I have shamelessly stolen the photo he took of her working on the lunge. Luckily for me Simon agrees that her feet look very nice and it bodes well for her to successfully transition to barefoot. For the non-barefoot readers there are many benefits to having a horse unshod, not least because the lack of concussion caused by shoes means that shock is absorbed more effectively by the whole horse, leading to increased soundness particularly over harder ground. I have several customers in the Endurance world where horses are trained for 50Km competitions, barefoot or shoe-less has really taken off in this environment because the horses are sounder and their heart rates are lower. Horses are the same as human athletes, a fit horse generally has a lower heart rate and their recovery times are quicker. The endurance riders know that barefoot gives them an advantage over the competition which has to be good, their horses are often awarded best condition which is a prize awarded to the horse in the best shape at the end of the ride.
Shilpa currently is still wearing shoes so it will be interesting to see the difference in her movement once they are removed. JTB and I are visiting her on Wednesday and I am taking my high speed camera with me that allows you to make a gait analysis, we will do the same once the shoes come off.
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