>>>>> If you've spent thousands getting your horse there and he's about to be disqualified because his shoe has spread from it's original form, yeah, you're going to be happy there is a farrier on hand to quickly re-shoe him.
Which brings up another good point...why should it cost thousands to get your horse TRAINED for evaluations? I did a few quick calculations when I first was considering breeding, and if I did what was recommended, I could easily have $5000-10000 in TRAINING, travel, etc. per horse before I had him/her evaluated. Now, these are nominally "breeding" evaluations, and nothing about TRAINING is heritable. Makes a lot of sense, huh? >>> They are VERY strict about adhering to the rules regarding shoes, protective boots, etc. at an evaluation. I can think of a couple of ways to vastly streamline those "strict" rules: ban all boots, and encourage barefoot. If a "breeding" horse needs "protective" boots and/or shoes, IMO, he/she already has two strikes against him/her as a breeding animal. This would not only streamline the adherence to rules, but it would also weed out many weak or manipulated horses. That's a win-win. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
