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[RC] a question to those of you who ride barefoot horses - Dream Weaverso todd, i gather since you wrap, you put the boots on before the start of the ride and leave them on until the end. do you use boots on all 4's the way karen does? i've never used boots on he= r back hooves, but then again, i never really trotted around a very rocky trail. getting the wraps wet doesn't pose a problem, does it? did you cut your gaitors down the way karen's website shows them cut? i wonder if i should do that in advance or wait and see if kipper is irritate= d by that. thanks for the link! marta Hi Marta -- I need to make some updates to my website: http://members.tripod.com/ridephotos/ I'll do that in the next few days so check back! If you haven't used four boots before, then you should start getting your horse used to having four boots on in case you need them at the ride. You may not need them but if you do you'll be glad that you prepared your horse. Some horses adapt right away to having four boots on and others may take more time. Don't wait until your horse is sore from the rocks before putting boots on -- put them on first then if you find the trail is really good footing then you can take them off. Remember that a lot of times a horse might not show soreness until the next day. If you are using boots with the newer gaiters (they have a softer rolled edge) then you may not need to use any wrap at all. I have not been and have done quite a few rides that way and am not experiencing any rubbing problems with three different horses. If you do start to notice a rub though, you can prevent it from getting worse by using vetwrap. Make sure you put three or four wraps around the pastern area and if it's going to be a long ride or an endurance ride I would recommend wrapping like I show in the photos and videos I have at the above link -- be sure to wrap high up enough so that if the wrap settles down it won't go underneath the top edge of the gaiter. I have not experienced any problems from the gaiters getting wet. My three horses have done close to 3000 miles in the boots and believe me, we have gotten wet a few times -- and muddy -- and it's not been a problem. Still though, be sure to undo the gaiters and check at each vetcheck, at least one foot to be sure. You can put the boots on the night before. Don't tighten the gaiter yet though, just adjust it loosely and then remember in the morning to tighten it up. If you are using regular Epics you can put the buckle down but don't do that tight either, you can adjust it in the morning when you do the gaiter. If you are using Bares you don't need to worry about any adjustments. I've been using plumbers putty which we get at the local hardware store. It come on a roll and I pull off a piece of it and put it in between the top edge of the boots and the hoof and shove it in there to make a seal. That has been working really well, it's quick and easy to use. Karen in NV =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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