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[RC] Plastic Shoes info.? - Kristene Smuts

OK, not a barefoot vs. shoes discussion please.  Endurance.net is taking
ages to load on my PC so I haven't been able to search the archives and
I thought that I would give you guys something else to talk about ;-))

I need to get opinions about / experiences with plastic shoes.  I put a
full set of plastic shoes on my boy and did a 40 mile competitive ride
over the weekend.  The terrain was varied and we were going at just
under 10 mph.  The shoes held up well and weren't worn much more than
normal steel shoes, in fact, I'm pretty impressed with them.  The only
"problem" was that the farrier didn't counter-sink the nails enough so I
now have to clinch them again.  But, all in all, I don't consider that
to be a problem with the shoes.

Now, I'm not sure what the International brand name for these shoes
are, but the local agent is registered as "Equitracks, South Africa".  I
went for the Marathon model in the range - there are another two nail-on
models and a glue-on model.

The trimming of the hoof is as for barefoot, which I like as well.  The
shoe is closed all around, which helps with the stones as the hole in
the middle is small enough to keep out the rocks - you don't need to pad
for the kind of terrain we rode on, but was enough protection for those
times we did ride on rocks and stones.

I guess I would just like to hear other's experiences with plastics and
why you opted for them and also if you kept on using them.  At the
moment the cost is almost prohibitive over here as they are fully
imported in small quantities - hopefully the price will come down if
more people use them.  Do you have a price issue with the shoes
obtainable in the US?  What (recommended) models are made in the US and
their price?  How do you size the shoe?  I'm sure I'll think of more
questions as the replies come flooding into my mailbox ;-))

Thanks again!
Kristene
South Africa

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