Re: [RC] Gaited Endurance Riders-question - Peter Harper
Cheryl,
I would love to see photos of your guy. I have a 3yr old SSH/Arab cross. He is not yet under saddle so I don't know his gait. I think he will be a fox trotter as well. The mare is a fox trotting SSH and the stallion is a fox trotting CMK Arab.
Last year Oli was sporting standard easyboots that were foamed on using the easy care foam.
From my own personal experience I like the foam-on method. I did my first booted 50 on my TWH/Standardbred cross. I used "Great Stuff" insulation foam from Home Depot. The boots stayed on real well. I had to pry them off after the ride. I'm lucky in that my gelding has such hard feet. We train bootless at home and have done all but the most rocky rides bootless.
Did you notice a change in his gait with just the front boots on? I many cases the added weight on the front feet will change to a more diagonal gait. If I put only front boots on my fox trotting SSH she will go to a hard trot. If I add boots on the hind as well as the front she goes back to fox trot.
From: "l g miller" <timber1@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [RC] Gaited Endurance Riders-question
This question/s is for those who ride gaited horses for endurance. I have decided to go barefoot with my 1/2 arab 1/2SSH. He is doing = great. However, where I live the trails can be very rocky. If I want = challenging trails, or good conditioning trails, there are rocks. SO, = that being said, what type of Easyboots do you prefer?? I was looking at the Epics for him, (just the fronts) but was able to = borrow a friends Bares. We used them today and did a 10 mile = conditioning ride, and they worked beautifully! I think they were slightly big on him, but they stayed put and didn't = twist. They have gaitors. I was impressed that he wanted to really move = out in them. At first, I don't
think he liked them, but after about 2 = miles, he quit worrying about them. He was really flying ( in his fox-trotter gaits) out on that trail = today. My biggest concern was that he would overstride and rip one off and = possibly trip himself. Has anyone ever had that happen? I had visions of = me sailing over his head. So I didn't totally relax on him. But his gait was strong and he never once tripped or felt like he was = having any problems. Overall, I loved the Bares.
