Easyboots to the Rescue!

My 5 year old Arab/QH had to have a section of his P3 removed this summer becasue of an infection. The vet mentioned putting on a hospital plate but the foot looked so sore I couldn't bear the thought and he had never worn a shoe.


The hole in his hoof that several different EasyCare boots have been protecting. This was 3 weeks & 5 days postop.
I put an Easy Care Epic over the bandage every day after I changed it which kept the foot clean and dry and allowed him to walk around in the indoor and soon after out in a paddock. After about 10 days we changed to the orginal Old Mac and the heal started to look better. I wanted to start riding him walk trot and the Old Mac was a little lose so I switched to an Old Mac G2 which was a great fit over the bandage.

The other day his bandage was due for a change and had started to unrvavel so I took it off and used just an Easyboot Glove. Was he ever happy: felt like freedom to him. He will have follow up x-rays soon but the pictures I emailed the vet looked good to him. All the different boots have allowed me to protect his hoof and give him the freedom to move. The next boot to try will be the Rx when it comes this week.

Thanks EasyCare: I don't know how I would have dealt with this hoof and a young horse without all your different kinds of boots.

Name: Mary Palumbo
City: Killingworth, CT
Equine Discipline: Endurance
Favorite Boot: Old Mac's

Goober Glue with Gloves

Easycare have been testing a new combination that's working so well we think you should try it.

They had the good fortune to work with serveral riders at the Man Against Horse 50 last weekend. It was the perfect trail to test our new booting protocol of Easyboot Gloves in combination with Goober Hoof Pack (known as hoof boot glue in the UK). By adding glue to the sole of the foot, the horse benefits from additional solar protection for rocky or challenging trail. The boot also sticks to the foot with the help of the glue. They have tried this method with three different horses on three different (and very rocky) 50-mile races. They have yet to lose a boot.
 
Here is a photo of the Glove glued on: no muss, no fuss.
  The boots are easy to remove and the best thing is that the Hoof boot glue peels right out of the boot by hand so the boots can be used again and again. The video here explains the application process. Note: if you want to use this method, the boots should be applied 12-24 hours before the horse is to be ridden in order to allow the glue to set up. 24 hours is optimal.

Here's what Julia Lynn Elias had to say:

"I've had several successful rides now with the Easyboot Glue-Ons, both at multi-day rides and 100 milers, but decided for our local Man Against Horse 1 day 50 mile ride I would like to stick with the Gloves. I love the Glue Ons, but hate the fact that once removed they are difficult, if not impossible, to re-use. I have done several 50's in Gloves and have not had a problem with losing boots except on very steep climbs with slippery, rolling rocks. This particular ride has several such sections. On one part of the trail, there is a 2,000 foot climb in two miles, and most of the real climbing occurs in short switch backs with large step-up rocks. To minimize my risk of losing boots, I decided to try using Goober Hoof Pack (formerly known as Goober Glue) in the soles of the boots only. Kevin Myers and I discussed it and both agreed that this would serve three purposes, improve the adhesion of the boot to the hoof, provide more cushion for the impact of all the rocks we would encounter, and allow me to re-use the boots. The plan worked fabulously. I never lost a boot and my horse flew over the rocks like they were marshmallows. In fact, they were so well "stuck", that it required a little effort with a flathead screwdriver to peel them off after the ride. This morning, I was able to peel the Hoof Pack out of the boots and now they are clean and ready for another ride. I was so pleased with this method that I think I will do it for every ride."

Mackies Ice Cream Run endurance ride

My name is Jahmel and I am a fleabitten grey arab gelding living in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  My mum thinks the world of me and loves taking me to interesting places.

Today mum got me out of bed early and seemed a bit cross because I had rolled a bitty in the night.  I didn’t think I was that dirty!  Anyway off we went to the place where they make lovely icecream – the Mackies Factory at Cross of Jackston.  It seems that the field we were supposed to park in was under water so we were invited to park at the factory as long as we took all poo away! Mum decided as the ground was so wet that I should wear my easyboot epics with the studs in.   A good decision as it turned out as most of the 24km ride was on wet fields and tracks. Mum didn’t tell me about the nasty wind turbines on the hill though. And as it was a very windy day they were going round very fast and making a horrid noise as well as making scary shadows on the ground!  Just as well I had my studded boots on as I had a little paddy on top of the hill and just might have slipped otherwise.  Mum didn’t seem to appreciate the little bucks I put in for the sheer joy of it!  Or was it something to do with the horizontal sleet on my bum!  We finished the ride very wet and muddy but on a good heart rate at nearly 11kph.  All in all mum seemed quite pleased with me and my boots.

Thank you to Carol Henderson and Jahmel for their lovely story- an Easycare hoofpick is on its way to you!

Introducing Primrose Hill, Barefoot Ambassador!

