Mike Ferrara wrote:

So are chains!


Ref: gaited-horse training; guys!
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MAGIC FLIGHT

Gary Hill wrote:
A nice trail ride with my insulated saddle bag after a long day is fine with me. I get a feeling she is a smooth ride and the beer would not be shook up too much.

The barefoot trimmer here close to Indy gets $40.00 per trim. I am not sure how many head he trims, but he is always busy and unable to take new clients. I was listed as a helpful resource on a website, so I get calls from all over the state looking for barefoot trimmers. I have also loaned books out,
talked to and did side by side trimming for comparison with local farriers whos clients have requested a certain barefoot trimming style, but wanted to keep the farrier. In my riding circle, roughly 20 horses have transitioned to barefoot in the last year, (with the Jamie/Pete style trim). Everyone has been thrilled with the results. Alot of people are taking notice. Carol

Carolhanq wrote:
Interesting. I don't get down to Indy but, out here in the boonies, all my local work is backyard horses. Every single one of them is barefoot except for two which are shod because the client wants them shod. Since they are all barefoot, there isn't anything to transition. None of them ever needed boots either. LOL even my own horse is barefoot.

There isn't anything to take notice of aside from the advertising.

Phil Armitage wrote:
I have my sights set on a little carriage for taking my insulated beer bag for rides. After getting bounced around under a horse all day, who wants to bounce around on top of one?

Well Mike, I think that it is wonderful that you keep the horses in your care barefoot and happy. I am not opposed to shoes when they are needed either. But, to me, that says alot about your skill as a farrier. We have a need for more people like you and good trimmers in our area. I see alot of horses in shoes because of poor trimming that leaves the horse too sore to walk. without them--or as the direct quote from an owner, "my horses are unable to walk ten feet in grass without shoes." After watching the horses being trimmed, I knew she was absolutely right and I knew why. Mistakes show up really quickly in a barefoot horse. People just need to be educated between a real need for shoes based on the environment and work load versus a need for shoes to cover up bad trimming. If any trimmer or farrier can leave them just as sound after a trim as before, if not better, then I recommend them. More frequently, I see horses sore for weeks after a trim.
I do not pass their name along. Carol

I suppose I meant the names of the trimmers or farriers