Once upon a time…really not that long ago, horses worked hard on the land and were the main form of transport, went into war and fought battles…in fact humans heavily relied on them to survive. Horses went lame of course they did, but these animals were a precious commodity and their owners needed to keep them as sound as possible. Many couldn’t just ‘swap’ them for another, if the one they had became unable to work through lameness.
Most working horses were shod, farriers were worth their weight in gold. BUT farriers and owners knew that giving a horse a rest from shoes at some point during their working year would help those horses have a longer working life.
Today most owners don’t rely on their horses to work and earn them money. Today most horses are ‘used’ for pleasure and their ‘work load’ is no comparison to those horses years ago…but today horses are getting lamer and sicker…why?
Well today horses are kept
, managed and fed differently. The domestic horse is facing its biggest threat yet…ignorance.Here are some of the common modern practices today:
– shoeing back to back (more and more on all four)
, with no rest, for the horse’s entire life, even into retirement– remedial shoeing is on a steep rise, in a desperate fruitless attempt to stem the flow of equine lameness…even to the point of it now being used as a ‘preventative’
– equine feed companies’ bank accounts are getting fatter and fatter, and so are the horses they purport to ‘healthily feed’
– the livery yard or horse barn, is on the rise, profitable businesses for farmers taking the opportunity to diversify into a market they see great opportunity in
– horses are spending longer and longer in stables, isolated in paddocks, away from other members of their species, in many cases not even allowed to go in touching distance of another horse
– owners are ‘learning’ how to keep their horses from their peers at their facility, they’ve stopped reading books, they are ‘swayed’ by feed companies, and are generally completely lost if anything goes wrong with their horse…then their bank balances get slimmer and slimmer
In response to this increase in equine lameness and sickness, the number of equine vets is also rising, it’s a very profitable business to get into nowadays. Never before have we had or indeed needed so many equine ‘professionals’ to help our horses get better/last longer. The numbers of farriers aren’t rising fast enough and those that are already ‘in the business’ see lameness and sickness as part of their everyday job. Many of the old timers have gone and with them their knowledge. What is left is a different ethic, one geared around money rather than health.
I know because I too saw it on a daily basis. The rise and rise of the ‘barefoot trimmer’ is not because barefoot is the latest fad…it’s because these trimmers are answering a growing demand.
This epidemic of lameness and sickness can’t go on. Some are waking up, reading books, finding ‘alternative’ groups to join on media, following their instincts, not listening to their peers at their traditional facility
, moving away from the mainstream and finding a better healthier way of looking after their horses…and it works.Most barefoot trimmers train to put themselves out there, facing daily criticism and ridicule, because they too were looking for an answer to help their horse….and when they found it they felt compelled to help other owners and horses find it too. That is progress.
You hear the phrases ‘barefoot trimmers aren’t trained, aren’t qualified, lame horses etc’ all over the internet and throughout the traditional equine world…and yet they are still on the rise and their books are bursting.
If a barefoot trimmer goes about laming horses, they don’t last long. This is tough work and many can’t cut it. But those that do know what they are doing, and to be honest, despite what you hear, that’s the majority of ones out there who have a big clientele, are encouraging more and more to follow them.
When things get really really bad, you can do one of two things…let that bad thing continue, use the same techniques (albeit in different guises)…or change it
, find a better alternative.Now more than ever before the equine world is seeing a huge wave of owners voting with their horses bare feet and saying STOP! Stop lameness. Stop sickness. Stop ignorance.
Barefoot is NOT just for some horses, it’s for every single horse out there…but many of the owners of those horses are not ready to take the time it takes to find out how going barefoot can help their horse, they’re still stuck hard in their traditional ways, being taught and ‘helped’ by those with a very big vested interest in lameness.
If you want your horse to stay healthier
, last longer….if you want your bank balance to stop getting slimmer when your horses are getting fatter and/or sicker…then read this magazine.This magazine is one of the pioneers in changing the way people keep their horses, alongside other growing businesses such as hoof boot companies like Cavallo, Scoots, Equine Fusion and more.
These businesses and this magazine are answering a growing demand. They are helping horses with lameness and sickness, because when change is needed, some stick their heads above the parapet and start making that change and then more follow…that’s human nature.
Barefoot is real, it’s lasting and it’s helping horses all over the world. 10 years ago many owners had never even heard of ‘barefoot’ now if you own a horse, you know! If you want to help your horse then here’s the first step…get this mag into your life and you’ll never ever turn back.
Find out how other owners have taken the leap, in many cases gone against all modern advice, and found a way to keep their precious horses sounder and healthier.
There is no other magazine like this one on the planet accessible in both digital and print, shipped worldwide to every country and ever corner of the equine world.
Don’t stand by and watch your horse get worse. If what you are doing, or being told to do, isn’t working, then say STOP. Get this mag into your life and join the huge barefoot army of people who are making the biggest change the equine world has ever seen. This is re-writing history!
Lindsay, Editor