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[RC] Easyboot Epic: My Experience - AprilI thought I would post my thoughts on the Easyboot Epics. I have four boots. One for each hoof, surprisingly. :-) I really like the direction these boots are taking. They are much better than the original old-style Easyboots, in my opinion. I have not had the overwhelming success that Karen and Terry have had with these boots. But it hasn't been a disaster either. I have used the boots for a total of 70 miles over 5 rides ranging from 3 to 25 miles. These rides were done in the space of 2.5 weeks for a total riding time of approximately 14 hours over a variety of surfaces. After the 25-mile ride (the last ride I did) my horse had small sores just below the hairline where the back strap had rubbed. This was only on the hind hooves. All four pasterns had hair rubbed off the front of the pasterns and a couple of spots were just shy of actual sores. I believe 5 more miles would have resulted in sores that would have required minor treatment (furazone, etc). The trail had rocks, uneven terrain, mud, grass and pine needle-covered winding paths. Our speed was rather slow, 5 mph average speed with walking, trotting, cantering and a bit of galloping. There was nothing in the gaiters, no sand or dirt or anything to enhance rubbing. In fact, the pastern hair was quite clean and white, especially compared to the mud on his legs and the outside of the boots. However, in order to make the gaiters tight, the gaiter overlaps itself and the rubs seem to be in the same general vicinity as the internal seam. I did make some modifications to the boots. For the front boots, the gaiters were too big around the pastern. So I folded the Velcro flap back and sewed it in place to allow for a tighter fit. However, this also means the gaiter overlaps itself, creating a seam next to the horse's pastern. Without this modification, though, I think the gaiters would be too loose and might rip off as another user posted not too long ago. I also cut down all 4 back straps one "ridge." I plan to cut the hind boots down another ridge to try to prevent the sores on the heels. The boots themselves seem to be solid and are holding up well. One of the hind gaiters has holes at the back seam where the Velcro is sewn to the neoprene. This gaiter will need to be replaced soon. I wasn't sure it would last for my 25 mile training ride this weekend, but it did. Also, one of the cables has started to fray. One strand has come loose where the cable is wrapped to make the cable shorter. My boots came with a plastic clip covering the metal teeth. I left these on the front boots, but the hind boots fit snugger, so I removed the plastic clip covering the metal teeth, flattened the teeth, and wrapped the teeth in vet wrap (just a couple of layers). The only significant problem I saw in traction using these boots was on a pine needle-covered trail. This is normally a trail I would canter through or do a very fast trot. But due to slipping, we had to keep it to a slow to medium trot for my horse to keep his balance. A minor problem with traction was on very smooth pavement on a downhill. No trotting there. But walking was fine and no slipping. Not that I can trot downhill on pavement in metal shoes, either. Another minor problem I saw was when there was mud under grass. Then my horse had problems with slipping some. In the future, I plan to rasp the toe on the boots to speed breakover to help with my horse forging badly enough to scrape up the back buckles. I also will cut down the back strap of the hind boots to try to prevent the rubbing I saw on my 25 mile ride. My biggest issue after doing those mods (which I think will really help) is the gaiter rubbing my horse's pastern. It is possible that Tanna's trotting action (his pasterns can become parallel to the ground) causes too much movement of the gaiter beyond the stretch of the neoprene and causes the rubbing. In which case, I may not be able to successfully use these boots due to my horse's way of going. I will have to look at that. I'm not sure what action I can take to make the gaiters tight enough, but not rub. I don't plan to use the Easyboots without the gaiters. I do not want to be looking for boots when I want to be riding and I'm not convinced they will stay on without the gaiters. Another interesting note on my horse. He didn't like just wearing the front boots. He did much better when he had all four boots on. One last note. Be sure the screws are tight. I lost 3 screws from one boot in a 12 mile ride (2 short ones from one side and 1 short one from the other). After that, I retightened all screws before each ride. However, I didn't notice the screws were missing until after the ride so I didn't lose a boot or a gaiter, even missing 3 screws. The Epics are very nice to put on. They are not as easy to get on as the Old Macs, but they definitely are easier than the old Easyboots. I believe this is because of the new design where the front of the boots are cut to create a "tongue" like people shoes. The Epics have more options for modifications to fit my horse's hooves than the other boots I have seen. I would have a couple of extra gaiters on-hand (maybe not ON the horse) for replacement and maybe an extra screw set. I carried a flat head screwdriver and a philips head screwdriver in my cantle bag and had occasion to use the flathead on the trail. The flat head is nice for moving the cable around when the boots are all muddy and for getting the mud out of the clamps if they unclamp. The philips head screwdriver is to tighten or replace lost screws on trail. I really like these boots and think they are a vast improvement over other boots I have tried or seen. At least for endurance riding purposes. I did not see any problems until my 25 mile ride, so at the very least, I can probably use these boots for sub-20 mile rides. My horse was not shod for the rides I did with the Epics. April Nashville, TN =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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