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Re: [RC] Old Mac versus EasyBoots - Charlene LargeSpeaking of Easyboots..... I have a short story to tell about my Epics. Last weekend I lost three out of four boots on an all rock, very hilly trail in the mountains. The front pair I must have over 300 miles on, and the back pair were brand spankin new, first time ridden in. Only one of the original boots lived. The boots ripped completely off the gaiter somewhere around 15 miles, leaving nothing but neoprene and bruises hanging around my horse's pasterns. And, now I have a lame horse from literally dragging him barefoot over that terrain, another nine miles back to the trailhead. Up until this ride I have had GREAT success with my front pair of boots, and am disappointed in their performance on this trip. Has anyone else had this problem? My barefoot trimmer seemed suprised, but I know of other trimmers that have had complaints as well. Part two if you have the time: The success in that front pair was had mainly in Texas. I have recently moved to East Tennessee, where the terrain is harsher, yet still have had NO problems until this day. This ride was located at Iron Mountain, on the border of TN and North Carolina. I bought the rear pair specifically because I knew the trails would be rockier, and he would need them. I never imagined they would fail so miserably. In TX the ground is harder, drier, and less rocky for the most part, and I could ride barefoot all around half the time. Here, it rains a lot more, and even when it doesn't, the dews are so heavy, the ground is almost constantly wet. His feet I believe have softened and lost their callus, since he is in soft, wet pasture now instead of a hard dirt/sand/pebble pasture, like in Texas. I am sure I'll never have another barefoot ride on him--which is fine, IF the boots will hold up. Any advice on how to keep this barefoot/booted horse doing as well as he did in TX? Should I trade brands? Barefoot riders of the South help! I also have my husband's gelding who I will begin condiditioning for endurance this winter, and plan to transition to barefoot as well. How do folks in East TN, or the Deep South, transition their horses with all the dampness and rocks? Does anyone suggest a different boot that would be more durable out here (Such as Old Macs)? THANKS!!! Charlene & Hollywood --- Dyane Smith <sunibey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: I haven't used the Old Mac's for riding, but I used them for 2 years to protect an old, flat-footed gelding. He loved the comfort and I loved how easy they were to put on and off. OTH, a U.C. Davis farrier told me that the Boas provide more support if your horse has long, sloping pasterns like mine does. Dyane ----- Original Message ----- From: Robert R To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 5:10 PM Subject: [RC] Old Mac versus EasyBoots Okay, I'm a new member but have been around long enough to see what happens when boots versus barefoot versus steel shoes erupts. I currently use steel shoes with Dril-Tek on my horse. I have a set of EasyBoots already but I am interested in learning the pros and cons of Old Macs as compared to EasyBoots as well as other options out there I may not be aware of. Any input would be great and feel free not to respond to the whole list if you think this will turn ugly. I'm really just interested in what is the best option for my particular horse, who travels lots and lots of hard surface road miles. I do know that if I go with boots, I cannot use anything other than EasyBoots in CTR but since I already have a full set of those, if for some reason the Old Macs or something else seem better, it wouldn't be unreasonable to have both, would it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This email scanned for Viruses and Spam by ZCloud.net using SpamViper Charlene __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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