Spotswood. Living down near the ocean and the tidewater area
they didn't use shoes as they didn't need them in the sand. It was
only when they decided to cross the Mountains that they needed them and
applied them. Upon their return they called themselves the KoTGH and
supposedly gave out miniature golden jewel-encrusted horseshoes as momentos
of the trip. When i first came to Luray in 1974 and rode the
mountains, not knowing what endurance was but just riding for the
adventure i only had fronts and never shod in the rear or had a problem
at all on these notorious rocks,sometimes riding 30 miles over
mountains. I am not an opponent of barefootin and would welcome any
knowledge about alternative hoof care and practices. Sure, there
are times when shoeing is needed and should be done. But the horses
feet Darolyn showed me were some of the best balanced and trimmed feet
i have ever seen. And, that makes me a leaning proponent.
tOMs
