The statement "if a horse gets 'ouchie' it
will be pulled" is completely in line with our other standards, isn’t
it? If a horse gets girth sores, it’s pulled unless the girth can be
changed or moved to a different spot where it won’t continue to be a
problem. If a horse gets interference nicks it may be pulled unless you can put
protection on if (if it is not already painful). If the horse’s back or
other muscles get sore, it’s pulled it can be pulled. We go into a ride
thinking all will be well, then get pulled if it isn’t.
I don’t ride my horse barefoot at 50s, he wears boots,
but I don’t believe anyone who rides their horse barefoot would do so
with the thought of “oh well, if it hurts, then we’ll boot or pull”.
Most conscientious horse owners do what they feel their horse is capable of
without getting hurt or injured, but $@&! happens, and even the toughest of
bare hooves could develop a problem, as could a shod horse, then it
should/would be pulled unless the problem can be remedied.
Some owners shoe the fronts only because the fronts take
most of the load when the horse moves and so puts more stress on them.
I see Kat’s point of view also, I surely would not
want to take a barefoot horse into a ride and not be able to tell if he is sore.
I boot before the ride because I know my horse is not comfortable doing long
hard miles without protection.
Kathy
I have to agree with Kat on reasons RM often prefer shod or booted
horses at their rides.
The
statement " if a horse gets 'ouchie' it will be pulled" really bugs
me. Is it fair to the horse to make him sore before he can be pulled? Or before
you shoe or boot?
Some of the
old time "cowboys" and I use the term loosely, shod only the fronts
because the horse was too bronky to handle the hinds. Some times they were just
lazy. The _expression_ was "if the front end goes the back end will
follow" A really snakey horse, bad to buck, often went
bare, he wouldn't buck so hard if his feet hurt. I can't help wondering if a few endurance horses
are easier to rate if they are bare? Hard to be chargey if your feet hurt
(;>)
