03/18/09 

           Hello Hello.   

              I want to say my book "Inside Horseshoeing Secrets of Lameness Prevention"  is done !!    I'm currently in the process of getting it accepted on Amazon.  Gonna take a few weeks .  In the mean time i'll be putting up the download link to to access it as a PDF file here any day - and -  it's FREE !    150 pages , photos and lots of information.  It's for you specifically to be able to recognize all the little issues that can lead to lameness. Pretty powerful !   Much of what's in the book was not taught me in the Farrier schools and evidently still is not as sometimes i get emails from guys fresh out of the schools and they ask me questions which i give answers to and the first thing they say is " I never knew that !"  .   Really this book will put you into the elite catagory when it comes to understanding feet and legs and your horse's movement.     So , i'm excited to provide this for you.   been a long time coming.   
                                         It will also be available as a download at www.Care4Horses.com as well.      
 
              Now i can't go without saying i've been totally elated lately due to finally getting UNSUPERVISED visits with my son Tristan. It's just incredible , like a whole new world . All i can say is "it's Nothing but Good - it's the light in my life" and Tristan's just loving it . We're both just anxious for the visits to go from 3 hours to 6 where he and i will have enough time to really get into things together. Unfortunately his mother is still a thorn in my ass that just seems nothing but hell bent on preventing Tristan from having a relationship with his father , well - but that's another story -    so let's move on to the horse talk for today. 

                                     Uncovering more controversy with Barefoot vs Shod horses. 
              
               To be perfectly honest with you this Barefoot thing is the ONLY area i get any flack from when i address issues surrounding it. And it's ALWAYS from the Barefoot People. So be it !!   I want to be clear - i'm NOT against barefoot horses - it's just that not all horses can go barefoot - just won't happen , but it does irritate me to hear these barefoot people say that "Shoeing Horses" is a problem , after over 18 years now that i have not had one lameness due to the specific method of shoeing i use i just can't stand on their side of the fence when they make that kind of statement. I've said it before " Shoeing's not the problem it's incorrect  shoeing that's the problem.  I might as well add right here that i have Veterenarian friends that tell me as well that Most of the lameness issues they address are with - get this - you guessed it Barefoot Horses !!!  HELLO !!!  

               By the way , these barefoot people are kinda like animal rights activists - they're down right beligerant at times. Oh well. 

                 One of the first things that almost always hear from the barefoot people is " Shoeing Stops the foot from expanding and contracting which stops the blood pumping action within the foot "   BLEH !!!   Let me show you why it's just NOT a true statement. Take a look at the photo below . The shoe came off of a horse when re-shoeing it at the end of it's normal 8 week shoeing cycle. 

                 Do you see the shiny spots / tracks on both sides of the shoe ? On the left side of the shoe the shiny area starts at the last nail hole and progresses to the end of the shoe. On the right the shiny area starts at the second hole up from the heel and progresses nearly to the end of the shoe as well.  Question: What do you think those areas are ? not too difficult to figure out. What you're not seeing though in the photo is those shiny areas are actually grooves right in the metal - and worn rather deeply as well. NOT only are they grooves but they're actually fairly WIDE , like almost 1/4 inch wide .  The point is what you are looking at is WEAR right into the METAL from the hoof wall doing exactly what the Barefoot people say doesn't happen , which is , that's right  ---------- Hoof Wall Expansion and contraction  ....    I rest my   #%>&@$!@   Case !!!!     lol   

                When you combine the two grooves of 1/4 inch each together we're looking at almost 1/2 inch expansion and contraction - wow !  That's quite significant isn't it !!       



                                                                     

                  OK !  So if you've ever heard like i have the horses hoof wall doesn't expand and contract when shoes are put on and you've wondered if because of that statement you're making the right decisions for your horse - just take a look at the picture again and rest your mind about it.   Not only have we just Debunked the facts but horses do not just get blood pumping through the contraction and expansion of the hoof wall .   Really !   Horses are quite heavy wouldn't you agree - 1000 lbs right ?  All that weight travels right down your horses legs and pumps the whole bone column up and down within the hoof wall - That is responsible for a LOT of blood pumping .      To be honest i would venture to say that the little bit of expansion and contraction that horses feet do is possibly insignificant compared to the other factors responsible for blood pumping concerns. Won't hang my hat on the statement but it makes sense to me.        

                So i'm hoping things are going well for you . Riding season will be in full swing soon .
As usual Happy and Safe Riding and always remember to www.Care4Horses.com

John "TheFootDoctor" Silveira  

               OHHH !   if you don't Twitter do so - it's fun .   Follow me on Twitter.   just go to www.Twitter.com take about 2 minutes to give them your screename and password and you're in !    then just use the search feature and look me up by my screen name which is familiar to you -------->   Care4Horsescom  and start TWITTERING and stop in often and say hello to me    (-:     Hope to see you there , it's soo easy and too fun.