I've been using the Old Macs for over 1.5 yrs, and
prefer them to Easy Boots (the only other boot I tried). I have used them
in 2 50 mile rides (Bryce and Death Valley - my only 50's btw) and 2 25- mile
CTRs with no problems. I usually train with them, too.
They are great on hard and/or rocky ground. I
prefer to have Gabriel barefoot on ice, mud or deep sand.
They have improved the design some from when I
first started using them. My first pairs just lasted for a few hundred
miles. The pairs I have now probably have 300-400 miles on them so far,
and I'm using them in another 50 this month and expect them to make it. I
was hoping they'd wear out at DVE, because they have a 6-month warranty (I had
my first 2 prs replaced that way) and will replace them at no charge except
shipping. Valley Vet now carries them and is the best buy, the US price is
set at $145pr but VV has free shipping and no tax for most states.
Fitting: There is a good chart showing how to
measure the hoof at www.oldmacsboots.com. To give you
an idea, my arab has 5in x 5in hooves in front and wears a size 5. His
hinds are 4.5in wide, and he wears a size 3 on them.
Wrapping: I don't wrap unless I'm riding over
10 miles. If I'm on a long training ride, I pull up old athletic socks
with the toes cut out over his pastern (leaving them anchored by the back of the
hoof). For competition I wrap with vet wrap (not too tight, tho), covering
the back of the bulbs and the lower pastern. Until DV I never had any
rubbing, but after that ride one of his fronts was rubbed raw in 2 spots from
the strap that holds the boot on. I'm quite sure it was from all the
downhill trotting we did, and know I can fix it by wrapping with more
layers. His other front was wrapped with twice as many layers (that hoof
is slightly smaller so I wrap extra to get the boot fitting equally as tight as
the other front) and didn't have any rubbing.
That's all I can think of. I have been very
happy with these boots, and after using them for 20 mos I've never had one come
off!
