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Two Lane Livin' Your Horse
Country Column archives...
June 2010 -
Your
horse and you, running barefoot together, just like God intended J
Written by Dawna B. Smith, Journalist
and Reporter, writer of the monthly "Your Horse Country" column for Two Lane
Livin' Magazine
Before my pony, I’d run barefoot on our sandy gravel road, enjoying how
the fine scratchy sand felt between my toes, helping cushion the ball of
my foot. My small feet left many imprints in the damp tire tracks of our
driveway, just like T-Rex must have done many millennia ago.
We
never shod our horses. After winter Dad would trim up their feet, and
we’d ride gravel and paved roads. Conditioned, our horses didn’t go
lame or have hoof problems.
Rachael
Rettner, a LiveScience Staff Writer and author of “Running Shoes Changed
How Humans Run”, better explains the benefit of running barefoot. “The
study shows barefoot runners tend to hit the
ground toe first, a style that minimizes forces that jar the body, while
people used to running shoes have largely adopted a heel-first style that
can mean lots of force on the body. When you run, every step you take puts
forces on your body, caused by the impact of your foot colliding with the
ground. If you land with your heel first, a so-called "rear-foot
strike," this impact force is quite large, several times your weight,
and occurs over a very short period of time.”
Study
researcher Daniel E. Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology
at
Harvard
University
, added, “It's like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer two to
three times your body weight.” It’s amazing that in an
average day our feet support a couple hundred tons because the amount of
force put on a foot with each step is about 50% greater than our body
weight. Think about how much weight is put onto a horse’s hoof!
Horse’s
hooves grow continuously, 24/7, and if the environment does not provide
enough rough surfaces for “self-trimming”, they should be trimmed
every four weeks. If shoes are left on too long, the hoof continues
to grow, vainly pushing against steel, all at the same time not being
allowed to flex or cushion their joints as they move.
Steel shoes force the horse’s weight to be supported by only the outer
hoof wall, preventing the frog and sole from touching the ground. The hoof
was designed by God to act as a pump and shock absorber. Shod hooves
prevent necessary “full contact” that helps establish a tough and
healthy hoof. To perform properly, it must be given the freedom to flex,
contract, and expand when needed, not kept in forced restriction. Why fix
something that isn’t broke?
We’ve
the choice to wear shoes, horses don’t. Research finds that horses in
the wild don’t have laminitis, navicular disease, or quarter cracks, and
their heels aren’t contracted. But our horses aren’t wild mustangs,
roaming hundreds of miles in all kinds of terrain (including lava rocks
sharp as glass), which helped promote hoof walls thick and strong, making
the soles and frogs of their feet “tough as nails”!
Want
to improve your horse’s health? Consider having its feet evaluated
and/or trimmed by a certified Natural Hoof expert.
West Virginia
has several who can provide this important service.
I
believe God had a serious purpose when he created us and our horses, both
naked and barefoot, one only being able to travel so much further with the
willing help of the other. So, the next time you’re “skinny
dipping”, wading “barefoot”, or sinking your toes in
Myrtle Beach
sand, think of His purpose,
and ask yourself “How would my horse feel going barefoot as nature and
God intended?”
Visit www.YourHorseCountry.com
to learn more.
Bio:
Dawna Smith,
Journalist and Reporter, writes the monthly column "Your Horse
Country" for Two Lane
Livin' Magazine, based in West Virginia, as well as numerous articles regarding pain related medical issues for
LivePainFreeNow.com. A photographer and free lance writer, her op-ed articles have been published regarding a variety of subjects.
She and her husband have been strong advocates for the elderly and disabled since 1998,
and formed the non-profit HEADINGS (helping elderly and disabled in need gain support) to help ensure that legislature, Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid heard their voices.
She can be reached at dawna @ yourhorsecountry.com
304-765-0490.
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