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[RC] The Bare Facts - WRSINOSKYKaren (dreamweaver) wrote:"I have worn thru enough wide web metal shoes and boots and know that those materials are more durable than my horses hooves (try rasping the different materials and see which wears down the quickest)." I've only been involved in AERC for a little less than 3 years. All of my horses are barefoot. Some I ride alot, others basically hang out in their "desert" pasture (meaning dirt and rocks). Karen is one of the most amazing individuals I've met. I wonder when she sleeps between all of the rides she attends and the website she keeps up to date. I just loved her analogy. When Sebastian first came to my home, he was shod. I left the shoes on until it came time for my farrier to arrive, then I had him pull them. In just that brief amount of time I had practically worn the shoes in half from riding on the rocky terrain around my home. My farrier couldn't believe I rode that much. But, compared to Karen? Heck! I'm a wimp. She also mentioned wild horses and pointed out they travel on their own trails and not on hardpacked or rocky roads. They are smarter than us and go around the "rough" stuff. I couldn't agree more. Unless I have a particular reason for following a set route, I have a habit of letting my horses choose the way. A friend once chastised me for "letting my horse take me under trees". I didn't see it as rudeness on my horse's part. They don't intentionally try to knock me off, they merely choose the softer footing found under most trees, as opposed to the granite and volcanic rock of the set trail. In my little mind, I am just being polite to my barefooted equine buddy. The same holds true when I ride alongside a road in the gravel area, my horses tend to walk slower, but once in an open field where the ground is soft, we generally have a "discussion" about how fast we are going to move. Yeah, it's just my humble opinion, but I consider horses a whole heck of a lot smarter than people. Just think what they could do if they had thumbs! Oh! And let's not forget when I used to ride Doimas in LD's without hoof coverings. He did fine at several rides. Then came the ride that I took boots along and didn't "bother" to use them because he has such "good feet". Hmmm. Doimas got a stone bruise. It turned into an abscess. The abscess turned into a subsolar abscess and we didn't ride for three months. That's not to say it will happen to everyone who rides barefoot, there are too many variables involved to list. But it did happen to Doimas; and it was my fault. A very costly lesson. Perhaps not in money, but certainly in suffering for my horse and anger with myself. I will never forgive myself for causing him pain, just because I "knew" he had good feet. Cindy Edwards buckeye, az
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