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RE: [RC] [RC] Barefoot/Shoeing - terry banister

Hey Karen,

You never mentioned hoof boots. Now there are plenty of hoof boots on the market to alternate with barefoot miles. You just ride your easier rides barefoot to keep the soles calloused and tough, then boot your horse for the longer, rougher rides to preserve hoof wall. There is no need to put shoes on just because of hoof wear. You just monitor the hoof status and boot accordingly. And do not have your trimmer take off too much sole.

My horse is barefoot 10 years. I have been doing mid-pack 50-milers for three years now. Many of the 50s were completely barefoot or booted on the hind only, and the last several rides, he was booted on all four. There is no need to go slow because of being barefoot. I have never had to ride any different than if my horse were shod.
Terry

"May the Horse be with you"
>From: "Karen Standefer" <kstandefer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: [RC]   Barefoot/Shoeing
>Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 10:13:50 -0800
>
>Hi, Kathy.
>
>
>
>I pulled my horse's shoes in late 2000.  I conditioned my horse for a couple
>years barefoot before attempting a barefoot 50 at Mt Adams.  We did complete
>the ride and my horse received A/A+ for movement, but it took us every bit
>of 12 hours (we were almost pulled for overtime, but squeaked in).  It was
>the most miserable ride of my life.  The first loop we did very fast which
>probably wore his hooves down too much.  The middle part of the ride was
>very rocky and I walked my horse in hand for the whole loop.  The last loop
>was nice, but had some rock and my horse was too short in the foot already
>to handle it well.  All of the trot outs were on grass, so he passed the vet
>checks with flying colors.
>
>
>
>While I was conditioning those 2 years, I frequently trailered away to
>condition.  I have 100's of miles of trails from my house, but they're all
>rock/gravel.  I finally got tired of having to trailer away 3 hours to ride
>on barefoot friendly ground, so I started conditioning exclusively on my
>home terrain.  I started my horse over like he was just under saddle (months
>of walking with very little trotting and then building up to mainly
>trotting).  By the time we got up to mainly trotting (about 9-10 months
>after I started him over), he became foot sore.  I have always kept up with
>x-rays, so I took another set.  It showed he had lost about 15mm of sole
>depth!  It took 3-4 months before I could ride him on the rocks again. This
>same pattern had happened in the past, but I didn't recognize it for what it
>was...wearing his hooves down to nubs.  So, I've gone back to shoeing.
>
>
>
>I think if you're lucky enough to live in an area where you can get all your
>conditioning miles in on fairly non-abrassive terrain AND the rides don't
>have a lot of rock/gravel, then you may be able to compete.  I know my horse
>can do a "barefoot friendly" 50 miler with ease barefoot.  But, my
>conditioning terrain is the limiting factor.
>
>
>
>In addition, for me it's not worth the constant worry of fussing over bare
>hooves and worrying about the horse coming up foot sore at a ride.  It's
>much more fun for me and my horse to be able to go at the speed we want and
>not have to worry that there won't be enough hoof to allow us to accomplish
>our goals.  If you look at my ride record, I barely got started with my
>horse before I pulled his shoes.  And, I've not accomplished anything since
>then due to trying very hard to do it barefoot (of course, there was a
>couple of years in there that my horse and I were both injured as well, but
>still, I sat out several years of not being able to ride because of bare
>hooves).
>
>
>
>Karen
>

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Replies
RE: [RC] Barefoot/Shoeing, Karen Standefer