--- "Debbie K." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I will restate though that if I had to put shoes on, for what ever reason, maybe transition to barefoot if I bought a new horse, I would use the natural balance shoes that Gene O has, however, you really need to get them on correctly and change them out every 4 weeks `Well I will have to disagree with this partially, Debbie. The tendency to generalize (and then set yourself up to feel judgmental about other people's practices) regarding care is something that I have noticed with people who have learned to successfully trim their own horse's feet in their own particular environment.....For your horses in your environment something might be absolutely valid, and I respect your discovery, but it will not always necessarily work for every horse. The use of Natural Balance shoes really depends on the horse, their individual issue and the environment, just like any other thing. Sally studied with Gene Ovnick for 2 full days one-on-one here, in Hawaii. We took him to all of our difficult cases and our clients paid him for a consult and to work on their horse's feet. We even paid him to work on 2 of our horses feet with us...1 rescue foundered TWH mare, and Sally's ranch horse who was given to her partially due to his bad feet. Just to say that all shoes should be changed out every 4 weeks is not correct, Gene himself had us leave some horse's shoes on for up to 3 months, depending on the environment, (wet or dry, mainly) the hoof growth and the issue at hand with that horse. For example, to pull the shoes off a very slow growing hoof just because 'its time' and renail it with minimal trimming just causes concussion and swiss cheese nail holes. I do agree that they (NB shoes) need to be put on correctly. The trim is a natural balance trim, which really is just plain good trimming, even Gene says that, and the shoe must be placed properly (ie set back to the sole callus) in order to get the proper breakover and the benefit for the horse. We see a lot of them put on just like a keg shoe....no benefit for the horse that way really, and then they do not work and then people think its a bunch of crap, so they won't try it when its needed for their horses when someone comes along that has studied with Gene and knows what they are doing....(a little rant, yes). > If my horse needs shoes/protection, I figure out WHY they are NOT > SOUND, cause to me that is what I believe, if they are not sound, > then there is an underlying reason that they are not sound on any > terrain I ride on... This is where some people who put shoes on their horse begin to feel a little judged, as many people have gone through that process as well, and the horse, terrain and environment and style of riding just do not allow for barefoot. For example, I challenge anyone to ride their barefoot horse all day with me on crushed lava in the wet jungle, and then turn them out in any pasture in this area. I would really, honestly love to see this, I'm not being sarcastic. To keep a horse barefoot here I would have to stall or small paddock my horse on ($$$)imported dirt and ride with 4 hoof boots. I choose not to stall or intensively confine my horses, I have tried this and they HATE it, so I decided to let them live 'naturally' in my rocky abrasive pasture, rather than artificially confine them in order to have them 'naturally' barefoot. Gets confusing, doesn't it?:) > Here is my question to those of you who feel shoes are important... > Do you know what a sound foot looks like, how many of you can pick up a foot and say, this is the live sole, this is the white line, this is a round foot with a tight white line, this is a foot with a stretched white line, I think shoes are important if the horse needs them to be comfortable in his own environment, but I agree every horse lover needs to know what a really healthy foot looks like, and they are relatively rare. > well shoes can cause that to happen, the mechanics of it, pulls the Hoof wall away from the Coffin bone,,the white line pulls away, the greeblies get in there, and cause the white line to stretch more.. if the hoof wall is to long, the mechanics of it, causes the white line to stretch, It is kind of a mechanical founder, it is painful.. so most people just throw a shoe on... if your horses foot has a DIP or curve, flare, then that area is not connected correctly to the coffin bone, the coffin bone can drop, the foot becomes flat, a sound foot is NOT FLAT... a Metal shoe does not correct that, it can cover up the pain, but it can not correct it... Sally responds: Well, where do I start? It is interesting that we agree on many points, but come at this from different perspectives. . . Shoes in and of themselves do not cause white line to stretch and the toe to dip and flare. Period. Lack of trimming, (toes too long) poor