Adult pool

[Phil Armitage]

Oh it so nice and quite this evening in the adult pool. I am relaxing and enjoying a peacefull swim with my Farrier friends. Oh no here comes the Podiatrist and Trimmers, time to leave.

[Rick Burten]

In a galaxy far , far away(actually the University of Arizona), a lecture was given. It was given by one Dr. T. Tesky. About this lecture, he writes, in part, "I had pictures of good feet and bad feet, and we even had some pictures of actual Chinese women's feet that had been bound and deformed as well as the beautiful, embroidered shoes that they wear.

I have been introducing this imagery lately to my audiences. They recognize deformity when you show them parts of a human body that is deformed, like these awful, twisted and *******d feet that these women suffer with. Then I draw the parallel to horses and the steel shoes that constrict and rob the life from their feet. I believe this to be an accurate and powerful parallel we can draw to serve as further example for people."

In replying to someone(not me for a change) who took him to task over this, he replied "My comparison of the deformed human feet of days gone by to the present day deformities in our horses' feet is SPOT ON...."

and, "I'm not messing around out here. I know of what I speak and won't stand idly by while horses are mistreated and mismanaged..."

and, "And perhaps the only way you'll ever realize the effects of steel on a horse will be to have some steel hit you hard enough to make an 'impression'"

I just thought everyone deserved a bit more insight as to the good doctor's feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Oh, and one more thing. Ms. Butler shoes her endurance horses whenever she thinks it will best serve her endurance racing purposes. So don't let all the hyperbole she spews(ed) lead you to think she is a barefoot only proponent. She will keep and train her horses barefoot, but when the chips are down, will, apparently, prostitute her barefoot beliefs and utterances, in favor of a more rational and sensible approach to maintaining her horse's soundness. Or is it just because she wants to win at any cost? Either way, she has exposed her true self.

Rick

[Mike Ferrara]

I think Phil nailed it in the other thread. They think shoeing is bad because they don't know how. If they stop after a couple of awkward swipes with a rasp the horse stands a good chance of survival.

[Dances with Hooves]

The middle way works best in most things. Absolutes like "never shoe a horse" or "shoe every horse" do not work. Usually is a very good word. I usually give horses a chance to be barefoot. But if they experience discomfort and cannot do thier job they get shod. A lot of horses can go barefoot many can't.


George

[2R Farrier Services]

Ya know, I find that I am dead lame whenever left barefoot unless on grass, so long as I don't encounter a twig, walnut or thistle!

And that's how God put me here! Go figure... :)

[Phil Armitage]

The middle way works best in most things. Absolutes like "never shoe a horse" or "shoe every horse" do not work. Usually is a very good word. I usually give horses a chance to be barefoot. But if they experience discomfort and cannot do thier job they get shod. A lot of horses can go barefoot many can't.


George

Thats a pretty safe answer George. A lot and Many is better than Never and Always. :)

[HannaElise]

Absents of Evidnce is not Evidence of Absents

When you make a statement that you say is an absolute (Shoes are bad) that cannot be provide, then that is a negative and you cannot prove a negative.