[RC] EasyBoot EPICS complete 100-miler - terry banister
Hi everyone,
My (shoeless) horse, E-Bey and I and the EasyBoot EPICS each completed our
first 100-mile endurance race together last Sat. at Twenty Mule Team, and I
wanted to share the experience with those who may have been wondering.
The first 25 miles of this race were the most challenging because the
footing went from sand and dirt at the start, to large mud puddles mixed
with boggy, fetlock-deep, shoe-sucking nasty clay mud, interspersed with
lava rocks. We were all doing fine until the 15 mile point, where my horse
trotted through one of the large water puddles and then tripped when coming
out of the ensuing clay mud and stepped on his own foot. I looked down and
to my chagrin, saw that my worst fear had come true - He had pulled a front
boot off and it was hanging around his pastern.
He still had race brain and there were about 10 riders on our tail, but
there was nothing I could do, but jump off and riders pass us while my horse
spun around on the side of the trail. I thought we were doomed, but I
snatched the velcro open and removed the boot from his leg. And then, when I
grabbed his leg to picked it up, I was amazed, but he seemed to know exactly
what I was doing, and with a sigh, he stood still while I took the
Leatherman tool from my pocket and pulled the cotter pin from the buckle and
replaced the boot on his hoof. In no time, I was able to mount up and trot
on down the trail. That was not nearly as bad as I had always envisioned.
And after I rode a few feet and saw a horseshoe lying in the mud with the
nails all sticking up like dead cochroach legs, I felt much better.
After we rode about another 10 miles, and I was just beginning to lose my
paranoia, we passed through another big puddle followed by that deep clay
mud, and as soon as we started cantering up a little hill, I heard the
hollow clop, clop sound of an empty boot. I didn't want to look down, but
when I did, of course my fears were confirmed - and this time it was a HIND
boot. Oh, no. There is no way to reach the hind foot on my horse with race
brain. I was bummed. But just then, two nice ladies who were in no hurry,
offered to stand in front of my horse and hold him while I got the boot off.
And it worked. I noticed that one of their horses had an Easy Boot and vet
wrap on one hoof. That did make me feel better. I led my horse along while
using my Leatherman tool to pull the mud-encrusted cotter pin out, and then
managed to get the boot back on the horse and mount up. We all rode off
together, praying for better footing. And in less than a couple of miles, it
was. We were back on sand, and it led us into the lunch check. At the lunch
check, I took the two spare boots from our crewbag and put them into the
Stowaway cantle bag. Two of my friend were at the luch stop, and one was
pulled for a stone bruise, and the other had lost a shoe, so she pulled. So
I was really encouraged when we passed the vetting and headed back out on
the trail.
For the next 65 miles on to the finish, we had no more footing issues, just
sand, water and REGULAR mud. We rode in for the finish around 1 a.m (with
another lady whose horse had vet wrap and an EasyBoot on one hoof). We
vetted in with no problem, and went to the trailer where I removed the boots
and checked all four legs, pasterns and heels, and everything was FINE. Not
one rub or bruise!
I don't think any other boot on the market would have gotten us through that
combination of conditions without rubbing or being lost. If I were to ride
Tevis, I would just carry a couple of spares on the horse and carry the
leatherman tool with extra cotter pins in my pocket and just enjoy the ride.
Knowing that my horse has previously done 50-mile races barefoot, it would
be no big deal to ride a mile or two before fixing a boot issue, anyway.
I know these boots aren't the final answer, and at least two other designs
by different companies are in the works, but in the meantime, we can RIDE
ON!
Terry and E-Bey
"May the Horse be with you"
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