Play Around: Feel Free To Tinker With Your Boots

I spent five glorious days up at my home away from home over the Fourth of July weekend. I am addicted to the trails and to the summer weather at 6,300 feet at the Groom Creek Horse Camp. Knowing the reserved spots were all booked for the weekend, I took three horses and hauled the 2.5 hours up to Prescott on Wednesday afternoon. It seemed to be the most likely way to get the one of the ‘first-come, first served’ spots. I pulled into the camp at 4:00 PM and got the last spot. Phew.

The three horses racked up a total of 61 miles and more than 15,000 feet of climbing between them in Easyboot Gloves over the five days – and not one boot went amiss. We rode up sharp climbs and rocky mountain trails; we rode through hail and pouring rain; we rode along single track trails that became small rushing rivers. And the boots stayed on.

One of the greatest barriers for me to go from steel shoes to barefoot was the perception that I did not have the time, inclination or ability to manage a barefoot horse. A steel-shod horse seemed so much easier to manage: the farrier comes to the barn, and presto: your horse is set for the next five or six weeks of riding. Low maintenance is good, right? Eight weeks into my experiment, I’m not so sure.

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