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RE: [RC] [RC] The Bare Facts - heidiSorry if sharing posts between all my endurance lists is a faux pa. I feel it is of interest to all endurance riders, whether they agree or not. All have the option to delete! Over the years of shod & non shod endurance that I've done, all that I've stated as facts are fact IMHO. I'm not the forerunner of this topic. Darolyn Butler was & is doing barefoot 100's & was my inspiration & mentor. http://horseridingfun.com/barefootin.html Many of us are well acquainted with Darolyn--and it is the vets in Texas who started reporting the incidences of the bruised deep digital flexors on many of the horses she has had campaigning down there. She may be your inspiration and your mentor, but she has also taught many of us to be leery. My answers below are starred * ~Sue Walz OK, I'll put my responses in caps--no, I'm not shouting, just trying to find a way to differentiate here. Bare facts are fine--but let's tell the WHOLE truth. The more miles you ride a barefoot horse the more the hoof growth is stimulated. Certainly. But in our sport, despite excellent conditioning, wear in many cases will still exceed growth. *not in every case... Raven's feet barely change after 50 tough miles! Darolyn has had even more success on more horses at higher mileages. DID I *SAY* IN EVERY CASE??? NO. I SAID IN MMAY CASES. RAVEN HAS DONE WELL, AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PROUD OF HIM AND OF YOUR EFFORTS. WHERE I GET DISGUSTED IS WHEN A HORSE THAT IS AN EXCEPTION IS TOUTED AS A POSTER CHILD AND EVERYONE IS URGED TO FOLLOW. Increased hoof mechanism = increased circulation = increased growth The terrain a horse is conditioned on soon becomes tolerable to the bare hoof Only up to a point. Some terrain exceeds the severity to which horses can condition. *Not true inless you've studied horses that have been conditioned you cannot say. Raven has gone over terrain this year that he couldn't have a couple years ago. Conditioning without boots worked! I'VE DEALT WITH CONDITIONED HORSES FOR WELL OVER 30 YEARS. YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT HERE, SUE. SURE, RAVEN CAN DO STUFF NOW THAT HE COULDN'T DO LAST YEAR. HORSES DO IMPROVE WITH CONDITIONING. AND YET YOU STILL SHOE FOR TEVIS--SO CLEARLY THERE IS STILL TERRAIN THAT YOU DON'T DO BAREFOOT. I REST MY CASE. The bare hoof grips rock & pavement better than a shod hoof No argument there--but it also pays a price for doing so. *Properly conditioned the hoof pays no price. It is tough enough! THAT IS THE SORT OF IRRESP0NSIBLE STATEMENT THAT JUST DRIVES ME BATTY. SORRY, SUE--BUT THERE IS ALWAYS A PRICE. Conditioned to rock & pavement damage does not occur Simply not true. Conditioning certainly helps to minimize the damage--but does not eliminate it entirely. * Then why aren't Raven's hoofs damaged after the rocky 50's he's done? THEY ARE. YOU JUST DON'T SEE IT ON THE SURFACE, AND IT IS DAMAGE FROM WHICH HE IS ABLE TO RECOVER. THE IDEA THAT YOU ARE DOING 50 MILES WITHOUT DAMAGE IS SIMPLY NOT REALISTIC--THERE IS DAMAGE TO ALL TISSUE, BUT THE SECRET IS IN KEEPING DAMAGE SUFFICIENTLY MINIMAL THAT IT WILL HEAL. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT CHIPS AND DINGS HERE--HOW DO YOU ASSESS SUCH STRUCTURES AS THE DEEP DIGITAL FLEXORS POST-RIDE, OTHER THAN SAYING HE'S NOT LAME ON A TROT-OUT? Increased sole callous decreases or eliminates the chance of stone bruises Decreases, certainly. Eliminates, no. And sole callus can (and does) also increase in properly conditioned AND PROPERLY SHOD horses that wear shoes. We see huge changes in the amount of sole callus when horses from wetter climates or that have been improperly shod come to live here and live more naturally--and they are ridden with shoes. * And that's why so many end up with stone bruises & pads? Then Raven should've been stone bruised after Prineville, Pacific Crest & Bandit. He flew over lot's of harsh rock on all of those rides & came through sound. SUE, RE-READ WHAT I SAID ABOVE ABOUT BEING PROPERLY CONDITIONED AND PROPERLY SHOD. TO USE THE SAME SORT OF "LOGIC" THAT YOU ARE USING HERE, I'D ASK YOU, THEN WHY HAVE I HAD ONLY ONE STONE BRUISE RIDING SHOD HORSES FOR WELL OVER 6000 MILES? (AND THAT ONE WAS CONFORMATION-RELATED, ON A MARE THAT COULD NOT HAVE COMPETED AT ALL WITHOUT SHOES DUE TO IRREGULARITIES IN TWO OF HER FEET.) I REALLY DIDN'T SEE ALL THAT MANY STONE BRUISES ON SHOD HORSES IN ALL THE YEARS I VETTED RIDES--BUT I'VE DEFINITELY SEEN SOME IN WELL-CONDITIONED BAREFOOT HORSES! IN FACT, IT WAS A STONE BRUISE THAT CAUSED MY BAREFOOTING JUNIOR RIDER LAST YEAR TO HAVE TO SHOE--AND SHE HAD WORKED HARD JUST AS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SOUND BAREFOOT HORSE. Thrush & white line disease become less of an issue or non-issue I can give a horse thrush or white line disease simply by confining it in unsanitary conditions, bare or not. And I can't remember the last time I've seen a case of thrush in a SHOD horse out on natural ground, either. This "factoid" is a red herring--being barefoot or shod is not the issue here. * It does happen more often with shod horses. I haven't dealt with it once with my horses being bare. Until you've tried it, you can't know "the rest of the story!" SUE, I'D WAGER THAT I'VE RIDDEN MORE MILES ON BAREFOOT HORSES IN MY LIFETIME THAN YOU HAVE. I JUST DON'T COMPETE THAT WAY. SO YES, I DO KNOW "THE REST OF THE STORY." AND THAT'S WHY I GET SO TIRED OF THE FACT THAT THE FOLKS WHO TREAT BAREFOOTING LIKE A NEW RELIGION AREN'T TELLING IT. AGAIN, IN 30+ YEARS OF RIDING PROPERLY MANAGED SHOD HORSES, I'VE NEVER HAD A CASE OF THRUSH OR WHITE LINE DISEASE--BUT I'VE TREATED PLENTY OF SUCH CASES IN BAREFOOT HORSES, ALL RELATED TO IMPROPER ENVIRONMENT, NOT TO SHOES OR LACK OF SHOES. HEIDI =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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