Re: Shoeing Rule changes

["Wolgram" <bkwranch@cmn.net>]

Hi, Abby, no heat from me; I agree completely with your "spin on it"  about
the shoeing rule change.  
I do, however, recall reading some comments from some endurance riders to
the effect that they still would not ride NATRC because they can't use leg
wraps and still have to tie to the trailer instead of using corrals and
don't want to be judged on their horsemanship, etc.  I think when we have
rules changes like the electrolyte rule change and the shoe change, if the
changes are done with good horse care in mind, like these were, it's a good
thing.  However, I don't think we should make changes just to accommodate
other disciplines because then we lose sight completely of the unique
things about our own sport and what our sport offers, but I believe that
our National Board gave a lot of consideration and thought to these changes
and I support them completely, too.  
Betty in Colorado

----------
> From: dave & abby bloxsom <cyclone@snet.net>
> To: CTR List - Trailriding <trailriding@cwa.com>
> Cc: Ridecamp <ridecamp@endurance.net>
> Subject: CTR: Shoeing Rule changes
> Date: Wednesday, February 03, 1999 8:49 PM
> 
> At the risk of opening a can of worms, I've decided after long thought
> to make a statement regarding the recent NATRC shoeing rule change.  It
> seems that many folks are of the opinion that relaxing the rules is
> going to bring a bunch of horses with crappy feet out of the woodwork to
> start distance riding, simply because they can now wear pads.
> 
> So here's my spin on it.  In nature, the ideal horse's foot is conformed
> to travel at speeds of the horse's choosing, over ground of the horse's
> choosing, with no weight on board.  When we change those three factors
> by mounting up and traveling at a specified speed over marked trails, we
> risk injury to the hoof itself, regardless of conformation.
> 
> The weight is the rider's - we need the rider to steer.  The specified
> speed is required in CTR to equalize the stresses placed on the horse. 
> The trails are marked for the same reason.
> 
> We accomodate these changes by shoeing the horse.  Some horses need
> squared toes, some need rolled toes, some need clips, and some need
> borium.  These needs are based on the changes we have made to the
> horse's natural challenges by adding weight, requiring specified speeds,
> etc.  They reflect only accomodations for the fact that he has shoes on
> at all.
> 
> Some riders choose to ride barefoot, as shoeing contributes its own set
> of problems to the mix.  It's a choice made by weighing opposing
> factors.  Each horse's needs will be different.  Shoeing in itself is
> probably the one prime contributor to loss of hoof condition, period. 
> That doesn't mean we should all ride barefooted horses.
> 
> Adding pads to the shoe likewise contributes to loss of hoof condition. 
> It also contributes to loss of shoes.  There are all kinds of reasons
> not to use pads, but choosing to do so is the result of weighing pros &
> cons.  John Long recently posted to Ridecamp in response to a suggestion
> that pads were only used to accomodate poor conformation (I quote with
> permission):
> 
> >> This is false logic.  By that same reasoning you would not allow any
> >> shoe at all, but require the horses to be barefoot.  Bars and pads are
> >> nothing more than devices with the same purpose as any shoe ... to
> >> give support and protection to the hoof not because of any defect in
> >> the hoof, but because of the unnatural demands being made on it by the
> >> riders (unnatural in terms of distance and terrain).  Horses running
> >> free in nature are not carrying weight, going as far in a day, or
> >> travelling over rocky and artificial surfaces.
> 
> >> Kahlil has excellent hooves, with nothing wrong with them.  He
> >> completed thousands of miles without pads.  But I padded him for rocky
> >> trails, because even the perfect hoof can stone bruise ... pads were a
> >> reasonable precaution to protect him from a painful and unnecessary
> >> injury (and protect me from having to pull from a ride for a
> >> preventable accident).
>  
> >> It is refreshing to see that NATRC finally recognizes this.
> 
> It is relevant to mention as well that Kahlil is a Hall of Fame
> endurance horse with 11,525 miles completed (still sound, healthy, and
> being ridden at age 25).
> 
> Easyboots, as well, make their appearance in the rule changes.  Nancy
> DuPont recently quoted George Cardinet, SR., one of the founders of
> NATRC as saying that riding "with easyboots, softens the hoof and
> makes the horse susceptible to bruising."  Actually, my experience is
> quite the opposite.  
> 
> When I'm riding off season (with my horses' shoes pulled to restore hoof
> strength) I often use Easyboots to allow me to go out with a barefoot
> horse.  I find the soft sole provides the horse with excellent traction
> and protection from the trail and/or road, while still permitting
> him/her the barefoot pasture time that gives me those incredibly hard
> hooves.  I've been trimming my own horses' feet for years, and I credit
> use of the Easyboot with an absolutely incredible contribution to hoof
> strength.  I know because I can feel it under the rasp.
> 
> Whatever the shoeing choice a distance rider makes, he/she is only
> providing support to the hoof that God put on that horse.  Ultimately,
> the high-quality hoof will succeed over the poor-quality hoof no matter
> what shoeing appliance is attached to it.
> 
> So now I've said my piece.  I'll sit back here and wait for the heat.
> 
> -Abby Bloxsom
> barefoot.