Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

On 11/2/06, Kathleen <mustangkt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Yes, in a properly barefoot trimmed horse, or in a wild mustang, the sole is the support of a horses weight.  Otherwise, it would be like you walking on your toenails instead of the pads of your feet!

 

 

Personally, I doin't care whether someone rides a barefoot horse or a shod horse...it's their decision for their horse.

 

But, I'd like to comment on the above snipped statements.

 

"...the sole is the support of a horses weight."   In my opinion, the sole is one "component" of the horse's  support mechanism.  For me, the truth has always seemed to be that a horse's "conformation" is the true support of its weight, whether moving or standing still.  As such, the sole is one of the components of the overall locomotory effort of a moving horse.  The dissipation of impact forces through the hoof, up the leg, through the shoulder and through the actual complete locomotory cycle of each stride is something else. 

 

lAs for "it would be like walking on your toenails instead of the pads of your feet!" statement, I believe that the contractile moment of the loading and the unloading of the hoof should not be discounted in the dissipation of impact forces.  Does that happen in a hoof with a pared sole?...yeah.  Does that happen in the hoof with a hoof not pared out?...yeah.  It is a matter of how much for a particular horse.  As such, the frog and bars are integral in overall alleviation of the concussive forces of equine locomotion.  The dynamic moments in hoof function during movement are certainly aided by a properly trimmed hoof, but, to my knowledge (which is properly just not as great as some of the folks involved in this converstation) a properly shod horse's hoof's contraction and release are not affected by iron.  It is the actual "structure" of the hoof, ("solid"...laminae and "liquid" (blood, synovia, etc.) which dictates how the horse will bear up under strenous and dynamic effort.  Certainly, angles and such are contributory in whether the horse functions at optimum levels and with as little degradation to stacked structures within the hoof and leg, etc.

 

A "properly trimmed hoof" has come to mean a hoof which is trimmed in a manner the owner of the horse deems proper.  Not "double-speak", but, in fact, the way things seem to play out on this list.

 

When discussing the dynamic and fluid nature of a living organism's mechanics (the horse), it's much more than whether to pare the sole or not...for me anyway.

 

Frank