Re: RC: Re: borium shoes

[Jerry D Milam Jr <milamj@agtelco.com>]

Steph,

I came in a bit late on this discussion, but this has been my
experience.

I put borium spots on my horse's shoes with shocktamer pads because we
have to do 50% or more of our conditioning on asphalt roads. These spots
really did a great job giving us traction, but in addition to the great
traction it also gives GREAT torque to the legs of the horse. It doesn't
allow for the natural sliding of the hind up toward the front feet, so
the horse has to change the way he trots and canters.

After a couple months of hard training in these and I was figuring this
kind of torque long term could do permanent damage to my horse's legs.

I decided to change to a plastic shoe made of the same stuff easy boots
are made from and I love them. He feels like he's wearing sneakers when
we're on the road and they seem to do well when we're climbing hills as
well.

So far I'm pleased with these shoes for the traction and the shock
absorption I was needing. We'll see how they do with wear. The
manufacturer claims they wear like steel. The name of the shoe is
Helvetia they run $16.95/pair in KV vet catalog.

Happy Trails,
Susan and Fly Bye -soon to do their first 50 in May at Olney, IL