My horses have been mostly barefoot for 5 years now. We have used shoes when it seemed to be
necessary, but since we do our own trimming and our horses have generally good
feet, it’s been easier to stay barefoot.Mostly we’ve done competitive
trail and slower LD, so the occasional lost easyboot
hasn’t been a big deal.I’ve
got several boots that are 2-3 seasons old.
I tried the Boas as soon as they came out – before they
had gaiters.I got little rocks/big
sand inside and wasn’t happy and just never got
around to trying them again when I got the gaiters. I was thrilled when I saw the Epics, they really seemed to be the perfect solution
especially since we’re riding faster now.
My horse normally fits a size 0 perfectly, but the 0 on the
Epics was either a bit smaller, or just more
complicated to get on at first so I tried using 1’s.I used vet wrap around the pasterns and
duct tape around the hoof and they did stay on for the first ride even though
we kept breaking cables.The second
ride my husband used them on his horse too and he kept tearing the boot off the
gaiter – fronts and rears.
It was also somewhat of a muddy ride in spots and both
horses were irritated from the constant wet and rubbing from the gaiters and
now have scratches. I did find a
way to get size 0 on my horse, but eventually we either lost
all the gaiters, broke the cables or had the rivet holding the buckle break. EasyCare has
been really good with replacing boot and cables. And I really like the product concept.
But I am going back to Easyboots.My theory is that the free tongue of the
Epic (and the new style Easyboot I think) allows the
boot to move a little more on the hoof. This might contribute to the rubbing
heels (we broke a heelstrap too, which has never ever
happened before) because we’ve gotten little peels of hoof at the top of
the boot which I think is from the hoof getting wet and soft and then the edge
of the boot rubbing.I also think
this contributes to the broken cables.
I looked at my old Easyboots and a
couple have a single strand of wire broken, and over 5 years I have broken
cables on only 3 boots.
I do think it is absolutely imperative the get the correct
size – the gaiters for the size 1’s were too high and rubbed, but
the 0’s were just fine.The
other thing is to dry off the pasterns if it is a wet ride.The one horse is kind of sensitive –
she gets scourgy stuff from interference boots too. The other horse is new so we don’t
know if he’s prone to skin issues or not.
I think if the gaiters were available on the old style Easyboot, I’d be ordering them in an instant!I did really like it the times when the
boot came off and was still attached to the gaiter that I didn’t have to
go look for it.And the Epic is the
lightest boot other than the Easyboot, so if it works
for you, great.If not, I’ve
found that 3-5 wraps of the highest quality duct tape will get us through tough
rides with Easyboots just fine.
