> Again...the higher the number, the harder the surface...many of you > will be surprised by quite a few of these...I know I was.
Hi Nick, thanks for the information. It reminded me that I did happen to see the concussive practices of the Icelandic Horses being done behind the barn at a show this past weekend. I think the problem that we have with ice is, as you probably saw in the recent videos, that the horses are pounding. If they were walking, that puts less stress on their feet and joints. And the consideration of the ice nails. A horse needs to slide his back feet into place. The nails grab the foot, and the torque goes up the leg, negatively affecting his hocks (history of spavin in the breed, don't want to stress them any more than we have to), and his hips. The grab when walking is still a problem, but running.... that's a lot of torque. Also, as you probably saw in the recent video, the horse's hind quarters can catch a grab in the ice, and his front end can slip around. It just seems like a not-so-good thing to do when you don't *have* to do it. If they *have* to do it in Iceland for fun, entertainment, fine. But most of this country doesn't have ice or the desire to run on it, so it comes down to entertainment. Can't we find something more entertaining than stressing a horse's joints? It seems sort of a dichotomy to wear *protective* boots so they don't hurt themselves, yet expose them to something that can challenge their long-term soundness. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
