"surely the chasm between 'us' & 'them' is plenty big enough and we should be trying to build bridges rather than to make it wider?"
The people I baited are extremely unreasonable and had already attacked me very personally on another thread. They have no desire whatsoever to learn about barefoot and they just wanted a fight. It gave me some comeback to give them one for two hours. Up until I went to bed, when I think it went a bit wild and then got removed, it did pretty much nothing, neutral or otherwise, for barefoot because people who wanted a reasoned argument were not the audience. Except perhaps for one, who appeared by the time I went to bed to be making a commitment to go and visit Nic and see the rehab research in operation and to set up a study into blood supply differences in shod and unshod horses. I was very pleased about that, because up until then she had been a right troll.
The way to build bridges is by being honest about barefoot, which I was on the earlier posting, and then was promptly attacked by the trolls and accused of having something to hide! The trouble with public forums are manifold. For a start the anonymity that practically everyone but me hides behind lets people be a damned sight ruder than they would be face to face. For a second people write things they don't mean and read things that weren't written. And for a third there are an awful lot of unintelligent and/or ignorant people around posting nonsense.
The only real way to get the barefoot message across, as Nic says, is to get out there and do it on barefoot horses. Radar did us all proud yesterday on that front.
"The only real way to get the barefoot message across, as Nic says, is to get out there and do it on barefoot horses."
I totally agree. I'm don't think its possible to convince a person about natural hoofcare with words alone. Only the horses we ride and trim can do it. A few days ago lady on a yard I trim at asked me look at her horse to see if I thought it could go barefoot. Its taken a year of seeing a previously shod (and lame) horse that I trim there going out doing everything to convince her to try it. _________________ www.thenaturalhoof.co.uk
I'm don't think its possible to convince a person about natural hoofcare with words alone
I dont either. I've given up now as no one really believes me due to the fact that I've been struggling all summer to keep him from LGL and being footy. So I cant really provide any evidence to support my claims!
Same as when farrier didnt believe me that being barefoot was best for navicular horses. I had no rehab horse there to show him ... and he was never going to be convinced by me just telling him!
I'm don't think its possible to convince a person about natural hoofcare with words alone
No, but discussions on general internet forums and elsewhere do sow the seed for a lot of people. Most people seeing a barefoot horse with fantastic feet out there and 'doing it' will still simply assume it's just a freak of nature rather than a shining example otherwise.
Quote:
I've given up now as no one really believes me due to the fact that I've been struggling all summer to keep him from LGL and being footy
The problem is that might often be many people's only direct experience of barefoot horses on their yards, a lot of struggle and not a lot of consistent end result, which isn't going to enthuse them to follow suit either.
I've given up now as no one really believes me due to the fact that I've been struggling all summer to keep him from LGL and being footy
Yes - but Becs now you know that your horse has problems, and is sensitive, and you are trying to address the underlying issue rather than just slap an iron sticking plaster on it. Taking the long view takes time and dedication.
By the time a horse gets to that point he is well and trully compromised. That means that the way back is likely to be a long one - and it just brings us back to the same old theme "All horses can go barefoot, but not every owner can have a barefoot horse"
CP - I have been getting a few direct PM's and mails from people who are fed up with the heated discussion and just want to talk cooly and directly, out of public view. Sent one or two Nic's way becuase they were back of foot issues.
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Sent one or two Nic's way becuase they were back of foot issues.