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RE: [RC] [RC] [RC] Another Easyboot Epic question - Zephyr Arabians--- Terry Banister <ebeyrider@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Hmmm, we just did Davenport Darei, which had tons of deep sand, and there was no rubbing or collection in the heels or gaiters of the Epics on front or the Bares on back. But, I don't cut the heel strap down, so maybe then it doesn't give the sand a place to go. I've done Davenport Dare a couple times. :) However, the "sand" up here (I'm now in the PNW) appears to actually be ground lava (pumice) and seems to be even more abrasive than regular sand. Can't really tell you WHY it got trapped that time, when I'd not had that problem before. I should be more specific about where the sand/pumice was actually trapped: it was above the heels in the back, where the gaitor fits snuggly above the hoof (and probably why they stay on so well). So, it was rubbing on skin, not hoof. Make more sense? Howeve, in the past, with another brand of boots, there was rubbing by the time we reached the lunch stop, and my horse was slightly off for the trot out, so I simply removed the boots and completed barefoot (sandy, 2004 Warner Springs Natl. Championship). In this case, I didn't know what was making her off at the vet check, and didn't want to ask her to go further if she had a problem. It wasn't until after pulling and going back to my camp site that I was able to determine the cause. This ride was much too rocky to attempt barefoot -- in fact, we'd been riding along commenting that there would likely be a lot of lameness pulls from rocks -- but I could have dismantled the Epics to regular Easyboots & foamed them on. Just didn't think about that until later, and don't even know if the vets would have let me, anyway, since I'd already been pulled. True, living in the arid Southwest is an advantage, and those living in the wetter states may not be able to build the tough hoof callouse that has been acheived by some, but I believe a lot of people underestimate what the naked hoof is capable of.
I've ridden many a barefoot mile in both So Cal and up
here in the PNW. However, it's a LOT easier in So
Cal. Down there I'd pull shoes (particularly in the
summer months when riding less due to heat) and never
even think about it when going out on the trails. All
my horses are now barefoot. But, when the ground in
their pastures is wet and soft, they tend to be more
sensitive when taken out on trails which are largely
logging roads covered in sharp rocks (traction for
logging trucks). Even horses that have been barefoot
their entire lives have told me in no uncertain terms
that those rocky roads are not their favorites. If I
trailer over to some better trails, though, I can ride
them barefoot. I've found that "rocks," as in big
rocks on the trail or occational rocky sections of
trail are not a problem. It's just those rocky roads
-- something you don't see in So Cal ("gravel road" is
not an accurate name for some of them up here) -- that
present a problem, particularly when the pastures are
soft.
~Nicole
Zephyr Arabians http://www.zephyrarabians.com
KattWmn Web Design http://www.kattwmn.com
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