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Re: [RC] Boa Horse Boot - keeping EZ boots on - Marlene MossTitle: MessageHi
Truman,
I have actually had
pretty good luck with Easy Boots with most of my horses. I've
competed one season barefoot with boots. Not that I ride as many miles, or
as fast as some of you, but I did end the season with 5 days of LD Outlaw
Trail. I tried foaming and decided that wasn't worth the
effort.
First, it does help
that the hoof has the "right" shape. This means fairly round without
contracted or underrun heels. Not that I'm saying this is the case with
your horses! But some shapes just work better than others. We had a
mustang that would wear size 2 and the most perfect feet you could find - not a
chance keeping those boots on w/o lots of prep because his feet were so
short. No heel, not underrun, just very short.
Here's what I do and
I have a least a 90% success rate - as long as I avoid swampy areas.
First, I don't mash down the tines. I started that was as it was
recommended to protect the hoof wall. If the horse has more oblong hoof
shape, I take a couple short strip of duct tape and build up the heel.
Then I do 2-3 complete wraps of duct tape, keeping all this below the
hairline. You could trim some excess from what folds under the hoof if you
have lots of layers there, but I usually don't. The duct tape sticks very
well to a clean hoof and the tines dig into the tape, w/o hurting the hoof
wall.
Then I put the boot
on and come up with whatever pattern of wrapping the wire ensures that I have to
stand on the buckle to get it down.
From there, I just
keep an eye on things when I know we're in terrain the is mostly likely to cause
them to come off - water then cantering up a hill, muck, turning in deep
rocks.
This year at Outlaw
Trail I lost boots the second day - I had been lazy and not redone the duct tape
that morning, just left everything on (releasing the buckles though). The
water we'd been through softened the glue on the duct tape and then it didn't
stick through the next dusty start of the day. But I carry duct tape with
me, so no problem.
It's still not
perfect, but I think overall, I don't worry as much as with only shoes. I
can still lose a shoe and a shoe doesn't protect from rocks as good as an Easy
Boot does. Plus if I can find the thing - I can put it back on in the
middle of the ride.
I have a new horse
that doesn't keep the boots on as good as my old horse, so I shod her last
year. I'm going to try not to - mostly because we moved recently and still
haven't found a farrier I'm impressed with. We can trim and my husband has
put shoes on a couple times - boy what a hard job that is!
I'm going to check
out the Boa Boots as soon as they're available. Not sure why they aren't
recommended over the Easy Boot, but I'm hoping for the level I ride, that
they'll be worth the price - which will be more comparable to the other boot
options than Easy Boots.
Marlene
Marlene Moss
Moss Rock Endurance
Adventures
719-351-5037
719-748-9073
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