Four Years and Counting - Bootmeister

Easycareinc Blog - Full Article

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 by Christoph Schork

The peoples of The Steppes have been riding bare and without hoof protection for thousands of years, we know them from the history books and heard about their amazing horses: the Parthians, Scythians, Cimmerians, Huns and Mongols created some of the largest empires the world has ever seen. They scared and defeated the Greeks, Romans and other western powers with their incredible riding and warfare skills. Their skill were always far superior to the western powers and they always rode barefoot.

Natural hoof care was and still is the norm with the Peoples of the Steppes.

Mongol horses are being trimmed. Notice the strong healthy frog and tough sole. These horses are being ridden over rocks, grass and sand.

This Natural Hoof Trimming contrasts starkly to our western civilizations Hoof Care. Only very recently did we start to embrace barefoot trimming. Until about 4 years ago, 80% of all Hoof Care procedures at the Global Endurance Training Center were applications of steel, polyurethane or aluminum shoes. Today, maybe 5% of all Hoof Care services involve application of steel shoes, more than 80% are bare hoof trims. What a huge change. What have we noticed during these 4 years in regards to the health of the hooves?

- a thicker and tougher sole
- a huge reduction to total absence of white line separation
- a bigger and healthier frog
- a naturally developed break over

Read more here:
http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/bootmeister-natural-hoof-care-tips/four-years-and-counting