Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

  As  I mentioned earlier, I'm not against the barefoot program, as I 
did it myself for two years. But some folks are mixing terms when they 
use the term "barefoot." When you walk around the house barefoot, what 
do you have on your feet? Nothing. No shoes, no socks, and certainly no 
easyboots. Some of the supporters of the barefoot idea are glossing over 
the fact that they use BOOTS to protect the horse's feet much if not 
most of the time, especially if it is rocky (short training rides at 
home may be exceptions, but we're talking endurance riding here). Very 
appropriate. The fact that there are a few horses (against many who 
fail) that can withstand hard competition over rock without ANY foot 
protection, is, in my opinion, a misdirected plug for going barefoot. 
The obvious benefits are better horn and sole, and a healthier foot 
overall in some cases (and, many shod horses have perfectly healthy 
feet, as well). A foot that, IMO, is  prepared to go down most endurance 
trails WITH PROTECTION, which is what most riders of unshod horses are 
clearly doing. Arguably, a horse has even more protection on his foot 
when wearing an easyboot, as he has 1/2 inch of hard, vulcanized rubber 
covering the entire sole, not just the outer wall of the foot. So, which 
horse is actually able to withstand more punishment from the ground--the 
horse shod with a rim shoe and exposed sole, or the unshod horse with 
complete sole protection from boots?
  There is clearly a middle ground, thankfully, with more than one 
option for us to get down the trail with. I will say, however that the 
market on perfectly healthy feet isn't cornered by either the "barefoot" 
group or the "shod"  group, in my experience. The "soundness market" may 
be up for grabs. However, I don't think that shod horses are as likely 
to be pulled for being footsore as truly barefoot, unprotected horses, 
but I could be wrong.   Dr Q often wrong, but never in doubt 
  PS I apologize for inciting this dialog again. Someone put 
electrolytes in my beer, and it made me feel a little frisky.


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