Giving Back To The Community: EasyCare Supports Barefoot Horses At Tevis (& Far Gets A Tevis Buckle on Week 12)

I was very impressed last weekend with the outreach activities EasyCare offered at the 54th annual Tevis Cup. Several members of the senior management team flew into California. They brought with them truckloads of Easyboot Glue-Ons, tools and glue necessary to apply boots to 17 competing horses at no cost to the riders.

Imagine the planning that goes into getting ready for Tevis: getting up to Robie Park and preparing you and your horse for one of the highest profile endurance races in the world. It is a lot of work, and takes rigorous planning and a lot of help from your friends. Garrett and Christoph, both of whom were entered in the race, spent much of Thursday afternoon and all day Friday selflessly rasping and trimming horses’ feet; prepping them for the gluing process and applying boots.

Members of the EasyCare team provided support and kept the materials and equipment flowing. Each of them was willing to take the time to answer questions and explain what they were doing. Every horse was given the attention and care it would receive as if they were riding the horse themselves. It was quite a process to witness and testament to a philanthropic corporate identity. There was quite an audience and some interesting discussion about the barefoot lifestyle, training and nutrition. The success of the booted horses is creating momentum for a broader development in natural horse care. I am excited to be part of the wave: there is so much to learn and so much to be gained.


The boot after 100 miles on the Tevis trail.

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Doing It California Style: Hanging Out On The Tevis Trail On Week 11

That’s what the owner of this car said when she saw me taking this photo.

I drove up to the Auburn area on Saturday: 842 miles from Scottsdale to Cool, CA in about 15 hours. Far looked a little lean when he got off the trailer, but he traveled well and was very relaxed. He was back to his old self 24 hours later. I’m sure it helped that he was back in his old pasture next to his former buddies.

I let him rest all day Sunday. He spent the day in the shade of a great Oak tree eating Leslie Spitzer’s nice Orchard Grass hay she gets from Nicholas, CA: much more interesting than the hay I brought from home.

On Monday morning we set off to the lookout point at the Tevis finish line. I have only ridden Far once since he got tangled up in the high line two weeks ago. I’ve been treating five wounds on various parts of his body twice daily since then and I think they will be only just healed by the time Tevis starts on Saturday.

We rode 11 miles from the finish line to the Lower Quarry vet check and then turned around and came back. I used the new style Gloves on the fronts and the older style Gloves on the hind with Powerstraps. The trail is not overly challenging at this point of the trail, but there is a good mix of single track trail with a few small climbs, some rocky sections and a couple of small water crossings.


Far on No Hands Bridge

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