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[RC] was Requiring Hoof Protection, impressive civility - Mary KraussI read Ridecamp all the time and am amazed how civil you all are on- line about something akin to religious beliefs. In real life I've heard a number of riders and farriers sneer at barefooters as well as barefooters who sneer at users of conventional hoof protection. Despite bits of irritability here and there, ridecampers keep it pretty polite.My two cents: seems many people do the rational thing and use whatever hoof-care method suits their horse and the terrain--barefoot when that works, shoes when they are best, boots when they seem most practical. Ride managers know their rides/resources best and have to be given the last word on something that has immediate effect on lameness--an enormous source of pulls at rides. Most people recognize what ride managers are up against and respect their need to regulate whatever needs to be regulated. Because I like drama, I'm most interested though in the the zealots on both ends, who, like all zealots, dial up the emotional level of the discussion with all sorts of absolute language. I've ridden with barefooters whose horses were wincing with every step, their riders insisting all the while there were all sorts of reasons for continuing to ride barefoot over big sharp rocks that clearly caused pain to their horses. I've ridden riders whose steel-shod horses really needed some R&R from shoeing (contracted heels, poor quality walls on what you could just tell could be healthier feet), but whose riders think it cruel to leave a horse barefoot even in the pasture. People who live in their heads instead of reality are so dang interesting. Mary K. who thinks she's a traditional type but who finds herself owning a Freeform and Old Macs and lately has been caught perusing the Hought site for sidepulls..... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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