Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hi Kitty -- how long the boots will last will depend on your 
horse.  I think that on one or two sets this year I got 600 to 700 
miles, and other times I got far less.  I have been testing some of 
the boots, and sometimes the tests went better than others, but the 
end result is that the boots are a lot improved from a year ago and 
will be improved even more in the coming months.  I've been using 4 boots.

The cost comparison to shoeing will also vary.  Most people are 
paying between (guessing) $75 to $125 every four to six weeks for 
shoeing.  To keep the horses feet trimmed up it doesn't cost me 
anything but our time.  Most trimmers charge between $20 and $30, 
though I know barefoot specialists might charge more and that can 
also vary by area to area.

I'm not sure about posting actual costs of the boots, since it can 
vary by vendor, but be sure to check endurance.net for 
suppliers.  Overall cost would depend how often you use them and how 
long they last for your horse (I know, that's what you want to 
know).  It'll be most cost effective for somebody if say they do one 
50 a month for five months--they could probably do that entire five 
month period with one set of boots.  If they are doing one 5 day 
ride, then they might put enough wear on the boots during that one 
week to not want to use them in competition anymore (also factoring 
in some conditioning rides into both scenarios).  Usually I will use 
the boots for five to ten rides, and then they are used as spares 
that I put on the saddle, in the crewbag or to use on training rides at home.

There are other benefits to consider too, outside of cost -- such as 
if you use boots over barefeet, you won't have to worry about a 
shoeing schedule anymore.  There are also some benefits to the horse 
to being barefoot too.  Disadvantages are that the rider has to put 
the boots on and off and if the horse were shod would not have to do 
anything.  I consider the time it takes to put boots on and off to be 
pretty minuscule when I factor in things such as how many hours I 
spent packing and driving to a ride, conditioning, and everything else.

I just found a page of videos on the easycare page, I haven't had a 
chance to view any of them 
yet:  http://www.easycareinc.com/ebinfo/EasybootVideos.aspx

I have some links up on my education page that have some great photos 
of barefoot horses and information on the topic that others might 
find 
useful: 
http://members.tripod.com/ridephotos/karens_endurance_links.html 
look under the heading "Hoofboots, shoeing (or not)".

Hope that helps!

Karen
in NV

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