My name is Primrose Hill, I was born on 28th April 2007 at Combe Farm Arabian stud in Devon but have reacently moved to my new home to take up the position of Trelawne Equine's barefoot ambassador! Trelawne Equine are the UK distributor for the Easycare range of hoofboots, and my job is to help them show the world how we horses can be healthier and have stronger feet without metal shoes. I live with 3 other horses, 2 of which were shod until a few years ago, but we are all barefoot here and live as natural a life in our little herd as possible. The UK is a pretty damp place, and Devon is more than most but that does not stop me and my friends having strong, beautiful hooves!

Being only 3 1/2, I am just starting to learn about life outside the stud I was born and raised on (check out my dad, Rumak who still lives there- he is very handsome!) and most of my outings will be around forestry tracks which are renowned for being stony. At the moment, I go for walks with my little Shetland friend and we just like to amble along the tracks but I will be needing some boots once I am carrying my rider around to help protect my feet. It is also a lot better for me to do my roadwork when I am older with boots and pads inside as the road is very unnatural and the pads will allow my bare hooves to function properly.

I rather like the look of the Easyboot Glove, and I have tried a fitkit which showed I will fit a size 00.5 nicely (I have very dainty feet!) but they may well change before I will be needing them next year so will have to wait for another fitting before I know for certain. Fit is everything with hoof boots, so if I need a different style I don't mind at all as all the Easyboot hoof boots are great. I must say I particularly like the look of the boots when they are on 'The Fury'....(swoon!)


I am very excited about my new life, and want to share it with you so please join me on Facebook and follow my blog 'Barefoot Beauty Queen' to keep up to date with all my adventures! I hope to be getting out to meet lots of my human friends next year, so be sure to look out for Trelawne Equine and Primrose Hill in the press and at horsey events in the UK!
 

Barefoot in Wales

This is a picture of Daisy Dancer my TBx mare.  I bought her in 2003 as a 3 year old and rode her barefoot from about 2 weeks later, on the recommendation of my farrier.  Unfortunately, my really good farrier moved area and we had a few years struggling along with a farrier that didn’t know what he was doing (other than preparing a foot for a shoe) and we tried a few spells with shoes, but I knew it wasn’t right and she didn’t go as flowing as I knew she did without shoes. Plus, horse shoes are very slippy on our steep concrete drive – I hear people asking if they slip barefoot - I can’t believe how opposite of the truth that is, or why they can’t work that out by just observing!

I eventually went on a KC LaPierre barefoot trimming course and became aware of all the things my original farrier knew from experience.  I now also trust my new farrier to shoe her occasionally (July and August),  as I monitor that the foot is balanced and that the heels are not left too high or start to underrun.  If they do, the shoes come straight off so that they can correct themselves.   We now also have an Equine Podiatrist in our area who trims whenever she has a problem (WLD, a stone abscess or shrinking frog usually) and because she has thin TB feet, we use boots whenever she is going to do more than her feet are up to.  She has had her old mac boots since about 2005 and uses them about once a month with a lot of those beach rides, so they are very worn but still well loved and have more years in them yet.   As you can see from her picture, my daughter now rides her more than me and is supersensitive to your weight (no kicking and pulling required).  She is a brave, trusting mare, who is bombproof and surefooted.  She can spot soft ground a mile off and only swerves to get on the grass – it’s something that you get used to with a barefoot horse and just let them find the best ground for them.

Janette, Gwynedd

A Thoroughbred with Flat, White Feet...

My thoroughbred - with flat, white feet and very tender soles - yes, not your usual suspect for barefootedness! - pulled a tendon and had to have 10 months off in the field. This was 6 years ago. One of my immediate concerns was, what do I do with his feet? I didn't really want him wearing shoes during his time off but had horrible images of his feet becoming chipped and cracked beyond repair if I didn't keep him shod.

My farrier advised me to take his shoes off and let his feet get on with it! So I took that advice and spent the next 10 months in trepidation. His feet however were fine!

He was then declared fit to go back into work, but by this time I had got very comfortable with no shoes and had begun to read up on barefoot riding on the Internet, so decided I would give it a go. I also really dreaded having nails knocked in his feet again - it seems such a backward step having spent so long letting his feet adjust to natural living.

After much research and measuring I got easyboot bare for his backs and oldMac G2 for his fronts - and off we went! His transitioning was well under way as he had been lead in from the field regularly down a gravelly road, so really we never looked back. There was a stage when I put comfort pads in his fronts - but I think that was more for me than him!

After two years like that, I ditched the back boots and moved onto Old Mac originals on the front as his feet seemed to have become more round as they adjusted.

I have tried to go without the front boots but I think that is a step too far for his tender, flat feet. I ride mainly on road and tracks too, so it is quite  challenge for his feet.

His feet are now hard and strong. He has no further problems with his tendon, nor the ringbone that developed during that phase. His boots stay on in all terrain and have never rubbed him - I do always use gaiters however.

All in all, I am a huge convert to barefoot, and hope that I never again have to have a nail driven into my horses' foot!

 

Sarah, Dumfriesshire.

