Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> Of all the posts on this subject, you said it best. And it's my feeling
> exactly.  I made the decision that my horse will be barefoot - PERIOD.
> If that means passing up a ride, so what?  The world  will not end, and
> my horse will still have healthy, beautiful, rock-hard hooves.  For
> those of you that put the ride first, go right ahead.  Lori and I made
> the decision that is right for us.  And so have thousands of others.
Those of us who shoe are not "putting the ride first." We are really,
truly, putting the horse first.  Horses are bred to ride--to have a job. 
Our horses are not happy without a job, and they are certainly much
healthier if they are allowed to be fit.  Our horses were not bred to be
pasture ornaments.  And if they had to remain barefoot, that is
essentially what they would be.  Oh, sure, they could be lightly ridden,
or ridden in arena disciplines.  But they could not be ridden for long in
our mountains and rocks.  We think more of our horses than to leave them
standing idle or to not allow them to develop their athletic potential. 
All of our horses grow up barefoot here in the rocks and hills, and most
are blessed with exceptional feet.  None of them are shod until the work
exceeds the wear.  When that happens, we shoe them BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT
THEM!

I grew up ranching in these same mountains--horses raised the same way, in
natural conditions and with good feet.  They were good for several weeks'
riding in the spring prior to being shod, but we had to ride to do our
work.  We shod them rather than wear their feet to bloody stubs and
cripple them.  They never went off our own cattle range and never went to
endurance rides.

So, Shari and Lori, quit making assumptions about the motives of others. 
If you are content to limit your horse's potential to fit your own private
agenda, that's your business.  More power to you.  (And Lori is dead right
that most barefoot enthusiasts DO NOT tell the truth about the hard work
and time that it takes to maintain a barefoot horse simply to do light
work.  And because of that, many are injured.)  However, the rest of us
shoe because we care.  We care a lot.  And you will find precious few on
this list who will put up with a poor shoeing job--most are pretty well
educated about hoof health, or if not yet, they are striving to be.  My
horses would be shod for hard and long miles even if I never went to
another endurance ride in my life.  They would be barefoot until wear
exceeds growth, too--just like they've always been.

So quit hollering "BIAS!" and pointing fingers when you are condemning
those who choose to shoe, if you want any respect for simply making the
choice not to.  I agree that it IS your choice--but if you want respect
for your choice (which you apparently do, since you were seeking to have
an article published about it), you also need to respect the choices that
others make for the good of their own horses.

Heidi  (getting ready to call the farrier to put shoes on the horses that
have barefooted all winter, because the wear is about to exceed the growth
once again--and because I care enough not to ride their feet to bloody
stubs...)



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=