On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:33:14 -0800, you wrote: >Now, >my fox trotters tend to wear their rear shoes faster than front >because of the sliding action of the rear feat.
That's one problem with Skessa - she wears her back feet really, really quickly. I think if you rode her without back shoes on our roads, she would have no feet left at all after a couple of hours. She has quite a long back and I think her conformation probably contributes to the problem - it makes no difference if she's ridden long and low, or collected, nor what gait you ride in. The vet has checked her back/hips/etc and she's fine physically. It's interesting watching her foot patterns when you ride her on hard sand - she does a little "dab" and slide with the back foot before setting it down. The toe is worn square very quickly. When I get her up here permanently, I'm not sure how to handle it. Borium welds on the toes would be an option, but I don't want that much torque as she obviously "needs" the slide. On the other hand, she will wear boots out in 5 minutes, and going barefoot is not an option for the same reason. However, if she's shod she will need re-shoeing (on her hinds - her fronts are normal) every three weeks or so which is not good for her feet, and bloody expensive too. Suggestions? Mic Mic (Michelle) Rushen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs: www.solva-icelandics.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes"