Sally and Buffy's adventure in Epics!

Hello!

I'm back from my mini expedition so here's my hoofboot story...  This year myself and my friend Jean had decided to ride from her house in Keswick to stay with another friend in Buttermere and then ride back.  2 days riding in the English Lakes.
My horse Buffy is barefoot and for this ride I had chosen to put on her hoof boots as the going was on roads and stony tracks.  She wears Easyboot Epics as you can see in the picture.

We set off from Keswick on Saturday morning and after negotiating some tricky busy roads we were soon on the bridleway, heading along between Catbells and Derwent Water.  The going was gritty but not too stony and Buffy went really well.  After Grange we went on another bridleway towards Honister which was much more rocky (think of an uphill climb on a riverbed with no water and you've pretty much got it!) but Buffy was fine in her boots.  In fact she had much more traction than the other, shod horse who even though he had road nails in his hind shoes found it pretty hard going.

We negotiated wooden bridges and a very narrow gate at which I had to remove Buffy's panniers so she could fit through!  Perhaps I need to pack a little lighter next time?

We paused for lunch on a grassy bit and admired the view whilst eating lunch.  Then we continued on towards Honister Pass and the slate mine.  The climb up to the pass was on a road and was very steep (all the overtaking cars smelt of burning clutch) but the horses kept on plodding.  Then we got to the top and looked down and down, and down...  The roadsign said the decline was 25%!  Buffy never slipped once in her boots and we were soon at the bottom and heading along the shores of Buttermere.

After passing several groups of tourists (many commenting on Buffy's "walking boots") we reached the farm we were staying at for the night. The next day we set off at 9 am sharp for the climb up to the top of the next hill.  We returned to Keswick via Newlands Valley (this road has a climb of only 20% compared to yesterday it seemed easy!) and Jean and I swapped horses.  Buffy did the accent and decent without slipping again despite the shoddy tarmac.

We rode over wooded bridges and through farmyards as well as along tracks and more roads.  The Epics were great on the cobbles in the old mine yard too.

We got back to Keswick just in time for lunch which pleased Buffy no end.

We had a super time and the hoof boots performed brilliantly.  I'd really recommend them for this type of terrain.  They really can't be beaten on rocky or gritty tracks. In my opinion they out perform metal shoes when faced with this sort of going.  I'm definitely going to use them again when I do another expedition in the Lake District.

Sally

The Laminitic Pony

"My daughters pony has suffered from laminitis and is now well on the road to recovery but everytime the pony is trimmed by the blacksmith he takes so much off her feet she is practically walking on her soles…..  so I bought some Easyboot Epics to make her more comfortable and it did seem to make a difference…. Did ask the blacksmith to leave a little more wall on the hoof so that she is not so foot sore…. The blacksmith did not see the need for shoes as not enough work done and I didn’t really like the idea of her having nails driven into her hooves as well as the laminitus, she generally has a very good quality horn…."
Thank you to Izzy for this great story- it sounds like your farrier is pasture trimming as opposed to barefoot trimming from what you describe. The golden rule is a horse should always walk away from a trim (at least) as sound as he walks into it! I would ask him to have a look at www.barefoothorse.com, an excellent website dedicated to the art of barefoot trimming of all schools, he should have your pony walking away without soreness in no time!

Chris and Meg

Meg is the coloured cob in the front of this picture. We have all hacked across Dartmoor to the pub in the rain and her boots are still holding firm, as you can see.  She wears over-reach boots with her epics as she did sometimes pull them off as she is a very extravagant mover.  Her pal JV (Joint Venture) is behind her, also in her epics.  Meg does endurance and did her first 48km ride across Exmoor this August. Very rough terrain and very gooey. The vet commented on how good her feet were and was very impressed when she finished sound.  Hope that this story is good enough to get me a magnetic hoof pick!  

C

  

It certainly is, thank you Chris! 

Wendy, Tally and Morgan

After almost four years of my two horses being barefoot, one has coped very well, but the other, Tally Ho!, a New Forest mare, has really struggled. Last summer, at our wits end, partly because of the shape of her feet, and partly because her feet are quite small, and all the other boots were too clumsy for her, and really aggravated her, we had more or less decided to put her back in metal shoes, something I really didn't want to do, but because of lack of exercise due to her being footsore, she had put on weight, and was borderline E.M.S.(equine metabolic syndrome) My trimmer and I then discovered Easyboot Glove, and decided we would try them as a last resort. We ordered your fit kit, followed instructions, the boots arrived very promptly, and we've never looked back. It has taken a while to get her back into work, and we've had to take things slowly, but the 'Gloves' are brilliant, she loves them, and everyone, including my vet, is asking about them, and all the village schoolchildren talk about 'Talls Trainers!' So a huge thanks to Easyboot for helping me keep her 'metal-free', fit and healthy. She's 18, by the way! Don't you just love her dainty ankle straps!
Kind Regards
Wendy, Tally and Morgan.