Posted by Phil Armitage on February 25, 2004 at 08:42:44:
In Reply to: Re: I'm so confused and need advice. EZ Boots? posted by Tru Benson on February 24, 2004 at 13:53:38:
: I would like to commment on the above tread. I have owned horses for many years, and I realize that metal shoeing does NOT have to be the aswer, or the healthy way to go.
: Constant pounding of nails intp your horses hoof can not and is not a favorable thing to happen over long periods of times, or for some people, ever.
: When the horse is shod the blood circulation is restricted, the hoof cannot fucntion with natural hoof mechanism and the hoof wall is restricted. Also, the metal shoe does not absorb shock, at the trot the metal shoe sends 400 herts up the structure.
: There are other horse boots on the market that DO not use metal teeth that dig into the hoof wall. The ones that I have used and swear by are the Old Mac's boots. They are fully adjustable so you can get a good custom fit and they are easy on easy off. They dont come off, you wont lose them and my my horses move even better in them.
: They can go over any terrain, I can walk, trot and canter and even jump in the horse boots. They are made up of safe and durable material as well, and have a 6 month warrenty.
: About trim, trimming is VERY important. When your horse is barefoot you are probably going to need more trimming, and you want a proper barefoot trim so please make sure to talk to a professional farrier about this all.
: Thanks guys!
A properly shod foot with either steel or aluminum does not interfere with the functions of the foot. Nails are place forward of the widest part of the foot for that reason, pretty much all of the expansion and contraction of the foot needed for circulation is behind the widest part of the foot back in the caudle aspect of the hoof. I use to be a Radio Electronics Technician in the Air force, learned alot about resonance, audible frequency and high frequency. If you suspend a piece of steel and strike it, you will definatly hear a chime and the steel is resonating at an audible frequency, do the same with aluminum and there is less audible frequency, now put the steel and the aluminum against a solid object or just touch the steel or aluminum with your finger and strike it, notice that there is virtually no audible tone, it is very dead, now nail that shoe to a foot and tap on it, no ringing, so how can there be a frequency in Herts being sent up the leg. Besides, cuncussion is an essential part of developing bone density, so I don't understand why people view concussion as a bad thing, more horses and people could use more cuncusion on there bodys than they are currently getting. Barefoot horses that I trim usually can go longer between needing a trim vs. horses that are shod, so I don't understand why a barefoot horse would need to be trimmed more often, sounds like a good way for a trimmer to make some easy money. I think a boot that is wrapped around the entire foot is more unnatural and harmfull and much more restrictive than a plane steel shoe properly shaped properly nailed to a foot, any type of boot covers the bottom of the foot and the entire wall from toe to heel all the way around, what is this doing to the foot? The other thing a boot cannot do that steel can is provide strong enough support on weak feet, many horse are not bred with strong feet, many of them do not have the proper area to run so that bone density, internal structures, tendons and ligaments are strong enough. There are problems caused by improper breeding, improper nutrition and lack of excercise, once the growing and development weaks, months and years are gone the horse's feet, legs and back are what they are. These are man made problems and weakneses that a horse will have to live with for it's entire life and no matter how long you keep them barefoot or how natural you keep there enviroment after the fact this is not going to change them much. Many of these problems are simple to manage just by proper trimming and shoeing. It does not make sense to me how someone thinks shoeing a bad thing, we are domesticating the horse confining them to smaller areas to run and work in, putting saddles on them, getting on there backs and riding them where ever we want and think it is better to keep them barefoot while we do this. They need the extra protection, support and traction on there feet and shoes are the best method to accomplish this. The key is the prep work, application knowledge of the foot and limb inorder to do it right.
Phil