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