metabolism, and lack of movement and traditional shoeing styles that set the shoe out in front of the toe and rasp deep into the sole.... do. I have come to see, after years of full time work in the hoof care world, that a primary cause of this problem is a poor diet of high sugars and simple carbs, or grass pasture or hay high in fructan, coupled with several nutritional deficiencies, like magnesium and chromium. (see www.safergrass.org for research data on this, and how LMF brand LOW CARB feed products correct the problem.) This problem is similar to diabetes or hypoglycemia (pre-diabetes) in humans. The 'dip' in the wall you are referring to is a serious cause for alarm in any horse, as it is evidence of inflammation and lack of laminar integrity in the hoof. It is a 'pre-laminitic' condition, and is sadly common in 'kept' horses. I think that we don't want to think of it that way, because it is scary, and we are not conditioned by our experience with the veterinary and medical communities to think in terms of prevention and early warning signs of future disease. But, from what I have seen, almost all laminitis starts in horses with that nasty dip and flare in the toe wall. This progresses to a 'flat' sole, and then founder is waiting in the wings. This metabolic issue seems to be mostly independent of shoe use, though shoes left on too long or set too full/forward in the toe can exacerbate the process and make it go much faster. Now, where most owners and farriers go astray here is in thinking that a shoe can 'fix' this. It can not, but is can cover the symptoms (tenderfootedness especially on rocks or uneven ground, for example) for awhile. I don't think this is a good thing, because it lets the problem get worse over time, until you have a horse 'dependent' on the shoes, even on perfect turf. Also, the farrier can cover the problem up without even knowing it by 'smoothing' or rasping the flared toe down into an artificial straight looking toe. Actually, it is how we are trained in school, to do this cosmetically. To check for this, note if your horse is growing a toe flare towards the end of the shoeing cycle (5-6 weeks) and if it seems to disappear once he is trimmed or shod. (Don't get mad at the farrier, its how he was trained!) If there is ever toe flare and a dip there in the front of the hoof, you have a problem brewing. I see many horses with stretched white line who are barefoot. We saw a Morgan mare yesterday like that...she had gone 3-4 months without a trim, she is in a wet environment (rains 200 inches a year where she is) and her toe was long, her foot had a dip and a flare. She was barefoot, shoes did not cause it, lack of proper trimming in her environment did. And probably too much sugar (fructan) in the grass. Here is a farrier motto "What you pour in the top, comes out the bottom. inevitably." Food quality matters. A lot! Here is the problem with 'going barefoot' for these tender, flared pre-laminitic masses: it makes them sore. Sometimes really, really, really sore to where it is cruel. My experience is that there is no miracle trim technique that makes this problem go away all by itself, and I have worked with some seriously dedicated barefoot horse owners on this, in many different terrains. I have studied the popular barefoot techniques, and applied them, and sometimes, in the right footing, with a metabolically healthy horse, they are wonderful. I am happy for you, Debbie, that you have had this success. It can be magical. The problem comes in that not all horses are growing healthy foot like yours from the germinal layer down to the ground, and are using shoes as a crutch. Admittedly. BUT if you 'just trim them' and don't FIRST correct the metabolic issues, you get a crippled, hobbling horse that can't move around, is depressed and miserable, and then the metabolism slows down even more, making the whole thing worse. (Also, people will think you are crazy to put your horse through that.) I address this by putting these tenderfooted horses in Natural Balance shoes to stop the pressure in the weakened white line at the toe, and getting the owner to correct the diet(lower fructans), supplement minerals, increase turnout, etc. These measures will stop the toe flare, you can actually see it growing out, the dip line gets about 3/4 inch lower on the hoof each shoeing, and the horse is sound and happy during the process, which takes about 9 months to a year. Then, we have the option of barefoot, if the ground is acceptable for that, or polyurethane 'soft shoes' if the turnout is too abrasive and would wear the wall too fast. These are the horses who can lose a shoe on the trail and not even notice! And I think that is magical, too. -Wishing you many happy (and sound!) trails, Sally Fire Island Eco-Treks-808-443-6085 Fire Island Professional Farrier Service-640-6080
