Re: [RC] pulling shoes now OLDER horse - Elizabeth Walker
Thanks - that's what I was trying to get at, but didn't know how to say. If there is a difference between the way the hoof is trimmed and the contour of the boot, you are changing how the horse travels when you boot - and that change comes into effect during strenuous exercise.
As for why it might not bother some horses - I'm just going to speculate that there is a good agreement in the way the hoof is trimmed and the way the boot is built, so that there is actually very little difference. However, if you have a horse with, say, a toe trimmed significantly shorter than the way the boot is made, that could be a really big change during those few "booted" hours.
On Jan 11, 2010, at 11:33 AM, Sisu West Ranch wrote:
"...The boots may only be on for 10 hours a week but the horse ..."
That is something that bothers me about using boots for endurance or heavy conditioning. Last fall when I was getting ready to hike in new, insulated hiking boots, I wore them for my exercise walks for a month. It would not have been comfortable for me to hike in different shoes that I wasn't used to.
This doesn't seem to bother some horses that are campained in boots. I wonder why?
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower Road Victor, MT 59875
