Sometimes, I feel its just me

Struggling to fight my corner for Eager to go to Rockley has actually been quite hard and I can totally understand why people do as they are told.  Especially if you are not as confident as I am that I'm doing the right thing.  Even 10 years ago, I may have done what I was told.....  Mmmm well you never know :-)

Equally, I have questioned whether I have just been pig headed.  Am I one of those women that just argues, when in reality I don't have a clue.  I know I like to play devils advocate in a lot of situations.... Sometimes I just can't he help myself.  I just like to see both sides of the coin before I make a decision. Although, I guess if one side of the coin looks particularly attractive you are going to do what you can to make it land up every time. That may even involve sticking blue tack over the less favourable side (I have no idea if this would work, but you get what I mean)

I suppose it may be reasonably easy to trawl the internet to find people that agree with you.  I have tried to be as objective as I can and have even tried to google navicular and prognosis trying to be 'pro shoeing' and I'll be honest while there are good stories.  There are not too many and they appear to be short lived success.  But you try and google navicular on a forum and it not end up with Rockley being the success route.  You'll be very, very hard pushed.

So why, do barefoot people get such a bad name?  and in my opinion, its a few things.. 

Firstly, I think a lot of people do it badly and unsuccessfully.  They don't research, they just take their horses shoes off. Proclaim to be barefoot and carry on as normal....  They don't condition the foot.  When I took Zulus shoes off I hand walked up the road, everyday for a month. By week two he was crippled and I was wondering what the hell I had done.  By week four he was completely sound on the road and walking across stoney fields! Another thing is diet, which I won't go into now but can be crucial.  But thankfully is pretty much what I was feeding anyway. The next is a brilliant trimmer or now I realise lots of hacking (over 10 miles a week) to keep the foot functioning correctly and by all accounts they self trim.

Secondly, people who go barefoot successfully have generally really looked into the whys and wherefore of what they are doing and apply the above diet, trim, lifestyle (of the horse, not the owner!).  We totally understand (or try too) it's how the foot should function and how it hopefully should lead our horses to live a longer sounder life. If you have applied a lot of research into something and it resonates within you, it becomes part of your belief system. This makes people passionate!

Thirdly, from the day we start riding, researching, loving, training to be a vet, farrier, etc,etc we invariabley see a horse with a shoe on.  No one even thinks of a horse without a shoe on.  Its ingrained in us.  Hearing a horse clip clop up the road still inspires the urge in me to run to the window and have a look. Having read a post of Nics recently there is even a photo in a veterinary book of a hoof cut in half so you can see inside.  It still has the shoe attached!  They aren't born with them on! She mentions barefoot is not even covered in the prospectus of a vet?  It's just what happens.  You're on a yard people you do what everyone else does.  You put shoes on every 5/6 weeks.  How many people, question why you would put a rigid metal on a living flexible thing?

Anyway, I can't even remember why I started writing this post now.....  I'm sure I've digressed.

But, what I must mention is that clearly there are many horses that last for years with shoes on, with no ill effects.  If it isn't broke, why fix it?  Maybe these are the horses with perfect conformation?

I also know one person who in her heart is totally barefoot, but for medical reasons (laminitis) her horse has shoes on and this is how she has incredibly successfully managed a near impossible situation for years.  I also know she gets very upset about our passion and feels she is being ostracized .  This is so not the case, your amazing and you've done an amazing job. 

I for the record do not consider myself pro-barefoot.  I am pro your horse moving as soundly and as ethically as possible.  For some this may mean shoes, for others it doesn't.  I'm pro people doing the best they possibly can with the information they have available.

I think for this reason, vets are not going to easily (aha I've remembered my point of this post) recommend barefoot therapy for caudal heel/foot/navicular/DDFT (the list could become long) problems.  Because, quite simply a majority of horse owners will not be prepared/have the education or have inclination to change THEIR lifestyle in exchange for their horses for the rest of its life. 

But, what they haven't taken into account is that some people do and will.  They don't know the circle of amazing people I have the pleasure of knowing and sharing my horse journey with. :-)  I am truly blessed.