Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Please Reply to: Christoph Schork csluftmeister@xxxxxxx or 
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
==========================================

There have been lots of inquiries and questions about the Equiflex shoes. I 
have shod well over 200 horses with equiflex over the last couple of years and 
want to share my observations.
Problem # 1: Flaring of the hoof wall.
That can be an issue.
I noticed the flaring only with horses that have a shallow hoof angles and/or 
are flater footed. Steeper hoof angles normally don't flare.
The flaring is caused by the fact that the plastic shoes are very shiny and 
slick  at the hoof side. With each load bearing the hoof naturally expands, and 
on a slick surface, it expands a little more than with a steel shoe. That 
resulting sliding action often causes the hoofwall to expand ofer the edge of 
the shoe. It can get reduced by roughing the hoof-shoe plane  a little with 
sandpaper.
It is also necessary to fit the shoes fuller than steel or alu shoes, so that 
during that expanding phase, there is always enough shoe to support the 
hoofwall.
Problem # 2: Loose nails.
Nails seem to only loosen with me if I didn't seat them all the way. Flush with 
the shoe is not enough. They need to get recessed. Equiflex has a special tool 
for that, but it can also be done efficiently with a blunt metal spike. 
Inexpensive at any hardware store. Ever since I seated these nails properly, 
the loose nails were a thing of the past.
The Equiflex shoes are a lot lighter than steel and reduce concussion by 60%, 
as tested by a university in Holland. I know that there is debate about it 
whether concussion reduction is important, however, runners do prefer foam and 
air cushioned shoes over wooden clogs because knees and ankles don't hurt as 
much. For the same reason, horses and people prefer softer trails over concrete 
and pavement.
Sincerely
Christoph


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-