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[RC] Plastic shoes - a good word and a question on winter studs - sharon1359

I have to put a good word in for Ground Control shoes as well.  :)

I did a lot of research last summer, both on Ridecamp and elsewhere, before
deciding to put them on my horse.  He'd always been barefoot but the miles were
getting to be too much (hooves wearing down too fast).  Plus, on some rides,
shoes/Easyboots were required... and I wasn't having much luck getting the EBs
to stay on.


From the first day in his GC shoes, he moved with much more certainty on rocks,

gravel roads, paved roads with pebbles strewn on them, etc.  His stride got
longer (we're up to almost 15mph at the extended trot now!) and he just seemed
happier.

I have been able to continue doing his trimming myself, since the method is
exactly the same whether the shoe is being used or not.  :)  And later this
summer my farrier will be showing me how to put the shoes on as well.  (God I
love my farrier!)

MY QUESTION is regarding winter riding.  I've only got a couple months left
before my first ride, and we're really limited right now on where we can ride. 
Unless I want to ride entirely on the sides of paved roads, there is nowhere
for me to ride that isn't icy.  And right now, he's barefoot.  I've already had
one fall due to ice hidden under the snow, and I don't want another.

I know that the mfr says you can install Easyboot studs in the shoes before
nailing them on, but if I do that he won't be able to go out in the all-day
group pasture.  He'll be limited to an hour or two per day of solitary turnout.
ICK - I won't do that to him.

I can't do studded Easyboots because (as noted above) I just don't seem to be
able to get them to stay on.

Hunter/Jumpers wear shoes with threads in them that you put caulks in for extra
traction.  My question is, has anyone here tried screwing short screws with big
grippy heads into the bottoms of the shoes when they want to ride??  That would
be perfect, as I could screw them in before the ride and then remove them
afterwards!  (The amount of traction he gets in the pasture with the GC shoes
is equivalent to barefoot, so don't worry about him getting stranded on an icy
patch out there.)

Thanks for any input,
-Sharon Kenney and Zephyr's Elegant Gift (formerly the barefoot wonder)

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