RE: [RC] Beet Pulp Chronicles - Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM
Am I the only one that’s baffled as to why a farrier would
be considered a reliable source of information on anything having to do with
horses other than foot-related issues? Unless and until they’ve
demonstrated some actual quantifiable training or knowledge in the area?
I have very little training in shoeing (I can remove a shoe
without tearing up the hoof wall, or pare out an abscess, and that’s
about the extent of my comfort zone) and so(logically enough), you won’t
catch me pretending that I’m a shoer. What a concept. It
always amazes me that farriers (and granted, not all, maybe not even the
majority) will put forth on not just shoeing and hoof care, but then happily keep
going into parasitology, pharmacology, nutrition, dentistry, training, saddle
fitting…I once had one shoer come up to my vet truck to ‘consult’
regarding my antibiotic choice for a client’s mare with an upper
respiratory infection. The owner hadn’t asked him to, nor were
there any issues remotely affecting the feet…he just wanted to check on
what I was doing before he ‘okayed’ it. I almost bit him.
I guess it’s human nature to try to be helpful even when
the help isn’t very helpful, but I can’t help placing this sort of unqualified
advice in the same category as me advising Karen Chaton how to put on an
easyboot in under ten seconds, or Truman how to ride in Florida sugar sand, or
John Parke how to ride an Icelandic. I don’t know a damn thing
about any of those things, so I’m going to sit down and shut up. Go
figure.
Susan Garlinghouse, DVM (not a shoer, nor do I play one on TV)
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Peggy B-Smith Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 7:25 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Beet Pulp Chronicles
What is it about beet pulp that
inspires stories like these?
My farrier, who is a wonderful farrier, actually gave a talk to our horseman's
group and part of her talk was how bad beet pulp is for your horse - It's full
of sugar, it's the worst thing you can feed, blah, blah, etc.
When she's at my place doing my horses and sees my beet pulp, it's always a
comment how I shouldn't be feeding it, bad for my horses.
The fact that my mare is a fantastic multi-day horse and has a muscled rear-end
that is the envy of my quarter horse owning friends, doesn't change her
opinion!
