Posted by anna on April 11, 2004 at 22:03:29:
In Reply to: Re: I'm so confused and need advice. EZ Boots? posted by Phil Armitage on February 11, 2004 at 08:02:29:
WEll So I guess I have been 'neglecting or abusing' my 20 year old trail horse or my 11 year old mule who have been barefooted almost all their lives and totally sound!!
I did have the mule shod one time for a 6 week period and she had a serious loss of traction, and basically it was the worst 6 weeks of riding I ever had on her.
I took a mare to a competitive trail ride in a really rocky area and as we were going up a very steep rock hill, the shod horse in front of me slipped and came very close to falling down the hill backwards due to the loss of traction her shoes gave going up that rock. My mare climbed the hill with no problems. the other horse had to withdraw from the ride due to the nasty cust she got from slipping and hitting her self. My mare finished the ride and even place third which supprised even me as it was our first ever ride and I didn't know all the rules and such.
Personally if a horse only goes over rocks one time a month or so and is fine all the rest of the time,. I see no reason TO shoe the horse. though I'm not a great fan of easy boots, there are several other good boots on the market like the old macs, the Boa boot etc. And witht eh limited amounts of time using them (ie only 15 mins once a month) they should last quite a while. probably several years or more.
I have always believed that a trail horse, no matter how often they go out should be shod front and hind for protection, support and traction. If you do not have proper protection, support and traction I believe you are increasing the odds of injury to you and your horse.