Lyric and I did our second NATRC ride together at Oakridge Estate here in Central Va. this past weekend. The trails were beautiful and the scenery georgeous. There was a lot going on. A poker ride, a hunter pace, a 10k human race and a bike race were all scheduled for the same weekend at the same place. I think the ride manager, who was in charge of them all was a little overwhelmed, but it turned out okay. Except for the heat. We had to park our trailer and tie our horses in the field beside the race track, which would have been fine if it had been a little cooler. As it was, our horses were forced to stand in the searing heat both before and after the ride. I myself got sunburned, and blistered. There were plenty of shady trees around, and in fact, the trails were nicely shaded, but we were forced to park in the sun. I felt like I abused my horse by making him stand for three days in the heat with no shade, and riding him for 20 miles, (which was a really nice, shady and fairly cool ride), only to bring him back to the trailer and tie him in the heat. I felt terrible and have decided that in the future I will only attend summer rides where shade is available, or possibly make my own horse-proof shade device.
Yes, Lyric did the ride barefoot with absolutely no trouble at all. Even though at vet-in the vet judge made the comment that he was tenderfooted, which is true, but only on rough, sharp gravel, which we try to stay off of. We had to trot out for the judge over that rough gravel, and he was tender on that. He did not take a sore step anywhere on the trail though, and was vetted sound at the end. He has one front frog which is contracted or pinched a bit, and so holds some bacteria and stays soft and tender. We are still working on that, and it has gotten better. I'd like to see it clear up completely before the winter gets here and we are back to soft, wet ground.
I was happy to see so many barefoot horses at the ride, and I don't think terrain was a problem for any of the barefooters. It's really becoming the thing to do. The trails were soft and even though the ride manager had suggested all horses be all-four-shod, I could not see the logic behind that. The trails simply did not demand it. Any rocky spots were easily avoidable, and most of the rocks that we did have to walk over were big enough not to cause a problem. I was very happy with the trails and terrain and highly recommend that if anyone gets the chance to ride at Oakridge, that they do it, because it really is beautiful.
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