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

                  "and then you put something on his feet to which he is not acclimated. . . "

So carefully ACCLIMATE the horse with miles of conditioning, just like people need to do to race a horse 100 miles over sand.

Terry

"May the Horse be with you"

>From: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <terrybanister@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>CC: <kstandefer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: [RC]   [RC] [RC] [RC] Barefoot/Shoeing
>Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 08:01:33 -0700 (MST)
>
> >Also, my horse's feet are not symmetrical,
> > and the breakover is not dead center on all hooves. How would a shoer
> > set the shoe "back" to allow for that need?
>
>It is a simple matter for a shoer to set the shoe to accommodate a horse
>whose breakover is not in the center--and in fact, with a shoe that has
>not had its front edge tampered with in any way, the horse will quickly
>establish his own breakover point on it.  (Just go look at any worn set of
>shoes!)  If need be, the farrier can slightly flatten the shoe at the
>horse's natural breakover point--but I've never found that to be
>necessary.  We did have a mare several years ago who was pigeon-toed and
>whose breakover point was considerably to the outside of the center of the
>hoof--although when her feet were on the ground, the breakover was nearly
>straight ahead.  This mare had pretty tough hooves, but "shoeing her to
>herself" kept her problem from getting worse.  One would have crippled her
>by trying to force a breakover at the center of the foot--but with
>unaltered shoes, she could break over at the point that was right for her.
>  (This is one reason why I DON'T like squared toes, etc.)
>
>I figure that most of my
> > horse's 720 hours&nbsp;in&nbsp;each&nbsp;month are not being ridden, or
> > ridden barefoot. That leaves only about&nbsp;20 hours per month ridden
> > with boots (that have a beveled toe for breakover)&nbsp;doing less than
> > 20 miles per ride. Since there is usually only one day in that 4-6 week
> > period the horse is&nbsp;ridden 50 miles with boots, it doesn't put
> > enough theoretic strain to make him need to wear steel 24/7. It's not
> > like horses with shoes don't go lame . . .
>
>Often, the very fact that he DOES wear the shoes 24/7 can KEEP him from
>going lame from the abnormal stresses, since he has the opportunity to
>aclimate to the shoeing.  (Yes, horses with shoes can go lame--and yes,
>there is bad shoeing done that contributes to it sometimes.  But one
>cannot conclude from that that it shoeing that makes most shod horses
>lame.)  The point here is that the horse runs the 720 or so hours that you
>mention without anything on his feet, and then you put something on his
>feet to which he is not acclimated and ask him to go do an athletic event.
>  Imagine if you will that YOU went barefoot most of the time, and somebody
>handed you a new pair of running shoes and asked you to go run a
>trackmeet.  Odds are you would be really uncomfortable, and might even do
>yourself damage.  But if you wear those same shoes until they are well
>broken in and your feet are used to them, they can be an asset.  When
>either you or your horse wear a set of shoes regularly, they become second
>nature.  If they don't fit, that is certainly bad--but if they do fit,
>they are an asset.  The goal of shoeing is to apply shoes that fit and
>that don't mess with Mother Nature, so that the horse benefits.
>
>Heidi
>
>
>
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RE: [RC] [RC] [RC] [RC] Barefoot/Shoeing, heidi